Posted: February 24, 2006

Athletics: Champions Set To Defend L.A. Marathon Titles

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

Devine Racing, a Chicago-based race management company, announced last night that Kenyan Mark Saina and Russian Lyubov Denisova would return to the City of Los Angeles Marathon on March 19 to defend their titles.

The return of Denisova is something of a surprise. Despite winning last year's race in a course record 2:26:11, she was upset that she had lost the "Challenge" division, passed by both Saina and Benjamin Maiyo about 2 km from the finish after being given a 15 minute and 50 second head start. The early start, announced three days before the race, had been reduced from 20 minutes and 30 seconds the year before. Denisova called the Challenge, now renamed the Banco Popular Challenge for a new sponsor, "unfair" and vowed not to return to the race unless the rules were changed.

The Challenge has changed in at least one way from last year: it is larger. The first athlete, male or female, to cross the finish line will receive a bonus of $100,000 in addition to the first place prize of $35,000 plus a Honda Accord EX V-6 automobile, valued at $27,300. So, the overall winner at Los Angeles will receive the equivalent of $162,500, the largest guaranteed first place payout in marathon running. The male or female winner not winning the Challenge will receive $35,000 plus the car, or the equivalent of $62,300 in cash. That is still rich, inferior only to the top checks at the BAA Boston Marathon, LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, and ING New York City Marathon.

At last year's race, Saina did not appear headed for victory. Maiyo, running in his second marathon, had dropped Saina and fellow Kenyan Laban Kipkemboi early in the 23rd mile, and then passed Denisova on the Olympic Boulevard homestraight. He seemed to have the race locked up. But Saina fought back, waiting for the 26 mile banner to strike. He passed Maiyo and went on to win by ten seconds, 2:09:35 to 2:09:45.

Saina saw the $110,000 in cash plus the car he had won as a special gift. "I will try to put it in a way to benefit me and other around me," he said after the race.

In addition to lifting the first place checks to $35,000 from $25,000, and the Challenge to $100,000 from $75,000, the City of Los Angeles Marathon also added a U.S. only purse for the top-3 U.S. citizens ($5000-3000-1000) plus a California residents' purse ($1500-750-250). Two of California's best marathon runners, Magdalana Lewy Boulet and Sylvia Mosqueda, are also expected to compete.

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