LA Marathon's New Course Debuts Sunday

Los Angeles - A capacity field of 25,000 has entered Sunday's Los Angeles Marathon, a 44 percent increase over last year that organizers attribute to its new "Stadium to the Sea" course.

The 26-mile, 385-yard race -- which will go outside Los Angeles' city limits for the first time in its 25-year history -- will begin with 1 1/4 loops around Dodger Stadium and end near the Santa Monica Pier.

Organizers bill the course as having a "landmark every mile." Initial landmarks following Dodger Stadium include El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the city's birthplace, Los Angeles City Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

The course will then head west through Echo Park and Silver Lake into Hollywood, passing the Kodak Theatre, home of the Academy Awards, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

The field will then head south onto Sunset Boulevard, entering West Hollywood, and then Beverly Hills, including running on the famed Rodeo Drive shopping street.

The latter portions of the race officially known as the Honda Los Angeles Marathon include Century City, the Veterans Administration grounds and Brentwood's San Vicente Boulevard, concluding at Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue near the Santa Monica Pier.

The new course is part of an effort by its new owners, a group controlled by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, to reverse declining interest in the race.

The number of entrants had declined steadily from a record 25,947 in 2006 to 24,715 in 2007 to 20,863 in 2008 and 17,307 for last year's race, which was run on Memorial Day, after having been held in March since its inception.

Entries were capped at 25,000, a figure reached March 12, the first time the race has sold out.

"Frank McCourt had a vision for a `Stadium to the Sea' course that would make the L.A. Marathon a must-run event," L.A. Marathon LLC President Russ Pillar said. "The response we've received is proof positive that the L.A. Marathon is attracting tremendous attention and interest, locally and around the world."

While some residents along the new portions of the course have expressed frustration over the difficulties in leaving their homes on race day because of the needed street closures, the mayors of West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are enthusiastic about the marathon going through their cities for the first time.

"We are truly excited about the L.A. Marathon running through West Hollywood," West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land said. "Our business community is working to maximize their visibility as they best serve residents and visitors alike on race day."

Marathon activities in West Hollywood include block parties adjacent to Cabo Cantina, 8301 Sunset Blvd., and the Pavilions market, 8969 Santa Monica Blvd., and a DJ booth at the southeast corner of Sunset and La Cienega boulevards.

In Beverly Hills, a small block party will be held in the median on Burton Way between Foothill Road and Rexford Drive.

"The marathon is providing a unique opportunity to connect the communities of Los Angeles," Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad said. "This is a terrific occasion for Beverly Hills to join with our neighbors to celebrate and showcase our vitality, diversity and unique spirit."

A finish-line beach party will be held in Santa Monica, with live music, food and beverage, exhibitors and other interactive exhibits. The telecast of the race will be shown on a big screen video board.

"As an active, healthy community, it's a point of pride for Santa Monica to be able to host an event like this," Mayor Pro Tem Pam O'Connor said. "We look forward to celebrating the runners' accomplishments and truly believe in what the marathon stands for -- cultivating the best of the human spirit in the challenge of life."

Defending men's champion Wesley Korir said the new course will change the race.

"I think this race this year will be complicated," said Korir, a Kenyan who lives in Louisville, Ky.

"Mostly, the racing (in marathons) normally starts at the half-marathon (mark), 20 miles in, 21, 22, 23," Korir said. "But when you look at this course, from the half-marathon, 20 miles in, 23 miles in, it's downhill. Everybody can push themselves downhill. So this race will be won in the first 10K, or in the first 10 miles." The course runs downhill from Dodger Stadium into downtown Los Angeles during the first five kilometers, but then includes an arduous climb up First Street, Grand Avenue and Temple Street out of downtown and into Echo Park in the second five kilometers.

From that point, a little more than six miles in, the course is fairly flat through the halfway mark -- 13.1 miles -- before a long descent to the finish on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, with only one small hill in the 21st mile.

The men's and women's winners will each receive $20,000 and a Honda Insight EX sedan.

A $100,000 bonus will go to the winner of "The Challenge," the first overall finisher. The elite women's field will receive an 18-minute, 47-second head start.

Korir