My marathons

Oakland Marathon

Start 07:007:00 AM Oakland

The Oakland Marathon is a course of 42.2 km (26.2 miles) with 96.8 m (318 ft) of climbing. Its lowest point is 2 m (7 ft) and its highest 46 m (151 ft) above sea level. Next race: Sunday 21 March 2027, starting at 7:00 AM.

Oakland
Oakland. Photograph by Basil D Soufi, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

At a glance

Race day
The 2027 race
Start
07:007:00 AM
Distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
Marathon · Half marathon · 10K · 5K
Total climb
96.8 m318 ft
Highest point 44 m144 ft above lowest
Time limit
7 hours

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

The marathon is one loop from the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts through Little Saigon, round Lake Merritt, downtown and the Bay Bridge, back to the same finish.

Start, finish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  2. Photo: Photographed by Paul Stokstad, August 2002., Public domain
  4. Photo: Stepheng3, CC0
  5. Photo: Adjoajo, CC BY 4.0

km 4.1mile 2.6

Grand Lake Theatre

The organiser puts Grand Avenue and its Grand Lake Theater in the first five miles, after the east side of Lake Merritt.

Height drawn many times taller than life · GEDTM30

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 42. The trace runs between 2 and 46 metres, a range of 44 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there. The dashed stretches are bridge decks: Alexander Zuckermann Bay Bridge Trail, km 25.3 to 28.7; Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway, km 28.7 to 32.1; (unnamed span), km 33.8 to 34.3. A bare-earth model reads the ground or the water beneath a bridge, not the deck the runner is on, so those runs are interpolated between the ground either side rather than measured, and they under-report the real climb across a span.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge

Your 5 gels, at the orange marksFor a 4:00 finish, one every 40 minutes

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

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  • One loop through Oakland, with the Bay Bridge in the middleLake Merritt, downtown, then the Bay Bridge and Jack London Square.
  • Miles 11 to 20 on the Bay BridgeAn out-and-back to Yerba Buena Island, with downhill miles coming off the bridge.
  • Most of the climbing is before the bridgeHigh point 46.5 m at 9.3 km; low point 2.0 m at 31.7 km, off the bridge.
Course notes 4 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GeometryOne loop through Oakland, with the Bay Bridge in the middleLake Merritt, downtown, then the Bay Bridge and Jack London Square.

The organiser describes the first five miles as a start near the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, out through Little Saigon and round the east side of Lake Merritt to Grand Avenue and Piedmont Avenue. Miles 6 to 10 take in downtown Oakland and Telegraph Avenue before a loop round the north and west banks of Lake Merritt. Miles 11 to 20 are on the Bay Bridge. The last miles come off the bridge past Jack London Square to the finish at the Kaiser Center and the post-race festival.

Sourced

Whole courseLandmarkMiles 11 to 20 on the Bay BridgeAn out-and-back to Yerba Buena Island, with downhill miles coming off the bridge.

The organiser puts the bridge between miles 11 and 20, an out-and-back to Yerba Buena Island with, in its words, epic views. It calls the miles coming off the bridge downhill, and the course then runs near Jack London Square to the finish.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2GradientMost of the climbing is before the bridgeHigh point 46.5 m at 9.3 km; low point 2.0 m at 31.7 km, off the bridge.

The road runs between 2.0 m and 46.5 m above sea level, 44.5 m from the lowest point to the highest. The high point is at 9.3 km, in the first miles; the low point, 2.0 m, is at 31.7 km, where the course comes off the bridge. Most of the climbing comes in the first 17.7 km, the miles before the Bay Bridge.

Measured

Whole courseTacticsSeven hours, about a 16-minute paceSeven hours from the gun; the course closes to let traffic resume.

The organiser sets a 7-hour limit for the marathon, measured from the gun start at 7:00 am on 21 March 2027. Runners who cannot keep up with it may be redirected as the course closes and traffic resumes.

Sourced

Race weekend

Friday 19 March Expo

  1. 13:001:00 PM–19:007:00 PM

    Health & Wellness Expo and bib pick-up Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts

Saturday 20 March Expo

  1. 10:0010:00 AM–16:004:00 PM

    Health & Wellness Expo and bib pick-up Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts
Other races and side events (2)

  1. 09:009:00 AM

    Under Armour shakeout run Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts

  2. 11:0011:00 AM

    Kids Fun Run, ages 0 to 5 About a quarter mile; ages 6 to 9 run half a mile at 11:30 and ages 10 to 12 a mile at 12:00.

Sunday 21 March Race day

  1. 05:305:30 AM

    Gear check opens Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts

  2. 06:506:50 AM

    National Anthem At approximately 6:50 am.

  3. 07:007:00 AM

    Marathon start Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts. Runners line up by the sign nearest their expected finish time. The half marathon starts at 7:00 too.

  4. 08:008:00 AM

    Finish Line Festival opens

  5. 14:002:00 PM

    Finish Line Festival closes

  6. Time not published

    Marathon time limit 7 hours, about a 16-minute pace from the gun; the organiser may redirect runners as the course closes to traffic. 7:00 limit: 9:57/km for 42.195 km7:00 limit: 16:01/mi for 26.2 mi
Other races (2)

  1. 08:308:30 AM

    10K start

  2. 09:009:00 AM

    5K start

Times as published by the organiser, in Oakland time, checked . Confirm on their site before you travel.

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Oakland time

Entry

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Oakland, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

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In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
A small balm stick
Illustration · drag to turn

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
A pack of blister plasters
Illustration · drag to turn

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Questions about the Oakland Marathon

Is the Oakland Marathon course flat?
Not entirely. It has 96.8 m (318 ft) of climbing over 42.2 km (26.2 miles). The highest point is 44 m (144 ft) above the lowest.
When is the Oakland Marathon 2027?
Sunday 21 March 2027. The start is at 7:00 AM.
What is the time limit at the Oakland Marathon?
Runners have 7 hours to finish.
Where does the Oakland Marathon start?
Start: Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts.
Runner talk Questions, tips and race reports from other runners about the course and the city.

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