The LA Marathon Finally Goes Hollywood! From Stadium To Sea!

Marathoners got some great views yesterday while running their 26 miles through the streets of LA. After years of a not so scenic course; that didn't really give visiting runners the best views of the city, the new course that runs from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica covered a lot of tourist spots. ISH was on hand in Beverly Hills, where seeing runners instead of shoppers moving down Rodeo Drive was exciting. It gave the city a touch of reality, with all that sweat streaming down, so close to Chanel . The new course was part of an effort by its recent owners, a group controlled by Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Frank McCourt, to reverse declining interest, he says “Los Angeles is a world-class city and deserves a world-class race." Twenty five thousand runners were joined by some celebrities like Shia LaBeouf, who arrived at Santa Monica Pier in 4 hours 35 minutes -- he placed 5825. Also rumored to be running were Lakers Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, as well as Julia Louis Dreyfus and chef Gordon Ramsay. Oh, yes of course the winners -- Kenya's Edna Kiplagat won the women's division of the 25th annual Los Angeles Marathon and a $100,000 bonus as top overall finisher, while countryman Wesley Korir was the fastest man for the second consecutive year.Kiplagat completed the 26-mile, 385-yard course from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica in two hours, 25 minutes, 38 seconds, the third fastest women's time in the race's history.Korir was timed at 2:09:19, the third fastest time in race history.The elite women's field was given an 18-minute, 47-second head start over its male counterparts, determined by a formula involving the runners' lifetime best time. The male and female winners both received $20,000 and a 2010 Honda Insight EX sedan. Kiplagat also received a $25,000 time bonus for matching the 20th-fastest women's marathon time of 2009.