The 2026 L.A. Marathon Date is Changing to Avoid a Clash With the Oscars Schedule

Kate Amsbry May 3, 2025

Call it a traffic jam of iconic proportions: the 2026 L.A. Marathon and the Academy Awards were both scheduled to take place on March 15—until the city’s top talent stepped in.

Mayor Karen Bass announced on Thursday that the marathon will be rescheduled to avoid a Hollywood-style pileup. The conflict sparked logistical headaches as both events depend on access to central arteries like Hollywood Boulevard, which is not exactly built to handle both a 26.2-mile race and a red-carpet rollout in the same breath.

The Academy had announced that the 98th Oscars—set to be hosted again by Conan O’Brien—would take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre, a key spot along the 2025 marathon route. Turns out, marathon organizers were blindsided by the news.

“We were surprised by the Academy's announcement, as there was no prior communication with us,” an L.A. marathon spokesperson wrote in a statement to NBC4, on April 2, noting that the event's traditional date—the third Sunday in March—had been publicly announced well in advance.

In stepped Mayor Bass, who brokered a compromise between Murphy Reinschreiber of the McCourt Foundation (which owns the marathon) and Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The result? The Oscars will remain on March 15, while the marathon will shift to another March date, which is still to be confirmed.

The deal also secures the marathon’s future: going forward, it will always land on the third Sunday in March. The Academy and marathon organizers also agreed to a new partnership aimed at cross-promoting the events for the good of the L.A. community.

So don’t lace up just yet—at least not until the final date drops.