For Runners, an Ideal Day to Reach Goals

More than 25,000 runners packed the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday for the city’s 20th annual marathon, a movable feast of a block party that was capped by an exciting finish among the fastest athletes.

For most participants, it was a day to enjoy some sunny and forgivingly mild Southern California weather, as well as a self-propelled tour of famous L.A. neighborhoods.

It was also a day to meet personal challenges.

“Short of broken bones or blood, I’m not stopping,” said Lori Kamler of Huntington Beach, who at 45 was running in her first marathon.

Leading the pack at one point was Lyubov Denisova of Russia, one of a handful of elite female athletes who had been given a 15-minute, 50-second head start. That was part of what organizers called “the Challenge”: a promise that the first runner -- regardless of gender -- to break the finish-line tape would win a $75,000 bonus prize.

Late in the race, Denisova was passed by Kenyan runner Ben Maiyo. Near the 26-mile mark, however, another Kenyan, Mark Saina, overtook Maiyo and won the race with a time of 2:09:35.

Speaking through a translator after the race, Denisova -- who set the female course record with a time of 2:26:11 -- expressed bitterness about the way the Challenge was set up. She said she would not return to the L.A. race unless the handicap was lengthened to cover the difference between male and female course records -- about 16 minutes, 45 seconds.

Marathon president Bill Burke said determining the handicap is an imperfect science, although he noted that it was arrived at by half a dozen experts on racing statistics.

“I’m not quite sure what her gripe is other than the fact that she lost,” he said.

For most of its history, the L.A. Marathon has been more of an expression of community spirit than a venue for the world’s top marathon runners. None of the elite men participating this year held any of the world’s 100 fastest marathon times of 2004.

That could change. The L.A. Marathon was recently purchased by Devine Racing, which owns marathons in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. Chairman Chris Devine said last week that potential race sponsors have been talking about paying big money to attract the world’s very best athletes to future L.A. Marathons -- a move that could propel the race into the ranks of top-tier marathons such as those in New York, Boston and London.

For now, however, the race is mostly about doctors and dishwashers, grandmothers and occasional goofballs and their attempts to conquer 26.2 miles of asphalt.

Before the start of the race, Tyrone Armstrong of Hollywood conceded that his 4-pound gorilla costume and bongo drums were going to present a challenge.

“It’s definitely going to slow me down, but when you’re athletic like me it’s no sweat,” said Armstrong, 33. “I’ve always wanted to run a marathon, and what better way than in a monkey suit?”

The purity of Armstrong’s motives was muddled by the fact that he was being paid by Nintendo, which had positioned 50 running apes in the race to promote its new video game, “Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.”

The participants’ journey began at 6th and Figueroa streets downtown, cheered on by boxing great Muhammad Ali and by Mayor James K. Hahn. The course took them past the L.A. Coliseum and through parts of South L.A., the Fairfax district, the Miracle Mile and Koreatown. Unlike last year, when blistering temperatures dulled some of the party atmosphere, runners in Sunday’s race faced pleasant temperatures in the mid-50s and 60s.

In addition to the main marathon, 18,426 cyclists took part in a separate bike tour. Dozens of athletes also participated in a wheelchair race.

The marathon’s 6-mile point was at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Arlington Avenue. Nancy Hoppe, 33, of Huntington Beach, was waiting there with her family, hoping to catch a glimpse of husband Kevin Hoppe.

Kevin, she said, got serious about running just six months ago, participating in the 13-mile Huntington Beach marathon in February.

“We think he might be hooked,” she said.

At mile 15, Lea Yost, a 38-year-old physical therapist, walked briskly along La Cienega Boulevard wearing a foam lobster hat. She graciously thanked onlookers who cheered her on with cries of “Go, lobster lady!”

“I picked the lobster because I’m clawing my way to the front,” she said.

Last year, Yost said, she went with a turtle theme.

“Because turtles always make it.”

Clif Braun, 27, decided to stop at Versailles restaurant for a break and a plate of Cuban chicken, rice and plantains after running 15 miles.

Braun, a travel agent, said signing up for the race was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

“I literally was the last person to sign his name down at the Staples Center before registration ended,” he said.

Braun admitted he stayed up the night before and did “everything that shouldn’t be done before a marathon.” Still, he said he had every intention of finishing.

“I want to see how far I can go,” he said.

Nine miles farther along, the Native American Wildhorse Singers offered inspirational chanting and drumming at Olympic Boulevard and 10th Street.

The group, made up of Apache, Cherokee and Navajo Indians, has been performing at the marathon for 19 years. In years past, performer Michael Reifel said, a local Native American running club called the Intertribe Roadrunners had fielded as many as 15 runners. But their participation had dwindled of late.

“It all started out with supporting the native runners,” Reifel said. “Now we’re here to support all the runners.”

Back downtown at the finish line, some runners breezed in, while others limped in pain.

Maribah Abiedu, 27, made it in 3 hours, 18 minutes. It was a decent time, she said, but she planned to intensify her training for the next event.

Abiedu said she had a cramp in her right leg, and the soles of her feet were tingling with pain. Her next stop, she said, was her couch.

“You take the next three to four days off to recover,” she said.

Aldo Aldana reached the finish line in 8 hours, 24 minutes. A polio survivor, Aldana had covered the entire route on crutches, his left leg pushing up most of his body weight while his weaker right leg dangled to the right on each step.

Along the route, spectators called out “You’re such an inspiration!” and “Go Aldo!”

Aldana, a 30-year-old nursing student from Highland Park, was participating in his 11th L.A. Marathon. He had used a wheelchair for his first eight races, but said he discovered that using crutches was actually easier.

Last year the rubber support on the bottom of both crutches broke off at mile 16. But Aldana pushed on and finished in 8 hours, 23 minutes. This year, he said, he came prepared with extra rubber supports.

By 4:38 p.m., as Aldana finished, organizers had already started packing up. But as he crossed the finish line, those remaining gave him one last cheer.

“Augh,” was all he could muster in response as he grinned broadly.

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Times staff writers Andrew Wang and Richard Fausset contributed to this report.