Kenyan and Russian win LA marathon

LOS ANGELES - Wesley Korir of Kenya and Tatiana Petrova of Russia won the Los Angeles Marathon Monday, with Korir setting a new record in the men’s group for the annual event.

Korir, a student of the University of Louisville broke, from the pack, and passed Petrova about 40 km into the race. His final time was 2:08:23, breaking the old event record by 18 seconds.

Korir said after the race he was singing and praying during the race. His prize package, including a new car, totalled about $189,000.

The elite women started nearly 17 minutes ahead of the men, to provide excitement at the finish line, and Petrova won $100,000.

Petrova finished the race in 2:25:56, the third-best women’s marathon in Los Angeles. She said her primary concern was leading the women’s pack, not beating the man.

About 15,000 people ran this year’s marathon, which was under new ownership after Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt acquired the event’s organising rights in September.

The LA Marathon had always been run in March until this year, when it was shifted to the Memorial Day holiday, the last Monday in May, to avoid interfering with churchgoers in downtown Los Angeles.

However, the race day will move back to a Sunday in March from next year after some runners complained of high temperatures usually in late May.