Edna Kiplagat celebrates her L.A. Marathon win. (KTLA News) |
LOS ANGELES -- A record field of 25,000 participated in the L.A. Marathon Sunday, trekking the 26 miles and 385 yards new "Stadium to the Sea" course.
Kenyan Edna Kiplagat won the women's field and "The Challenge" at the L.A. Marathon in a time of 2:25:38. Kiplagat edged out Teyba Naser, a 23-year-old Ethiopean, in a furious heat at the 23rd mile, and extended her lead as she ran alone down San Vicente Boulevard and Ocean Avenue.
"I was trying to run my best," said Kiplagat, a 30-year-old who was running in her second marathon. "I'm not surprised being the winner and overall champion."
She ran her last mile in a blazing time of 5:10.
She also beat the fastest men, who started 18 minutes after the elite women got the starting gun at Dodger Stadium. The time difference is calculated by a group of experts based on elite runners' times.
Wesley Korir, a 27-year-old Kenyan, won the men's field for the second year in a row in a time of 2:09:19, the third fastest time in race history.
Korir was the first men's back-to-back winner since Kenyan Stephen Ndungo won in 2001 and 2002.
Krige Schabort won the men's open wheelchair division of the marathon in one hour, 39 minutes, 15 seconds.
The men's and women's winners will each receive $20,000 and a 2010 Honda Insight EX sedan.
A $100,000 bonus will go to Kiplagat as the winner of "The Challenge," the first overall finisher.
Last year, Korir was the third male winner of "The Challenge." Three women have also won. The same sex has never won two years in a row.
Kiplagat's victory ends an 11-race winning streak by women from the former Soviet Union. Russian women had won the last five races and seven of the last nine.
Kenyan men have won 12 consecutive races.
No American runner has won the race since 1994, when Paul Pilkington won the men's race and Olga Appell was the women's winner.
The elite women got underway just after 7:00 a.m., and the elite men and general marathon runners began the race at 7:51 a.m.
Organizers billed the new course, which goes outside Los Angeles' city limits for the first time in its 25-year history, as having a "landmark every mile."
The new course is part of an effort by the race's new owners, a group controller by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, to reverse declining interest in the marathon.
And the tactic seems to have worked, with registration up 44 percent from last year. Entries were capped at 25,000, a figure reached March 12, the first time the race has sold out.
The race began with 1 1/4 loops around Dodger Stadium and end near the Santa Monica Pier.
Initial landmarks following Dodger Stadium include El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the city's birthplace, Los Angeles City Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
The course then heads west through Echo Park and Silver Lake into Hollywood, passing the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
The field then heads south onto Sunset Boulevard, entering West Hollywood, then Beverly Hills, with runners heading down a stretch of famed Rodeo Drive.
The latter parts of the race, officially known as the Honda Los Angeles Marathon, include Century City, the Veterans Administration grounds and Brentwood's San Vicente Boulevard, concluding at Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue near the Santa Monica Pier.
Some residents along the new parts of the course have expressed frustration about the difficulties leaving their homes on the day of the race due to street closures.
Still, the mayors of West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are enthusiastic about the marathon going through their cities for the first time.
Marathon activities in West Hollywood include block parties adjacent to Cabo Cantina, 8301 Sunset Boulevard, and the Pavilions market, 8969 Santa Monica Boulevard. A disc jockey booth will also be set up at the southeast corner of Sunset and La Cienega boulevards.
In Beverly Hills, a small block party will be held in the median on Burton Way between Foothill Road and Rexford Drive.
At the finish line in Santa Monica, a beach party will be held featuring live music, food and beverages and interactive exhibits. The race will also be shown on a big screen video board there.
Kenyan Edna Kiplagat won the women's field and "The Challenge" at the L.A. Marathon in a time of 2:25:38. Kiplagat edged out Teyba Naser, a 23-year-old Ethiopean, in a furious heat at the 23rd mile, and extended her lead as she ran alone down San Vicente Boulevard and Ocean Avenue.
"I was trying to run my best," said Kiplagat, a 30-year-old who was running in her second marathon. "I'm not surprised being the winner and overall champion."
She ran her last mile in a blazing time of 5:10.
She also beat the fastest men, who started 18 minutes after the elite women got the starting gun at Dodger Stadium. The time difference is calculated by a group of experts based on elite runners' times.
Wesley Korir, a 27-year-old Kenyan, won the men's field for the second year in a row in a time of 2:09:19, the third fastest time in race history.
Korir was the first men's back-to-back winner since Kenyan Stephen Ndungo won in 2001 and 2002.
Krige Schabort won the men's open wheelchair division of the marathon in one hour, 39 minutes, 15 seconds.
The men's and women's winners will each receive $20,000 and a 2010 Honda Insight EX sedan.
A $100,000 bonus will go to Kiplagat as the winner of "The Challenge," the first overall finisher.
Last year, Korir was the third male winner of "The Challenge." Three women have also won. The same sex has never won two years in a row.
Kiplagat's victory ends an 11-race winning streak by women from the former Soviet Union. Russian women had won the last five races and seven of the last nine.
Kenyan men have won 12 consecutive races.
No American runner has won the race since 1994, when Paul Pilkington won the men's race and Olga Appell was the women's winner.
The elite women got underway just after 7:00 a.m., and the elite men and general marathon runners began the race at 7:51 a.m.
Organizers billed the new course, which goes outside Los Angeles' city limits for the first time in its 25-year history, as having a "landmark every mile."
The new course is part of an effort by the race's new owners, a group controller by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, to reverse declining interest in the marathon.
And the tactic seems to have worked, with registration up 44 percent from last year. Entries were capped at 25,000, a figure reached March 12, the first time the race has sold out.
The race began with 1 1/4 loops around Dodger Stadium and end near the Santa Monica Pier.
Initial landmarks following Dodger Stadium include El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the city's birthplace, Los Angeles City Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
The course then heads west through Echo Park and Silver Lake into Hollywood, passing the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
The field then heads south onto Sunset Boulevard, entering West Hollywood, then Beverly Hills, with runners heading down a stretch of famed Rodeo Drive.
The latter parts of the race, officially known as the Honda Los Angeles Marathon, include Century City, the Veterans Administration grounds and Brentwood's San Vicente Boulevard, concluding at Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue near the Santa Monica Pier.
Some residents along the new parts of the course have expressed frustration about the difficulties leaving their homes on the day of the race due to street closures.
Still, the mayors of West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are enthusiastic about the marathon going through their cities for the first time.
Marathon activities in West Hollywood include block parties adjacent to Cabo Cantina, 8301 Sunset Boulevard, and the Pavilions market, 8969 Santa Monica Boulevard. A disc jockey booth will also be set up at the southeast corner of Sunset and La Cienega boulevards.
In Beverly Hills, a small block party will be held in the median on Burton Way between Foothill Road and Rexford Drive.
At the finish line in Santa Monica, a beach party will be held featuring live music, food and beverages and interactive exhibits. The race will also be shown on a big screen video board there.
