Clouds Part for Marathon Runners

More than 20,000 long-distance runners started the Los Angeles Marathon today in chilly, breezy weather—what organizers called "perfect marathon conditions."

"The race is really showing it," said Press Officer Rich Perelman of Fatuma Sado.

Just 20-years-old from Ethiopia, Sado who was in the lead by four-tenths of a mile as of 9:18 a.m., slowling slightly after earlier running a pace that could have shattered a race record. Leading the pack, she entered the city of Santa Monica at 9:23 a.m.

The first wheelchair racers rolled across the finish line at the Santa Monica Pier 20 minutes earlier.

Race organizers had opened an emergency operations center as forecasters had predicted on-and-off showers through the day in what would have made for the second year of stormy weather. But the dawn broke with bright sunshine and scattered clouds.

The starter's gun for the main pack fired about 7:25 a.m. The fastest among the world-class runners should finish in a little more than 2 hours. Ethiopian Markos Geneti won last year with a record-setting time of 2:03:35.

It was dry at dawn as runners massed outside Dodger Stadium for start of what is traditionally one of the most grueling athletic events known to man. It was 46 degrees and winds were blowing just about 2 mph, Perelman said.

Last year, a drenching 2.42 inches of rain fell and 30 mph winds ripped across the marathon course—dozens of runners got dangerously cold. Today, race organizers had about 5,000 plastic trash bags for keeping warm and stay dry at the start, and some 23,000 Mylar blankets to help runners guard against hypothermia will be divided among 10 medical stations along the course and at the finish line, according to marathon Chief Operating Officer Nick Curl.

Heating buses will be standing by at the medical stations and the finish line.

"We're confident that by coordinating our efforts with the fire departments in all four jurisdictions (along the course) and Keck Medical Center of USC, we'll have enough equipment and support to keep our runners, volunteers and medical personnel as dry, warm and comfortable as possible on race day," Curl said.

More than 300 marathon runners were evaluated for hypothermia and 20 were hospitalized last year. Rain has fallen on the race three other times in addition to last year. Trace amounts of rain fell twice in the 1990s, and 1.6 inches fell on the race in 2000, spokesman Rich Perelman said. The race has been held annually since 1986. For the third year in a row, the race will be run on the "Stadium to the Sea" course, billed by organizers as having a landmark every mile.

From Dodger Stadium, the course heads toward downtown, passing Chinatown, Olvera Street, City Hall, Little Tokyo, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. After the downtown leg, the course heads west through Echo Park and Silver Lake into Hollywood, passing the Hollywood & Highland Center, home of the Academy Awards, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

The field will then head south onto Sunset Boulevard, entering West Hollywood, then Beverly Hills, where the runners will swarm Rodeo Drive. The latter parts of the race, officially known as the Honda LA Marathon, include Century City, the Veterans Administration grounds and Brentwood's broad San Vicente Boulevard, concluding near the Santa Monica Pier.

Changes to the race include allowing two-person relay teams, with each person running half the race, and an expansion of the race's charity program. About 200 relay teams have entered the race, with teams raising funds for the race's official charities. The relay hand-off point is on Sunset Boulevard, just before the Sunset Strip. The expansion of the race's charity fundraising efforts include the "I Run 4 Something" initiative, encouraging all the runners to raise money for their favorite causes.

Race organizers believe runners can raise $4 million for charitable causes, breaking last year's record. Since Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt purchased the operating rights to the race in 2008, the amount of money raised for charity has gone from just over $1.25 million in 2009 to $1.95 million in 2010 to just under $3 million in 2011, according to race officials. A field of about 23,000 runners is expected. The male and female winners will each receive $25,000 and a Honda CR-V, valued at $29,795.

The first overall finisher will earn an additional $100,000 it what organizers have dubbed as "The Challenge." The elite women's field will receive a 17-minute, 31-second head start, based on a formula involving the lifetime bests of the elite male and female runners. The bonus has been won by male runners four times and women runners four times.

Marathons have a rich history. Phidippides, the legendary Greek herald who ran from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens to announce the rout of a Persian army in 450 B.C., announced the victory, then collapsed and died on the spot. He, however, had run about 150 miles over the previous two days.

— City News Service contributed to this report. 

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