L.A. Marathon: Registration opens for 2012 race

Registration opened Monday for the 2012 Los Angeles Marathon. The race, set for March 18, features a course that starts at Dodger Stadium and finishes at the Santa Monica Pier, with runners passing such landmarks as Disney Hall, Grauman's Chinese Theatre and Rodeo Drive.

Markos Geneti of Ethiopia set a course record when he won this year's race in 2:06.35 -- in a driving rainstorm, no less.

Registration information is available at lamarathon.com. The site also includes information about the LA Roadrunners, a group that offers marathon training programs starting next month. First-time runners are welcome; the group promises to "get runners from the couch to the finish line."

-- Bill Shaikin

Photo: Amy Hastings, left, who ultimately finished second, Buzunesh Deba, center, who ultimately finished first, and Mare Dibaba, right, who ultimately finished third, run together during the 2011 LA Marathon. Credit: Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times.

L.A. Marathon: Barefoot runner Caity McCardell completes the race

Caity McCardell did something that few Angelenos would dare do.

She ran through downtown Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica without any shoes.

The 42-year-old barefoot runner, profiled in The Times last week, completed the 26.2-mile race from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica in an unofficial time of 6 hours, 22 minutes. It was her first marathon.

""Imagine running in the rain in soggy wet socks," she said. "My feet felt great."

Sunday was believed to be the stormiest day in race history, and McCardell said that while shod runners were dancing around the myriad of puddles that plagued the course, she was able to plow right through them.

"I was like, 'I'm so glad I'm doing this barefoot,'" she said.

There was one other huge advantage to running shoeless.

"Every eighth of a mile, someone would be like, 'Oh my God, barefoot runners,'" she said. "I felt like a movie star."

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-- Melissa Rohlin

Photo: Barefoot Todd Byers jogs with Caity McCardell in Huntington Beach. Todd has run 101 marathons barefoot and coached Caity McCardell for her first barefoot marathon. Credit: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times

L.A. Marathon: It's official, Kelly Gneiting sets Guinness World Record as heaviest man to finish

Kelly Gneiting, a 400-pound sumo wrestler, set a Guinness World Record as the heaviest man to complete a marathon, after finishing on Sunday in 9 hours 48 minutes 52 seconds.

Gneiting weighed 396.2 pounds after the marathon, smashing the past world record of 275 pounds and beating his 2008 marathon time of 11:52:11.

"I'd like to see the Kenyan improve his marathon time by two hours," he joked.

Gneiting jogged the first eight miles and walked the final 18, saying afterward that he lost track of where he was after mile 10 because he felt delirious.

Gneiting said he  realized that he was at mile 15 only because his friend met him there with clean socks.

He finished the 26.2-mile race despite heavy rains and strong winds. For much of the race, he was also forced to obey traffic signals and walk on the sidewalk because he was walking far more slowly than the 13-minute-per-mile-pace used for calculating street reopenings.

"I was really struggling in the last five miles," he said, "but I said to myself, 'If I have to crawl, I will.'"

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--Melissa Rohlin

Photo: Kelly Gneiting crosses the finish line. Credit: Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times

L.A. Marathon: Thousands evaluated for hypothermia

Thousands of runners at the Los Angeles Marathon have been evaluated for hypothermia and 25 have been transported to local hospitals, according to Santa Monica fire Capt. Judah Mitchell.

"Most of them sat and recovered on their own," Mitchell said.

At 4:40 p.m., he said around 70% of runners have completed the 26.2-mile race from Dodger Stadium to Ocean Avenue and California Avenue in Santa Monica. There were 23,542 entrants, 9.6% less than last year. The number of people who showed up to run, though, has not yet been released.

The runners battled torrential rains and shin-deep puddles. About 1.72 inches of rain have fallen in Santa Monica and downtown while two inches of rain have fallen in Beverly Hills.

