Congrats to Newlyweds-to-Be as They Start on Marriage Made at Marathon

The guests at the wedding of Maureen Kennedy and Brian Gillespie should douse the couple with water, not rice, on Sunday. That’s because Kennedy and Gillespie are running in the L.A. Marathon, and the marriage will take place when they reach Mile 6.

The Moorpark couple met at that point during the 1998 marathon. Right from the start, they learned the give-and-take of relationships. Gillespie had trouble keeping up with Kennedy in that race, so she slowed down.

After the two take their vows, they’ll run the remaining 20 miles of the race--possibly the longest dash any newlyweds have ever taken to their car.

*

The next fad in running shoes? The L.A. Marathon wouldn’t be the L.A. Marathon without an appearance by the “Coat Man.”

He has competed in all 16 and is entered in Sunday’s race, where he’ll be identifiable as the guy in the decorated trench coat and wingtip shoes.

The Coat Man, whose real name is Dennis Marsella, is a resident of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. His profession? Psychotherapist, of course.

*

Testing that brotherly love: When The Times’ T.J. Simers slammed the city of Philadelphia during the 76ers-Lakers NBA finals last year, he received 7,121 nasty e-mails the next day (a high number even for Simers).

So you have to admire the courage of the sandwich merchant who mangled the spelling of that great burg of the East, as spotted by Jesse Taylor of Valley Village (see photo).

*

Back to the marathon: O.J. Granzow of Santa Monica says that when his wife, Inge, bought some new running socks for the race, she was a bit surprised by one warning (see accompanying). Of course, I’ve encountered some gym socks that smell like cheese.

*

You don’t say: On a recent cruise, Ruth Siegall came upon the co-leader in this week’s “Duh!” competition (see photo).

*

From the sea to the desert to all of ...: The media Web site ronfineman.com caught KCAL-TV (Channel 9) anchorman Jerry Dunphy wearing his KCAL 9 pin backward while doing a promo from the newsroom the other day.

An upside-down flag is the international sign for distress, but it’s no doubt just a coincidence that the mishap came as KCAL was being sold to Viacom.

Webmaster Ron Fineman had a simpler theory: “It looked fine in the mirror.”

*

Roadside commentary: Stephanie Wilson writes that she saw a car in Newport Beach with a “license plate frame that had ‘Football’ at the top and ‘USC’ at the bottom. The plate read GWT WIND. Does that mean there’s at least one SC football fan who is realistic about the football program there?”

Wilson, an admitted UCLA grad, added that, to be fair, the Gone-With-the-Wind theme would go “equally well with a frame that said ‘UCLA Basketball.’”

*

miscelLAny: The police blotter of the Aliso Viejo News reported that someone near a golf course “called to say that men with golf clubs were trying to fight with him. The fight started over a traffic incident.... Deputies responded and found a suspect on Poplar, but all the parties knew each other and declined any arrests. They agreed to keep the peace.”

The item didn’t say if the incident occurred when the men were in golf carts.

*

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 77083; by fax at (213) 237-4712; by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012; and by e-mail at steve. harvey@latimes.com.