BECOMING MARATHON MEN, WOMEN : LOCAL RUNNERS WIN 26.2-MILE RACE.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Call it the hometown advantage. The top finishers Sunday in the second annual Santa Clarita Marathon were local folks, who, along with hundreds of others, ran past sparse crowds on an unseasonably muggy morning.

David Giangrande, 24, a Canyon High School alumnus, was the first to cross the finish line at the Valencia Town Center. Giangrande, a criminal justice major at San Diego State University, ran the 26 miles and 385 yards in 2 hours, 37 minutes, 25 seconds - 14 minutes faster than his ninth-place finish in last year's race, he said.

Castaic resident Theresa Coyle, a Los Angeles Police Department detective, won in the women's division. Coyle, 30, crossed the finish line 3:21.29 after the 7 a.m. race began.

``I dehydrated very quickly. I think that's what happened to a lot of people,'' said Coyle, who has run the Los Angeles Marathon four times.

Despite a blister that began ``at mile 1'' and bloodied her right sock by race's end, Coyle said her run was a vast improvement from 1995. Last year ``I dropped out at mile 17,'' she recalled.

Giangrande, who said he put in a lot of time on hill training, finished far ahead of 1995 winner Jaime Ortiz.

``I just tried to keep up with Mr. Ortiz, and then he started to fade,'' Giangrande said. ``I think mile 17 I started to lead.''

Although the mercury registered a mild 54 degrees when the starting gun was fired, temperatures steadily climbed. By 10 a.m., thermometers read 79 degrees en route to a noontime peak of 88 degrees, said National Weather Service meteorologist John Henderson.

The estimated 550 who ran most or all of the way found encouragement at mile markers, where volunteers handed out cups of water or electrolyte-replacement drinks.

``Good job, you guys!'' Jasmine Nutter, 17, yelled to marathoners as they passed by a drink station along Soledad Canyon Road at Galeton Road.

Nutter and other members of the Canyon High School cross country team sponsored the 4-mile mark, working furiously to fill and hand off the paper cups to the sweaty, thirsty pack. ``I totally know what they feel like,'' Nutter said.

The 26.2-mile race opened with a long, straight stretch on the eastbound side of Soledad Canyon Road, while cars sped past on the westbound side. Runners passed the Metrolink station and Saugus Speedway, then followed paved trails on the Santa Clara River bike path and on the sidewalk between busy Soledad Canyon Road and the railroad tracks.

The route later zigzagged along neighborhood streets and paseos of Newhall and Valencia, winding through College of the Canyons, past the California Institute of the Arts and Six Flags Magic Mountain, and through the Valencia Industrial Center.

Much of the course was in pedestrian areas, off-limits to autos, but California Highway Patrol officers and Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies directed traffic when runners crossed busy intersections.

Angela Collier propped her 2-year-old daughter Amanda on a fence to watch for her husband Damon to pass by. The Newhall woman also brought her 3-month-old son, Ryan, and other relatives to the 8-mile mark on Soledad Canyon Road.

``He lives to do marathons,'' Collier said after waving to Damon.

Mary McDevitt stationed herself at five-mile intervals to shout encouragement to her son Jim, 32, of Canyon Country. The Modesto woman said Jim McDevitt also had competed in Los Angeles and New York marathons. Last year he finished the Santa Clarita course in 4 hours, 8 minutes.

``I'll be running the last two miles with him to pump him up,'' said family friend Dick Christie. ``It's so important to have that familiar face to cheer you up along the way.''

Armed with an oversized plastic rake, Travis Asmus feverishly scraped discarded paper cups toward the curb after each clump of marathoners gulped the contents and dropped them on the asphalt near Bouquet Canyon Road.

``I'm trying to keep (the street) clear so they don't step on stuff,'' explained Travis, 14, a football player at Hart High School. ``Me and my mom and my brother did this last year, and we thought it was pretty fun.''

At the mall, the shorter races had wrapped up before the first marathoner finished.

Sean McDonald and his pal Bryan Newman, both 10-year-old fifth-graders at Helmers Elementary School, showed off the medals they received as participants in a 1-kilometer run for those 12 and younger.

Although organizers stressed the the Kiddie K was noncompetitive, Sean and Bryan noted they came in eighth and ninth - behind 12-year-olds. ``A girl won our race,'' Sean said.

Another inaugural event was the 10-mile race, which drew an estimated 630 participants. Hollywood Hills resident Jorge Marquez, 30, and Darcy Arreola, 28, of Valencia were the top finishers.

Marquez clocked 53 minutes, 26 seconds, while Arreola, who once ran for Cal State Northridge, completed the 10 miles in 59:49.

Taking second place in the marathon was Canyon Country resident Chuck Teixeira, 37. A member of Santa Clarita Runners, Teixeira said he was happy that he ran about a minute faster than last year and bettered his '95 third-place finish.

``This time I was trying to hang with the leaders,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo: (1--color) Hundreds start the Santa Clarita Marathon at LangStation Road en route to Soledad Canyon Road on Sunday. Local residents won.

(2--color) David Giangrande, 24, wins the 26.2-mile race Sunday.

(3--color) Theresa Coyle, 30, finishes first among women runners.

(4) Jaime Ortiz, center, the '95 winner, led 17 miles Sunday in the 1996 Santa Clarita Marathon won by David Giangrande, left.

(5) A runner gets an emotional boost from his family Sunday during the tough second annual Santa Clarita Marathon in temperatures that peaked at 88.

(6) Girl Scouts in Troop 696 of Canyon Country hold out water for the marathon runners, battling both time and dehydration.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News