The annual LA Marathon is hitting the streets once again this Sunday, March 17, 2013. As usual, there will be many street closures and restricted parking starting that morning – but plan on parking your car the night before unless you’re willing to scramble for parking as early as 4:00 am Sunday.

Starting at Dodger Stadium, the runners will first go down Elysian Park and Sunset Boulevard to Downtown LA before hitting Bellevue and Glendale Boulevard north along Echo Park Lake. Sunset Boulevard through Silver Lake will also be affected, so make sure to check the maps for street closures and timelines.

The marathon runners should hit Bellevue and Douglas in Echo Park around 10:00 am, so by the time some of us Echo Parkians roll out of bed things should be clear.

If you’re not worried about the street closures, be sure to have your earplugs ready. Helicopters (mainly news) hover for hours before and during the start of the marathon, arriving as early as 5:00 am and low enough to disturb  the neighborhood that does, indeed, exist around Dodger Stadium.

Also on the agenda is the LA Big 5K on Saturday, March 16 starting at 8:00 am.

Related links (via The Eastsider LA):

• Street Closure Grid
• Additional Street Closures (off-course)
• Freeway Closures
• Metro Bus Service Advisory