March 15--More than 26,000 participants are expected to take part Sunday in the Los Angeles Marathon, which is marking its 30th anniversary.
The 26.2-mile "Stadium to the Sea" course starts at Dodger Stadium and ends at the intersection of Ocean and California avenues near the Santa Monica Pier.
The starting time for elite men and the full field is 6:55 a.m. The marathon's first event, the wheelchair race, begins at 6:30 a.m. The elite women runners will start at 6:45 a.m.
American Ryan Hall and Kenyans Lani Rutto and Simon Njoroge are among the favorites. On the women's side, Misiker Demissie and Konjit Biruk of Ethiopia are contenders.
Of the 91 elite runners in the race, 74 will be competing for the USA Track and Field Marathon Championships title.
Winners of the men's and women's races will each receive $25,000. For the first year since 2003, there will be no gender bonus awarded.
Race organizers are expecting the marathon to be one of the hottest on record. The forecast calls for temperatures in the 80s by late morning.
Channel 5 will begin its television coverage of the race at 6 a.m. Radio station 570 will begin coverage at 5 a.m.
austin.knoblauch@latimes.com
