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Press Release - Los Angeles Marathon - 3/15/10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
 Defending Champ Korir Faces Tough Field In 2010 Honda LA Marathon
             Elite field looking for fast times on new 
               Stadium to the Sea course on March 21

LOS ANGELES – March 15, 2010 – When Wesley Korir lined up at the start of 
the Los Angeles Marathon last year, the idea of winning the race, setting a 
new race record and winning $188,705 in cash and prizes wasn't even a 
dream. He was just hoping to run a strong race.

But two hours, eight minutes and 24 seconds later, he'd achieved all three 
and now looks forward to defending his title in Sunday's 2010 Honda LA 
Marathon presented by K-Swiss.

"When I get in a race now, people say 'That's Wesley, he won in L.A. last 
year,' said Korir, who lives in Louisville, Kentucky. " That is definitely 
my identity now: the L.A. man. And I love L.A., I love this city. I love 
what it has meant to me. I love to be associated with L.A. I love that 
identity, to be known as the 'L.A. man.'"

Korir will face a determined field in the men's elite race, including the 
fastest marathoner ever to compete in this race: Kenya's Richard Limo, who 
has run 2:06:45, plus last year's runner-up, Tariku Jufar of Ethiopia 
(lifetime best of 2:08:10) and third-placer Laban Kipkemboi of Kenya 
(2:08:38).

Korir, Jufar and Kipkemboi ran a stirring race for 22 miles last year, with 
Kipkemboi dropping back first, and Korir finally establishing dominance at 
the 24-mile mark to win by one minute eight seconds.

The men's field is one of the deepest ever to run in Los Angeles: seven men 
with lifetime bests under 2:10:00 and six more at 2:12:00 or faster. Kenyan 
men have won this race 11 straight times.

Korir has studied the new Stadium to the Sea course, especially the 
undulations of the first six miles of the route, going downhill from the 
start at Dodger Stadium into Downtown Los Angeles in the first three miles 
and then up 1st Street into Echo Park in the second three. "This is going 
to be a very fast course," Korir noted. "2:07, or 2:06, I won't be 
surprised. The thing about it, if you can overcome these 3-4 miles in the 
beginning and if you can get yourself [into Hollywood] strong, all the rest 
is a piece of cake. People are going to be rolling."

In the women's elite field, Russian women have won five consecutive Los 
Angeles Marathons and 2009 third-place Silvia Skvortsova (best of 2:26:24) 
is one of two Russians in the field. She placed third in last year's race. 
The fastest time among women entrants belongs to Ethiopia's Ashu Kasim, who 
ran 2:25:49 last year in Paris, ten seconds faster than last year's winning 
time in L.A.

Looking for a new lifetime best is American marathoner Paige Higgins of 
Flagstaff, Arizona, who has run 2:33:06 and competed for the United States 
in the IAAF World Championships marathon in Berlin last year.

"This is the 'go for it' year," she told Runner's World Racing News, noting 
"if the weather's good and everything, I think it's going to be a fast 
course." She is looking to break through the 2:30 barrier, adding "I'm 
still looking for time ... I want to make the jump to the next level, 
where I'm competing on the world stage."

The men's and women's races are tied together by the Marathon's unique 
Challenge, which awards a $100,000 prize to the first man or woman runner 
to cross the finish line. The women will enjoy a handicap to start the 
race, based on an average of the lifetime bests of the top runners. The 
Challenge, originated in this race in 2004, is tied at 3-3 between men and 
women over its six-year history. In 2009, Korir ran down women's winner 
Tatiana Petrova in the 25th mile.

A prize purse of up to $400,00 in cash plus two Honda Insight EX sedans 
with navigation system (MSRP $23,100 each) will be up for grabs this 
Sunday. Prize money for the first five male and female finishers will 
include $20,000 for first place, $12,500 for second, $10,000 for third, 
$5,000 for fourth and $2,500 for fifth. In addition to the $100,000 
Challenge prize, time bonuses of up to a cumulative total of $100,000 per 
gender will be available for runners finishing in 2:08:15 (men) or 2:27:06 
(women) or faster.

Star racers Aaron Gordian of Mexico and Amanda McGrory headline the 
wheelchair fields, for which there will be a separate prize purse of $2,500 
for first, $1,000 for second and $500 for third. Gordian and McGrory both 
won in Los Angeles in 2009 and will be chasing the Nan Harmon Time Bonus 
Award of $1,000 for a wheelchair race record.

The 2010 Honda LA Marathon presented by K-Swiss will be the first run on 
the iconic Stadium to the Sea course that begins at Dodger Stadium, winds 
through Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, 
then through the Veterans Administration Greater Los Angeles Healthcare 
Center and into Santa Monica, finishing on Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica 
Boulevard. The race will start with the wheelchair fields at 6:55 a.m., 
followed by the women's elite field at approximately 7:03 a.m. and the men 
(and the rest of the field) at about 7:20 a.m.

The race will be broadcast in its entirety on KTLA 5 in Los Angeles and 
seen nationally on Universal Sports beginning at 7 a.m. PDT. It will be 
covered from start to finish on radio by AM 570 KLAC. All three outlets 
will stream their coverage on the Internet as well. 

                            ###

 

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