Marathon

Next week, baseball returns to Dodger Stadium. But on Sunday, the ballpark will be used as the starting line for more than 24,000 runners participating in the 34th annual Los Angeles Marathon.

The race has occurred every year since 1986, and it was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics, which took place in L.A. It is 26.219 miles long and ends with the Finish Festival on Santa Monica Blvd.

According to the L.A. Marathon website, there will be runners from all 50 states and more than 63 countries, and this year's race has officially sold out.

          

Event Information

Where: Dodger Stadium to the intersection of Ocean Avenue and California Avenue in Santa Monica, California

When: Sunday, March 24

Route: Course Map

Road Closures: Complete List

            

2019 Los Angeles Marathon Schedule

6:30 a.m. Wheelchair start

6:32 a.m. Handcycle start

6:45 a.m. Professional women start

6:55 a.m. Professional men and rest of field start

            

Marathon Preview

Although there will be elite runners looking to complete the race in record time, there will be many more competitors who will be there to raise money for charity, complete their first marathon or just run for fun.

It should be a nice day for the event. As of Friday morning, Weather.com was forecasting it to be sunny with a high of 70 degrees in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Last year's winners in the elite divisions were Weldon Kirui (men's, 2 hours, 11 minutes and 47 seconds) and Sule Gedo (women's, 2:33:50). The records for the marathon were set by Markos Geneti (men's, 2:06:35) in 2011 and Lidiya Grigoryeva (women's, 2:25:10) in 2006.

Participants for the Los Angeles Marathon, which is among the largest 26-mile events in the United States, must be 16 years or older. There are 14 age divisions with the top three finishers in each section receiving a commemorative award. All finishers earn a commemorative medal.

For runners participating in this year's marathon, packets and racing bibs can be picked up at the Health & Fitness Expo being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday and Saturday.

When race day arrives on Sunday, Los Angeles will be on full display as runners travel through the city during the marathon. At the finish line, there are sure to be feelings of relief and excitement for the participants who completed the long race.

So, racers, get ready to enjoy the nice weather while running through the streets of the second-largest city in the United States.

Biruktayit Degefa continued her reign of dominance at the Houston Marathon, winning for the second straight year and the third time in four years, while Albert Korir prevailed in the men's race Sunday. 

Congrats to our Chevron Houston Marathon winners!!! 🏆🙌 Korir (Kenya) & Degefa (Ethiopia)#houhalf #houmarathon #runhou pic.twitter.com/ycabMCF82N

— Houston Marathon (@HoustonMarathon) January 20, 2019

Korir defeated Yitayal Atnafu, who finished as the runner-up for the fourth consecutive year, according to Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle.

Korir finished with a time of 2:10:02, followed by Atnafu (2:10:08), Justus Kimutai (2:10:25), Elisha Barno (2:10:54) and Juan Pacheco (2:10:58). Tyler Jermann was the top finisher on the men's side from the United States, coming in with a time of 2:13:29.

I just watched Albert Korir of Keyna win the Chevron Houston Marathon in 2h10m02s! #HoustonMarathon pic.twitter.com/kcnWYlQ2Sp

— Sergio Chapa (@SergioChapa) January 20, 2019

For the women, meanwhile, Biruktayit paced the field with a dominant final time of 2:23:28, followed by Belaynesh Fikadu (2:26:41), Meseret Belete (2:26:56), Buze Diriba (2:28:06) and Sechale Dalasa (2:28:46). Kelsey Bruce was the top American women's finisher in sixth place at 2:31:53.

Biruktayit, who finished second in 2017 to go along with her three victories in Houston, had nothing but nice things to say about the city and the race after her latest win. 

"Houston people are so nice," she said, per Robertson. "I really like the support I get [from the organizers] and from the people watching. Thank you!"

With her victory, she joined Veronique Marot (1986, 1989, 1991) and Tetyana Pozdnyakova (1995, 1999, 2000) as the only women to claim three victories in Houston. She also continued a streak of Ethiopian women winning the race, dating back to 2007.

The conditions weren't easy in her latest triumph, with temperatures sitting in the 30s and 40s. 

The winners of the 2019 Disney World Marathon were familiar faces.

Fredison Costa captured the men's division for a seventh time, while Giovanna Martins won the women's crown for a third straight year and fourth time overall.

WE HAVE A WINNER! Six-time #WDWMarathon winner Fredison Costa, who came up short last year, just recaptured his title! CONGRATULATIONS! https://t.co/GqgkC3A8dU #wdw #WaltDisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/n7POD1KAX3

— WFTV Channel 9 (@WFTV) January 13, 2019

PARTY AT THE FINISH LINE! Giovanna Martins wins the women’s race in the #WDWMarathon for the 2nd year in a row (and 3rd overall)! #WDW #WaltDisneyWorld https://t.co/GqgkC3A8dU pic.twitter.com/ueg9jdfHs2

— WFTV Channel 9 (@WFTV) January 13, 2019

Costa has now won five of the last six Walt Disney Marathons. His reign of four straight ended last year when American Nicholas Hilton pulled off an upset.

Martins has won four of the last five events in Orlando, Florida. Canadian Natasha Yaremczuk's win in 2016 stopped her from a streak of five straight.

Hilton and Costa paced the field on the men's side Sunday. Hilton (2:21:48) was the only competitor within five minutes of Costa, whose winning time was 2:18:45. Brazilian Jose Lima, American Jacob Krolick and Brazilian Luis Barboza rounded out the top five.

A Brazilian has won the event in 14 of the last 15 years.

Brazilian Antonia Lins Da Silva finished second in the women's division. Her time of 2:47:36 was a little more than two minutes off Martins' winning time of 2:45:24.

The pair of Brazilians at the top were followed by a remaining top 10 filled with Americans. Nancy Jurgens, Megan Curham and Loni Smith rounded out the top five.

The 2019 Disney World Marathon will take place on Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. ET, marking the 26th anniversary of the race, which first happened in 1994.

The race, which spans 26.2 miles, begins and ends near Epcot. The course takes runners around Walt Disney World, going past milestones such as the Magic Kingdom, the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. It is the only race that runs through all four Walt Disney World theme parks.

A full map of the course can be seen here.

Last year, there were about 25,500 participants in the race. That included 76 people who had participated in every running of the race up to that point.

The race caps a full schedule, which began with a 5K on Thursday, followed by a 10K on Friday and a half marathon on Saturday. The "Goofy Challenge" is available for runners who wanted to participate in both the half and full marathons, while the "Dopey Challenge" will see participants take on all four races.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, there were more than 65,000 people registered for the four races, including 22,000 for the half marathon and 15,000 for the marathon. Seventy-three countries are said to be represented.

All participants in Sunday's marathon must be able to keep a 16-minute-per-mile pace. There will be food stops for runners located throughout the course.

Although it's a competitive marathon, participants and their guests are still allowed to have fun by dressing up like their favorite Disney characters. There will also be characters and entertainers throughout the course.

The race will be held rain or shine. However, as of Saturday morning, there was no rain in the forecast for Orlando on Sunday morning.

At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, there will be an awards ceremony for the top three finishers in the men's, women's and push-rim wheelchair divisions in the Epcot parking lot.

     

Information courtesy of RunDisney.com.