La Jolla Half Marathon street closures and no-parking zones win traffic board’s OK

Temporary street closures and no-parking zones for this year’s La Jolla Half Marathon and the concurrent La Jolla Shores 5K got unanimous approval from the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board on March 21, two months before the events.

The plan for the Half Marathon on Saturday, May 20, the major annual fundraiser for its sponsor, the Kiwanis Club of La Jolla, received the support of the La Jolla Parks & Beaches group last month.

The route for the 13.1-mile Half Marathon is unchanged from previous years, beginning at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, with the 3.1-mile 5K beginning at the 10th mile near the north end of La Jolla Shores Drive. The finish line is at Scripps Park at La Jolla Cove.

Both races will begin at 6:30 a.m., and runners must be off the course by 10:30, said Kiwanis Club President Bart Calame, who has been the race director for its past eight iterations.

The event will involve partial lane closures and no-parking areas on several streets from North Torrey Pines Road south to The Cove, and will close all lanes on the race route along Torrey Pines Park Road, the La Jolla Shores beach boardwalk, Avenida de la Playa, Cave Street and Coast Boulevard.

Signs about the event and related closures will be posted in affected areas at least 48 hours in advance, Calame said.

Event organizers will have everything cleaned up by noon, he added.

The club is expecting a “normal turnout of runners” — about 5,000 — after three years of canceled or modified events because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Calame said.

Funds raised by the Half Marathon support Kiwanis grants to local organizations. ◆