Feb-24-2006
Champions Set to Defend LA Marathon Titles
by David Monti
(c) Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
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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