A NEW LOOK TO THE L.A. MARATHON CHANGE IN COURSE EXPECTED TO DRAW MORE - AND BETTER - RUNNERS.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Take away bunkers, rough and water hazards from golf courses and pro players would rejoice, but few would agree the changes would make for better tournaments.

For the third time in its 17-year history, the Los Angeles Marathon course has received a dramatic makeover. Gone is the dramatic climb near the end of the course that made the L.A. course perhaps the toughest among all major-city marathons. The climb has been replaced by a flat stretch of land that should lower the winning times significantly in Sunday's race.

But is faster necessarily better? In the past, the L.A. Marathon attracted elite runners who knew they were in for a challenge. Those scared away by the imposing terrain (or the relatively paltry appearance and prize money) went elsewhere, and the toughest runners battled in Los Angeles. Now, 20 of the 26.2 miles on the course are new.

``We have heard from some people who said, 'I know the course was tough, but that's what I liked about it,' '' said Marie Patrick, the race's co-founder and vice president. ``There are people out there who took pride in it, who could brag to their neighbor who ran in Chicago because our course was so much tougher.

``But we've received an overwhelmingly positive response. Everybody who has seen the new course seems to love it.''

In marathon running, a challenge is not necessarily a good thing. The goal for every major marathon, race president and co-founder Dr. William Burke said, is lower times, by any means necessary. He believes the L.A. Marathon needs to lower its winning times in order to be considered among the world's best, his long-term goal.

``In 17 years, I've never had one person come up to me and say, 'I really like those hills, can you get a few more of them?' Running 26.2 miles is never easy, not on any course, under any circumstances,'' Burke said. ``Every marathon in the world tries to make its course table-top flat. In Rotterdam they run a big truck in front of the elite pack and create a draft for them to run through. That's illegal as heck, but they do whatever they can.''

Four years ago, after winning times in the L.A. Marathon had steadily risen for three consecutive years, Burke said it was his ``holy grail'' to have a winning time under 2 hours, 10 minutes. Organizers tinkered with the course and a strong field helped push Simon Bor's winning time to 2:09:25 in 1999.

Since then, however, times have risen again. Last year's winning time of 2:13:13 was the fourth-slowest in the event's history, so changes were made. Burke had e-mails sent to a large percentage of the marathon's ``alumni'' and received 30,000 responses, 80 percent of which Burke said urged changes to make the course easier.

The changes will make the course easier for the expected record turnout of more than 23,000 runners, but the real goal is to improve the course for the elite runners.

``I'm the only guy in town who cares about having faster winning times,'' Burke said. ``Marie says, 'Why are you so focused on the time?' but that's my competitive nature. I want this city to have a great event, and I want to be able to compete with every marathon in the world. I must be a slow learner though, because I've been trying for 16 years.''

There have been some positive steps toward that goal. Race organizers have resisted raising appearance and prize money, because they found in the past that it did not guarantee strong fields, but for the first time ever, two former champions will be among the men's elite pack.

The field is led by two Kenyans, 2000 champion Benson Mbithi and 2001 champion Stephen Ndungu, both of whom have the potential to break the coveted 2:09 mark. Sylmar native Peter De La Cerda is the top-seeded American in the field and is expected to stay with the Kenyan pack that usually dominates the race.

The women's elite field does not feature any former Los Angeles champions, but Aurica Buia of Romania ran 2:34:40 to win the 2001 Country Music Marathon in Nashville.

``I think the runners will love the course,'' Burke said, ``and that's what is most important.''

L.A. MARATHON XVII

WHEN: Sunday, with wheelchair race starting at 8:15 a.m., followed by crank wheelchair competitors at 8:30 and runners at 8:45.

TV: Ch. 9, 8:30 a.m.

COURSE: Starts at Grand and Second Street, downtown L.A. Finishes in front of the library on Flower Street in downtown L.A.

MORE ON THE MARATHON

COURSE RECORDS: Simon Bor of Kenya, 2:09.25, men's, and Madina Biktragagirova (C.I.S.), 2:26.33, women's.

A YEAR AGO: Kenyans took the first three places as Steven Ndungu won the men's division race in 2:13:13, followed by Ben Kimondiu (2:15:13) and Benson Mbithi (2:15:23). In the women's division, Elana Paramonova of Russia finished in 2:35:58, followed by Nuta Olaru of Romania (2:37:22) and Ramilia Burangulova of Russia (2:37:46). In the men's wheelchair division, Saul Mendoza of Mexico won his fifth consecutive L.A. Marathon in 1:32:50, and Ariadne Hernandez of Mexico won the Women's race in 2:04:30.

PRIZE MONEY: First place in both men's and women's receive $35,000 and a 2002 Honda; also, any man running under 2:10 will receive a bonus ranging from $25,000-$50,000 and any woman running under 2:26 will receive a bonus ranging from $5,000-$$25,000; anyone setting a world record in either men's or women's event will receive a $250,000 bonus.

REGISTRATION: No race-day registration. To register today, entrants can sign up at the Quality of Life Expo at the L.A. Convention Center, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration is $75.

STREET CLOSURES: The course is closed to vehicular traffic prior to the first wheelchair competitors and reopened at a pace of about 13 minutes per mile.

INFORMATION: [phone].

WEB SITE: www.lamarathon.com

CAPTION(S):

map, 2 boxes

Box:

(1) L.A. MARATHON XVII (see text)

(2) MORE ON THE MARATHON (see text)

Map:

LA MARATHON XVII