THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES MARATHON: A HEATED RACE FOR L.A. RUNNERS.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer On a miserably hot morning, sub-3-hour times were as tough to come by at Sunday's Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon is an annual marathon held in Los Angeles, California since 1986. It was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. The race starts at about 8:15AM and runs through Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, the Crenshaw district, and as a spot in the shade at the finish line. ``I did it last year and thought it was warm,'' said Richard Francis Richard Francis (dates unknown) was a famous English cricketer who played for the Hambledon Club. Francis is known to have been a Surrey man by birth and he had played for Surrey teams before moving to Hampshire. He made 47 known first-class appearances from 1773 until 1793. , a Beverly Hills Beverly Hills, city (1990 pop. 31,971), Los Angeles co., S Calif., completely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles; inc. 1914. The largely residential city is home to many motion-picture and television personalities. writer who finished 47th among the men. ``At 8:30 (a.m.) this year, I was like, 'Oh my God.' It was almost too hot to be running a marathon.'' Only 72 runners - men and women - out of a field of more than 24,000 broke 3 hours. The 66-degree temperature at the start was race's hottest in 13 years and some participants had to be taken from the finishing area on stretchers. Even the elite runners weren't able to withstand the conditions. Two-time champion Stephen Ndungu of Kenya dropped out after the halfway point and early women's leader Anuta Catuna from Romania abandoned the race after the 18-mile mark. For Ndungu and Catuna, the hot conditions meant no payday. For everyday runners, the hot conditions meant few personal bests. The top area finisher was Santa Ana's Juan Ramirez, who took 19th in 2 hours, 35 minutes, 41 seconds. The top Valley finisher was former Monroe High of North Hills standout and City Section cross country champion Manuel Ruiz Manuel Ruiz Pérez (born December 3, 1962 in Jerez de la Frontera) is a Spanish football coach and former player. During his football career, he played for several clubs including his childhood club Xerez CD, UD Melilla and Sanluqueño. of Sylmar in 31st place at 2:46:24. Josh Small, a 27-year-old seventh grade biology teacher from Santa Clara Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , was the top American finisher in 2:35:12. Small said the magnitude of his accomplishment probably would be lost on his students at Carden El Encanto Day School. ``I don't think they understand it,'' said Small, who finished 17th in his fifth marathon. ``(But) I put all my running numbers up in my room, and they like that.'' Small said he went out fast and nearly faded in the heat. But the cheers of the crowd bailed him out. ``The crowd was what kept me going,'' Small said. ``They were pretty intense.'' Two years after he took up running, El Camino College El Camino College is a two-year public community college located in the city of Torrance in Los Angeles County, California. It is commonly referred to as "El Co" or "ECC". It consists of 37 buildings spanning an area of roughly 26 acres (105,000 m²). student Sal Bautista was the first runner to finish out of Students Run L.A.'s 2,000 entrants. Bautista was hoping to break 2:25:00 but ended up at 2:44:15 because of the heat. ``It was real hot,'' said Bautista, a Gardena native. ``I started feeling pain in my stomach. I wanted to do better.'' Twenty-five-year-old Matt Wickersham, a USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. law student, finished 33rd in 2:48:22. He also was one of the few victims of the L.A. Marathon's format called ``The Challenge,'' pitting the elite men against elite women. Wickersham said he hoped to pace against the elite women on his way to a good time but couldn't when they started 20 minutes, 30 seconds ahead of the field. Instead, he settled for a strong performance in front of friends and family. ``I don't really like the course, the last three or four miles are uphill,'' Wickersham said. ``But there's a good crowd and it's just fun to run in your hometown.'' --Wheelchair winners: France's Joel Jeannot Joel Jeannot is a wheelchair racer, who competes at the Olympic level. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he finished 7th in the demonstration sport of Men's 1,500 m wheelchair. captured his first L.A. Marathon title in the men's wheelchair division, taking advantage of two flat tires suffered by six-time champion Saul Mendoza and 2002 champion Ernst Van Dyk Ernst Van Dyk is a South African wheelchair athlete. He has won more Boston Marathons than any other male wheelchair athlete, currently holding six titles. He is also the current world record holder for men's wheelchair marathon from his record-setting race in the 2004 Boston , to win in 1:27:08. Jeannot missed breaking Mendoza's course record from a year ago by one second. On the women's side, Cheri Blauwet Cheri Blauwet is an American wheelchair racer, who competed at the Olympic level. At the 2004 Olympic Games, she finished 5th in the demonstration sport of Women's 800m wheelchair. She attends the Stanford University Medical School currently. of Menlo Park defended her 2003 L.A. Marathon title, winning in 1:54:02. Both wheelchair winners said they would welcome ``The Challenge'' format being extended to their race. --Extra assistance: A minor controversy ensued midway through the race when Catuna couldn't find her personal fluid bottle at several water stations and received water from race commentator Kathrine Switzer following her as part of the Channel 4 broadcast. Race officials ruled that Switzer had to provide water to every elite women's runner who needed it from then on, a problem considering Switzer was sent to follow the women's leader. It ended up being a moot point moot point n. 1) a legal question which no court has decided, so it is still debatable or unsettled. 2) an issue only of academic interest. (See: moot) , though, when Catuna was passed and dropped out. --On the sidelines: Race president William Burke said the crowds lining the marathon route were larger than ever before had turned out for the race. He then apologized to the race's television partners for taking away from their viewing audience. Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 ross.siler(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): box Box: RESULTS |
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