Both ’90 Winners Injured, Out of ’91 Race : L.A. Marathon: Race President Burke says field is very strong for next Sunday, even without Isphording, Ortiz.

Julie Isphording had a wide smile on her face as she crossed the finish line at the Los Angeles Marathon last year.

But race organizers weren’t smiling late last week after learning that Isphording, who set a course record for women of 2 hours 32 minutes 25 seconds, won’t return to defend her title in next Sunday’s sixth Los Angeles Marathon because of a stress fracture.

Pedro Ortiz of Colombia, the defending men’s champion, dropped out earlier because of an injury. Ortiz won last year’s race in 2:11.54.

Two-time winner Art Boileau, who won the race in 1987 and 1989, isn’t entered this year.

But Bill Burke, Los Angeles Marathon president, said that the race won’t suffer because of the loss of the defending champions.

“I don’t think either one could have held up under the pressure that’s out there,” Burke said. “The race continues to grow every year. Ric Sayre won it in 1986. But if you took his time, he’d have placed about 15th last year. Every year the quality of competition increases.

“With the women’s field we have this year, if everybody ran their (best time), Julie Isphording would run seventh and Pedro Ortiz would probably run about fifth.”

The total prize money for the race is $310,000. The men’s and women’s winners each receive $50,000, plus a luxury automobile.

Second place is worth $25,000, third $20,000, fourth $15,000 and fifth $10,000.

There is also a $100,000 bonus for a world record. The men’s world record of 2:06.50 was set by Belayneh Densimo of Ethiopia at Rotterdam in 1988. The women’s record is 2:21.06, set by Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway at London in 1985.

A record 19,201 entered the race last year and race organizers expect 20,000 entrants for this year’s race, which begins at 9:05 a.m. in front of the Coliseum and ends in Exposition Park.

The race has attracted a field that includes three men who have run under 2:10.

Gidamis Shahanga of Tanzania, who has a career best of 2:08.32 and finished second in 1986 behind Sayre after leading for most of the race and was fourth in 1989, has entered again.

Mark Plaatjes, who left South Africa and has applied to become a U.S. citizen, is slated to run in his fourth L.A. Marathon. After finishing third in 1988, Plaatjes, whose career best is 2:08.58, was forced to drop out of the 1989 race after developing blisters. He finished fourth last year.

Veteran marathoner Rodolfo Gomez, the Mexican national distance coach, has a career best of 2:09.19.

Peter Fonseca of Canada, who finished third here while running his first marathon with a time of 2:12.07 last year, also returns. An All-American cross-country runner from the University of Oregon, he finished third at the 1990 Toronto marathon.

John Campbell of New Zealand, 42, heads the Masters field for runners over 40. Campbell, who has won 42 consecutive masters races, finished fourth overall at the 1990 Boston marathon with a personal best time of 2:11.04 and was fifth at the New York marathon last November.

Other top entrants include Bill Donakowski of El Sobrante, Calif., who has a personal best time of 2:10.41; Antoni Niemczak of Poland, who finished second here last year in 2:12.05, and Nivaldo Filho of Brazil, who has a personal best of 2:10.42.

There are four women entered who have times that surpass Isphording’s course record.

Cathy O’Brien of New Hampshire, who has a personal best of 2:30.18, will be running her first marathon since finishing third in the 1989 Chicago marathon.

Maria Trujillo of Mexico, who attended Arizona State and finished third in the 1990 Boston marathon, has won the Mexico City marathon, the San Francisco marathon and the Columbus marathon. Her personal best is 2:28.53.

Priscilla Welch of England, who won the 1987 New York marathon at 42, will also challenge. Welch, 46, the world’s top female masters marathon runner, has a personal best of 2:26.51.

Anne Audain, a four-time Olympian from New Zealand, completes the foursome. Audain, who has a personal best of 2:31.41, is a former world record-holder at 5,000 meters.

The 26.2-mile course winds through Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, Hollywood, West Los Angeles and South-Central Los Angeles. Channel 13, will televise the race.