Twenty-four thousand runners raced at Sunday’s LA Marathon. Many people ran to inspire others or raise funds for causes. Gene Kang reports for the NBC4 News on Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 6 p.m.
Weldon Kirui of Kenya was the men's winner in Sunday's 33rd annual Los Angeles Marathon, while Sule Utura Gedo of Ethiopia was the women's winner.
Kirui, the 2016 champion, completed the 26-mile, 385-yard "Stadium to the Sea" course in two hours, 11 minutes, 48 seconds, nine seconds ahead of Gebresadik Adihana of Ethiopia.
Elisha Barno of Kenya, the 2017 champion, was third in 2:12.57.
Utura Gedo was the women's winner in 2:33:52, six seconds ahead of countrywoman Tsehay Desalegn. Hellen Jepkurgat of Kenya, the 2017 women's winner, was third in 2:34:03.
The men's race has been won by a Kenyan every year since 1999, except for 2011 and 2014, when it was won by Ethiopians. A U.S. runner last won in 1994.
African women have won seven of the last nine races, with runners from the former Soviet Union winning the other two times. A U.S. runner last won the women's race in 1994.
Kirui passed Adihana in the 19th mile in West Los Angeles and led for the rest of the race.
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Utura Gedo took the women's lead from Desalegn in the final mile.
The race, from Dodger Stadium to the Santa Monica oceanfront, has a purse of $100,000, with equal prize money for men and women. The top five male and female finishers will receive prize money.
The winners will each receive $23,000, the runners-up $11,250 and third-place finishers $9,000.
A field estimated by organizers at 24,000 began the race at Dodger Stadium just before 7 a.m. The Los Angeles Marathon annually has the fourth-largest field among U.S. marathons, and 10th largest worldwide.
There was one change to the 26-mile, 385-yard course from last year's race. Miles 3-4 bypassed Little Tokyo. Instead, runners headed south on Los Angeles Street into the Toy District.
Organizers expected the race's 75 official charities to raise more than $4 million from the race.
