Marathon a 26.2-Mile Fun Run for 4,000

It doesn’t have rich tradition, a rich purse, or even a Rosie Ruiz to pepper its history, but the San Diego International Marathon is nonetheless popular among runners for its Southern California flavor.

Malcolm East, a men’s division favorite who has competed in the London Marathon--along with 27,000 others--welcomes the relaxed atmosphere.

“It’s nice to come to a race like this,” he said. “You’ve got a chance to go out and run your own race. In places like New York and Boston, sometimes you can get too caught up in the competition early in the race. A lot of people tend to go out hard and pull you along with them.”

At 7 a.m. Sunday, an estimated 4,000 runners, including athletes from Kenya, Brazil, Mexico City and all over the United States, will crowd behind the starting line at the intersection of Balboa Drive and Quince Street to test their endurance on a fast, 26.2-mile course that winds around San Diego and Mission bays, along Pacific Beach and finishes on Fourth and B Street. The men’s and women’s winners will take home $3,000 each, the runners-up $2,500 and the third-place finishers $1,500.

This figures to be a race San Diego-style. Nobody seems too uptight. Perhaps local runner Steve McCormack, a former UCLA All-American, sums it up best:

“It’s a marathon, what the hell.”

Sam Sitonik, a top competitor in the men’s division, started training for a career as a marathoner at age 7, though he hardly knew it at the time. A native of Kenya, Sitonik would run 2 miles to school each morning after breakfast to make it in time for 8 a.m. classes.

After morning classes, he would run home for lunch and then back to school again. A sprint home at the end of the day made his daily roadwork 8 miles.

“All the kids in the neighborhood had to do it,” he said. “We didn’t haves buses like most people have in this country. And we had to get to school on time.”

Sitonik, 33, said sports in Kenya were never a high priority; school always came first. During high school, classes and studying took up 11 hours of his day. If there was spare time, he ran with the school team. But practice wasn’t mandatory.

“It was something you did just for fun,” he said. “It was my own decision if I was to show up or not show up.”

He found things different when he decided to attend at the University of Texas, where he was the Southwest Conference champion in cross-country.

“In America, the competition is very tight,” he said. “People are very competitive, not just in running but in everything. In Kenya, my running was not anything important.”

Here, it is.

Sitonik holds the world best in the half marathon with a time of 59 minutes 22 seconds. He ran his fastest marathon in 1986 here in San Diego, 2:15.00. While in full training for Sunday’s race, Sitonik ran 88 miles a week. This week he slowed down. Actually, he stopped.

“I’m reading the newspaper right now,” he said. “That’s my preparation.”

Malcolm East may miss playing soccer, but he doesn’t miss waking up every Monday and barely being able to move because of bruises covering his legs. East comes from Teddington, England, a small town outside of London where the Benny Hill Show was filmed.

He grew up playing soccer and had aspirations to be a professional until he tried out for a team at age 16. He was told to come back in a couple of years. The coaches didn’t like his size. East is 5-feet 10-inches but weighs just 125.

Instead of waiting, East decided to take up running and found he enjoyed it nearly as much. And it took less toll on his body.

“I enjoyed not being beat up every weekend,” he said. “Even marathons are a little bit easier than playing some of those soccer games. (Soccer) can be brutal.”

East, 32, will be running in San Diego for the first time Sunday, but he has 8 years of marathon experience. He ran his best time (2:11.35) in the Boston Marathon in 1981 and won the Pittsburgh Marathon in May.

In 1977, a year after coming to the United States, East ran for Allegheny (Pa.) Junior College, a team East said was strong enough to compete against that of any 4-year school in the country. Maybe too strong. The University of Texas El Paso declined a dual meet request by Allegheny that season.

East plans to attend graduate school next year in physical therapy. That way, he says, he should save some money on medical bills from running related injuries for him and his wife, Diane, who is also a marathon runner.

It could be said that Janine Aiello, a favorite in the women’s division, has reached great heights during her running career. She holds the world record in the Empire State Building Run Up, a sprint up 1,575 steps. Her best time was 13 minutes 14 seconds.

On the ground, she’s not bad either. She won the 1986 San Diego Marathon, which she admits is different from running up stairs inside a building.

“It’s very different,” she said. “(The Empire State Run Up) is a small, invited group of runners. So it’s not a big mob scene like the L.A. Marathon or anything.”

Aiello was the fastest kid on the block growing up in Rocklin County, an hour’s drive from New York City. Her active lifestyle began at an early age and included ice skating every day in the winter, bike riding in the warmer seasons and “running around like a maniac” whenever she got the chance.

“I think training begins when you’re a kid,” she said.

Aiello lives in San Francisco where she is a substitute teacher and coaches high school cross-country. But her first priority is running, and she feels good about her chances Sunday.

“I’m 29,” she said, “and I still feel like I’m 18.”

SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL MARATHON FACTS

WHAT: San Diego International Marathon.

WHEN: Sunday.

TIMES: Marathon and relay races, 7 a.m.; 10K run, 7:45 a.m.; Senior Walk, 8 a.m.

START: Balboa Drive and Quince Street in Balboa Park.

COURSE: 26.2 miles along San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Pacific Beach and downtown.

FINISH: Fourth Avenue and B Street, Community Concourse.

PARKING AND ADMISSION: Free.

WOMEN TO WATCH:

--Marie Boyd, Albuquerque, N.M., set a marathon best of 2:40 in the Olympic Trials and has a 10K best of 33:40.

--Chantel Best, Detroit, Mich., has marathon best of 2:51:45 and a half marathon best of 1:16. She finished eighth in the 1987 San Diego Holiday Bowl Marathon.

--Janine Aiello, San Francisco, won the 1986 San Diego Marathon and finished second last year.

MEN TO WATCH:

--Sam Sitonik, Albuquerque, N.M., is originally from Kenya and holds the world record for a half marathon on an assisted course (59:22). His best marathon is 2:15.

--Malcolm East, Pittsburgh, is originally from England and has a marathon personal best of 2:11:35 and a 10K personal best of 27:57.6.

--Steve McCormack, San Diego, has a marathon best of 2:16:55 and a 10K best of 28:31.

--Jose Luis Chuela, Mexico City, has a marathon best of 2:12:08 and a 10K best of 28:12.