Monday, March 22, 2010

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.


No comments:

Post a Comment