Runaway Expected in San Diego Marathon : Running: Brad Hawthorne may not even have to extend himself in men’s division; Kathy Smith favored among women.

One name stands out among the 1,500 or so runners who will toe the starting line in the San Diego Marathon today.

Brad Hawthorne of Oakland has such impressive credentials that it would be an upset if he even had to extend himself to win the men’s race. He has won the Big Sur Marathon five times in the last six years, has qualified for the Olympic marathon trials three times, and has a personal best of 2 hours 14 minutes 4 seconds for the distance of more than 26 miles.

In the unlikely event that anyone pushes Hawthorne, it probably will be Jim Sheremeta of San Diego, who won the La Jolla Half Marathon recently and the San Diego Half Marathon two years ago. He has a time of 1:05:42 in the half marathon, and is considered capable of breaking 2:20 for the full distance.

Among the women, Kathy Smith of Newport Beach is favored to repeat her victory of 1990, which actually was two San Diego Marathons ago since the race was held in December in the past. She has run the distance in 2:40--her winning time here was 2:43:05--and ranks fifth nationally in the half marathon, which she has run in 1:13:47.

If Smith is to be denied her second San Diego victory, it apparently will be by a newcomer to marathon prominence. It takes prize money to draw elite runners, and there was none for this event until the GMC Truck Division came forward last Monday with $1,250 for each winner.

Hawthorne, 37, a database analyst and an alumnus of the University of Missouri, is confident of adding today’s title to his list of accomplishments.

Told that he was the favorite, Hawthorne said: “I hope so. I’m really in good shape. I took two weeks off and did some serious training. I’m going to be hard to beat.”

Most runners take long respites between marathons, but Hawthorne is also entered in the Long Beach Marathon on Feb. 7.

“Long Beach figures to be more competitive, so I hope this race will be my last all-out tuneup for that one,” he said. “I’m hoping to do around 2:19 here, and to win Long Beach I’ll probably need to run 2:16 or 2:17.”

Neither winner of the previous San Diego Marathon--held in December 1991--will be back. Gary Gargasz of Volante, Pa., won the men’s division in 2:18:50, and Maureen Roben of Denver was the winning woman in 2:42:25.

Race director Lynn Flanagan, president of In Motion Inc., which stages the event, isn’t concerned about the paucity of outstanding marathoners.

“The focus will be on the middle-of-the-pack runners,” Flanagan said. “We have a great course, and we expect a great race.”

Starting time for the event, which will be televised by Channel 39 in San Diego, is 7:30 a.m. The race will start and finish at Plaza Camino Real, a Carlsbad shopping center.

Besides the individual marathon competition, there will be corporate and military marathon relays, a half marathon and a four-mile walk.

After a slow start because of the two-week run of rainy weather, the overall entry total has climbed to nearly 6,000, matching that of a year ago.

“We were down around 2,500 until the rain finally ended,” Flanagan said. “Since then, we’ve had a big surge.”