THIS ONE'S FOR HIM LOCAL RUNNER HOPES FOR TOP-25 FINISH.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

Damian Mendoza planned to jog the 2002 L.A. Marathon to appease his brother.

He started off quickly for the first 10 miles and was about to slow down when he found out he was in 130th place. He upped his pace and shot for the top 100, then 75, then 50.

When the Valley College and former Cleveland High of Reseda runner crossed the finish line to the sound of thousands of people cheering him on, he had finished his first marathon 39th overall with a time of 2 hours, 46 minutes and 41 seconds.

``I forced him to do it,'' said his brother Jonathan, a senior at Cleveland. ``He was worried that he would get injured. Then he broke away from us and, when we got to the hotel, he said, `Man, I've been waiting for two hours.' We couldn't believe it.''

Then Jonathan and his friends laughed as Mendoza had to be assisted home. He ran in brand new shoes, a real marathon no-no, creating horrible blisters. His knees were killing him. Running his first marathon with no preparation took its toll.

It took Mendoza weeks to run again. Yet, with this year's L.A. Marathon coming up Sunday, he needed no convincing this time.

Mendoza thinks he found his calling as a professional marathon runner.

``All the pain was worth it,'' Mendoza said. ``I enjoy road-racing rather than running on a track. You get to see a lot of different places, not just go around and around. At the end, there was nobody in front of me or behind me for about a minute. All the people were cheering just for me. It was so emotional and gave me motivation to become a marathoner.''

Mendoza hopes the L.A. Marathon will only be a start. He already qualified to run the famous Boston Marathon with his time at L.A. last year. He also wants to run the New York Marathon this year.

In order to afford to travel to those locations, he will need sponsors. That's where this year's L.A. Marathon comes in. Mendoza hopes to finish in the top 25 and impress enough to garner attention.

He figures improvement should be easy. Because of last year's finish, he'll get a good starting position and won't have to force his way through the crowds. He has been running 60 to 70 miles a week after running 15 to 20 before doing the 26.2-mile marathon last year.

He isn't doing track at Valley College this year, concentrating all his time on marathon preparation. And his shoes are going to be thoroughly worked in.

``He's so much better prepared this year,'' said Student Run L.A. leader Jose Moran, who trains with Mendoza. ``Last year he didn't know exactly what he was getting into because it was his first marathon. I think he'll be able to finish in the top 25.''

Mendoza has a history of coming out of nowhere. As a senior at Cleveland, he barely qualified for the City Section cross country finals. Then he ran his best time by more than 30 seconds to take 20th place in the City. When track season came along, he finished third in the City for the mile.

Mendoza will go to the marathon with his brother and other participants from Student Run L.A. But because he was by far the top finisher from the program last year, everyone knows they won't see much of him.

``It kills me just to practice with him,'' Jonathan said. ``I don't know how he does it.''

L.A. MARATHON

When: Sunday

Time: Wheelchair race begins at 8:05 a.m.; Crank chair race begins at 8:18 a.m.; Runners/Walkers race begins at 8:30 a.m.

TV: Ch. 4

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) Former Cleveland High of Reseda runner Damian Mendoza, who attends Valley College, is aiming to start a career as a marathon runner.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

Box:

L.A. MARATHON (see text)