HOOFIN' IT IN L.A. MARATHON BRINGS PAIN, GAIN.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

Under an arc of purple, blue and yellow balloons, a record 23,000 racers set off on a warm Sunday morning on the 17th annual Los Angeles Marathon, including the Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin, a trio of Elvis look-alikes, and a host of other wacky characters.

A new, flatter 26.2-mile run billed as ``the heart of the city'' greeted this year's participants and the thousands of cheering spectators who lined the streets.

``I love it,'' said Kathy Herrera of Rancho Cucamonga, who parked herself in a chair at 7:30 a.m. near the finish line on Hope Street. ``I feel like we all come together. It doesn't matter it's the city of Los Angeles.

``We are all Southern Californians, especially now after Sept. 11,'' said the 44-year-old woman who listened to the race from a handheld radio with a sign at her side that read ``Go, Raul'' for her boyfriend.

Helping kick off this year's event were Olympian Jackie Joyner Kersee, politicians and four rescue workers from ground zero in New York. Organizers predicted a TV viewing audience of 2 million.

``Enjoy yourself,'' Joyner Kersee told the participants. ``Run, run, run, and if you can't run, walk.''

Race officials announced notables in this year's marathon included actor Christian Slater and Olympic gymnast Mitch Gaylord.

Defending champion Stephen Ndungu, 34, of Kenya took first place for the men with an official time of 2 hours, 10 minutes and 27 seconds and Lyubov Denisova, 30, of Russia won the women's title with 2:28:48. The first-place finishers each took home $25,000 cash and a 2002 Honda Accord V-6 sedan.

This year's new course without the hills was easier on the legs, but slightly warmer than normal temperatures were blamed for a significant number of medical problems for the runners Sunday.

Javier Estrada of Glendale said he ran to keep in shape and to give his daughter a unique experience.

``The elevation was good,'' said the 35-year-old man who just completed his 12th L.A. Marathon. ``The weather was kind of hot, but hill-wise it was better.''

Estrada ran the race in 3:04:46, pushing his 15-month-old daughter, Dahlia, all 26.2 miles in a jogging stroller.

For a souvenir, the two took an official photo together after the run.

``Hopefully, the picture will inspire her,'' he said. ``When she is older she might take the sport up, too.''

The warmer temperatures took a toll on many runners.

``This has been the busiest year for the medical tent,'' said John Fenton, president and chief operating officer of City of Angels Medical Center, the official hospital for the marathon. ``We've been taking care of hundreds of runners.

``With the temperature it has been a real problem, heat exhaustion, vomiting and nausea.''

The temperature downtown at 1 p.m. was 72 degrees, a tad higher than the normal 69 degrees, said Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service.

The humidity also was about 15 percent, really dry, which will take moisture or sweat off the skin faster, not allowing a person to keep cool, Seto said.

``I think with the wind blowing and the dryness, that probably contributed (to the problems),'' he said. ``But I think it was probably not the biggest factor as the distance they were running, the exertion on the body.''

Fenton also said one male runner reported chest pains and was taken to a local hospital, where he later was reported doing fine. A young female volunteer suffering from convulsions for unknown reasons also was taken to a hospital, he said.

The marathon and other events Sunday were delayed by a half-hour because of a suspicious package at Figueroa Street and Pico Boulevard.

The cardboard box was discovered at 8:10 a.m. and the Los Angeles Police Department's bomb squad was dispatched, said Officer Eduardo Funes, an LAPD spokesman.

Runners had to contend with higher temperatures because of the late start.

Charles F. Delvalle, dressed as ``Uncle Fester,'' the ghoulish-looking character from the 1960s TV sitcom ``The Addams Family,'' was hot and sweaty, but ran the race in 3 hours and 10 minutes.

``I come here every year. It's fun,'' said the 36-year-old Twentynine Palms, Calif., man, dressed in a black suit, gray face paint and a plastic hand attached to his bald head.

``It's a good thing, it gets a lot of fat off,'' he said patting his rotund stomach. ``And it's a great way to lose weight.'' This was Delvalle's seventh L.A. Marathon dressed in character, and he wasn't alone.

``It's fun,'' said Pam Hayward, 52, of West Covina, who's attended every single marathon to watch her husband, Bryan, run. ``You get to see all the different people. And you get to see the top athletes.''

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jose Luis Torres Salas of Winnetka grimaces as he approaches the finish line of the race Sunday.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) A record 23,000 runners set off on the race Sunday.

(3 -- color) -C.J. Soleta, 6, of La Crescenta holds a sign of encouragement for her mom, Marilyn Soleta, in the L.A. Marathon on Sunday.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer