L.A. Joins Marathon Circuit: 7,500 Are Set to Run Today

Los Angeles was once regarded as a minor league city because it didn’t have a major league sports franchise.

That, of course, has drastically changed over the years with the Cleveland Rams settling here in 1946, to be followed by the Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, Kings, Raiders and Clippers.

Then, with the advent of the road-running craze, Los Angeles lagged behind Boston, New York and Chicago because it didn’t have a marathon identified with the city.

If the city had an inferiority complex on that score, it needn’t have one anymore. Los Angeles has its own marathon, and, rain or shine, the 26.2-mile race will start today at 9 a.m. near the Coliseum, finishing close to the stadium. Channel 13 will have complete coverage.

Now, Los Angeles has had marathons in the past. There was the L.A. International Marathon as recently as 1984. But previous marathons were regarded as second-rate ventures and did not attract much interest.

But today’s Los Angeles Marathon has the backing of the City Council, presumably making it more authentic. It is being hailed as the people’s race because more than 7,500 runners will tour the city--and some might even finish.

There aren’t many elite runners in the field. Even so, marathon organizers say that the fields will grow in stature as the L.A. Marathon becomes an established event on the circuit and the purse is increased through more corporate sponsorship.

Three major marathons--Boston, London and Rotterdam--will be held next month, and most of the world-class runners are gearing for those events.

New Zealand’s Rod Dixon, among the favorites to win in the men’s division today, is in the unusual position of competing and also helping to promote the race as associate vice president of L.A. Marathon, Inc.

Dixon, winner of the 1983 New York Marathon, said the goal of the inaugural marathon here is a modest one.

“Our goal this year is to have a credible marathon, one that all runners can enjoy,” he said. “We can’t all be New York and Boston. But we tend to forget that the New York Marathon began 15 years ago. It’s only been on television the last four.

“If we can have a successful marathon, one that more and more runners each year want to be a part of, more corporate sponsors will be interested. Then we’ll have the budget to go after more elite runners. L.A.’s time will come.”

In the meantime, there aren’t many big-name runners to lead the public pack through the city today.

Nancy Ditz, the second-best American female marathoner behind Joan Benoit Samuelson, is the clear favorite among the women. Her major international competition will come from Belgium’s Magda Ilands and Denmark’s Christa Vahlensieck.

Dixon will have more competition, namely from Tanzania’s Gidamis Shahanga, who won the 1984 Los Angeles and Rotterdam International Marathons; Ric Sayer, who won the Long Beach Marathon last month; Gary Tuttle, who was second in last year’s Boston Marathon; Finland’s Martti Kiilholma, the Sacramento marathon winner in 1984, and Cornelius Vriend of the Netherlands, a three-time winner of the Amsterdam Marathon.

Dixon, 35, has the best time of any of the entries--2 hours 8 minutes 59 seconds, which he recorded while winning the New York Marathon.

He has been training in his native New Zealand for the last 45 days and says he is in reasonably good shape.

Frank Shorter, the Olympic marathon gold medalist in 1972, was expected to be a contender. But he injured a tendon in his ankle while training. He says he’ll run only part of the course today.

“I think the real test of how great the race can be is the overall experience of everyone who is running.” Shorter said.

“I kind of call it the battle of the checkbook, and it seems to be going on with a lot of marathons around the world. Who has the largest budget? Who can pay the most money to the most athletes to get the field with the largest credentials?

“I think something has gotten lost there. I think the major part is to have those front-of-the-pack runners be part of the overall race. I think it’s just as important for the lead runners to give support to those in the back of the pack.”

Shorter also said that he believes there was some skepticism among elite runners concerning L.A.’s efforts to stage a major marathon, a condition that won’t exist after today.

Some facts about today’s race:

PURSE

Male and female first-place finishers each will receive a 1986 Mercedes-Benz sedan valued at $25,000 and a cash prize of $10,000, along with $5,000 worth of air travel on TWA and a Ricoh camera. Organizers say the total package for male and female finishers from 1st to 10th is worth $125,000.

COURSE

The marathon will begin on Figueroa Street just north of the Coliseum, then wind through downtown, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Olvera Street, Hollywood, Hancock Park and Central L.A. before ending near the Coliseum at Figueroa and 39th Street.

Firecrackers will explode when the marathoners come into Chinatown, and musical groups from high school marching bands to Mexican mariachis will will provide entertainment for the crowd and, perhaps, the runners along the route. Playboy bunnies will tend to the water stop in Hollywood, naturally.

Dixon said the course has negative elevation, climbing gently from the start to the 10K mark on Sunset Boulevard and is then basically downhill the rest of the route.

VIEWING

Suggested best sites are the starting line on Figueroa Street, Pershing Square in the downtown area, Chinatown and Little Tokyo, Hollywood and Vine, anyplace past the 16-mile mark at Sunset and Vine, and the finish line at Exposition Park.

The last three miles will be covered on the Olympic course, and Dixon said that runners should get an emotional lift when they realize they’re on the same ground as famous Olympians.

Of course, they have to get that far first.