Streets of L.A. Pull a Rabbit Out of Race : Race: Last year’s winner Pilkington trips on a pothole and has to quit.

Such is life for a racing rabbit.

One year, you’re a hero. The next, you’re Harvey.

The most famous runner in the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday was also the most invisible after Paul Pilkington slipped into a Spring Street crater.

By the time the race was 30 minutes old, he was leading a pack of Downtown shoppers as he limped back toward his hotel.

“Just a hole in the street,” he said with a sigh. “So frustrating.”

The accident occurred just after the three-mile marker. He said he attempted to keep running, but his twisted left ankle tightened.

At four miles, he slowed and told fellow runner Arturo Barrios that somebody else was going to have to play the rabbit.

And with that, he was gone.

“There were a lot of runners yelling at me, all of them saying, ‘What happened?’ ” Pilkington said. “This is really, really disappointing.”

You could look at it that way, considering Pilkington, of Roy, Utah, was the event’s pre-race attraction. He captured international attention last year when he won the marathon even though he was paid to set a 15-mile pace and then get out of the way.

“This year, I was going for it again,” he said. “I was in great shape, p.r. (personal-record) shape. That’s what makes it so tough.”

Or, you could look at it like his agent, Bob Wood.

“Hey, last year he ran twice as far as he was supposed to,” Wood said. “So this year, he runs half as long.”

If you have a truly amazing good sense of humor, you could look at it like Bill Burke, marathon president.

After paying $3,000 in fees to ensure Pilkington’s appearance last year, Burke was forced to more than triple that figure this time.

Pilkington’s $10,000 contract was possibly the richest in rabbit history. On Sunday, that worked out to $2,500 a mile.

“I’m going to bill the Department of Public Works,” Burke said with a smile.

Wood was afraid that Burke was going to bill Pilkington. After all, he did not set the pace for the necessary 13 miles.

“But for what Paul did for this race last year, he should be guaranteed money for the next 112 years,” Wood said. “If we don’t get our money, it’s probably going to be a war.”

Pilkington, in fact, was sure that he would not get paid.

“All the incentives I had in my deal, it really hurts, this is very costly,” he said.

But Burke, not wanting to get skewered for mistreating everybody’s favorite bunny, said money would not be a problem.

“Paul is a great guy, he tried, he did his best, I’m going to pay him,” Burke said. “That’s just what happens sometimes in this business.”

Judging by the reaction of fans and other runners Sunday, Pilkington is worth at least part of it.

Nobody received louder cheers before the race. While warming up, he was greeted by dozens of upraised fists and shouts of, ‘Do it again!”

The reaction here really did surprise me,” Pilkington said. “Everybody was cheering for me. It’s really too bad.”