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--Melissa Rohlin

Photo: Runners make their way through wet and windy conditions along Hollywood Boulevard during the L.A. Marathon on Sunday. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

L.A. Marathon: Markos Geneti shatters race record by almost two minutes

Markos Geneti of Ethiopia won the L.A. Marathon in a race record 2 hours, 6 minutes and 35 seconds, shattering the previous record of 2:08:24 set by Wesley Korir in 2009. The 26-year-old ran the second fastest marathon in the world this year and the fastest marathon ever in California.

It was his first marathon. 

He won $25,000 and a 2011 Honda Insight EX Sedan, plus $100,000 for the gender bonus after passing the women before the 20-mile mark. (The women were given a head start of 17 minutes and 3 seconds to level the field.)

Geneti ran a 4:58 for Mile 21, a 5:24 for Mile 22, a 4:44 for Mile 23, a 4:58 for Mile 24, a 5:00 for Mile 25 and 5:07 for mile 26.

The 26.2-mile race started at Dodger Stadium and finished at Ocean Avenue and California Avenue in Santa Monica.

On the women's side, Ethiopia's Buzunesh Deba won in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 34 seconds. She's the first Ethiopian woman to win the race.

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-- Melissa Rohlin

Photo: Markos Geneti begins to celebrate after his record-setting victory in the L.A. Marathon. Credit: Katie Falkenberg / For The Times

L.A. Marathon: After 20 miles, Markos Geneti is in the lead

Ethiopia's Markos Geneti has pulled away from the pack and is all alone with a time of 1 hour, 35 minutes and 18 seconds after 20 miles.

Geneti ran a 4:50 for Mile 16, 4:53 for Mile 17, 4:49 for Mile 18, 4:39 for Mile 19 and 4:51 for Mile 20. 

Geneti passed the women at 9:18 a.m. in what was the earliest pass in the history of the L.A. Marathon. He's projected to finish in 2:04:49, which would smash the race record.

On the women's side, Amy Hastings is still in the lead.

Mile 20 ended at Sepulveda Boulevard, just north of Santa Monica Boulevard.

--Melissa Rohlin

L.A. Marathon: After 15 miles, Markos Geneti is in the lead

After 15 miles, Markos Geneti of Ethiopia is in the lead with a time of 1 hour, 11 minutes and 16 seconds.

Nicolas Kamakya of Kenya led Mile 11 in 4:33 and Mile 12 in 4:34. Geneti led Mile 13 in 4:47, Mile 14 in 4:36 and Mile 15 in 4:28. Two-time defending champion Wesley Korir is said to be in third place. (The men's feed has cut out due to the rain.)

Mile 15 ended at Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of Robertson Boulevard.

On the women's side, American Amy Hastings is in the lead at 1:29:40 after 16 miles.

-- Melissa Rohlin

L.A. Marathon: After 10 miles, Nicolas Kamakya is in the lead

After 10 miles, Nicolas Kamakya of Kenya is in the lead in the L.A. Marathon, with a time of 48 minutes and 18 seconds.

Wesley Korir of Kenya led Mile 6 in 4:54, Benjamin Maiyo of Kenya led Mile 7 in 4:42, Kamakya led Mile 8 in 4:37, Mile 9 in 4:42 and Mile 10 in 4:39.

Mile 10 ended at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilton Place.

On the women's side, American Amy Hastings is in the lead with a time of 1:07:44 after 12 miles. This is her first marathon. Ethiopians Mare Dibaba and Buzunesh Deba are right behind her.

The course is relatively flat from the 5 1/2-mile point to the 15-mile point, where there's a sizable downhill portion on San Vicente Boulevard.

-- Melissa Rohlin

Photo: Elite competitors lead a pack of thousands of runners at the start of the L.A. Marathon at Dodger Stadium. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

L.A. Marathon: After five miles, Wesley Korir is in the lead

Wesley Korir of Kenya leads the men's pack after five miles with a time of 24 minutes, 44 seconds. A pack of six runners is huddled tightly together.

Korir led Mile 1 in 5:03. Ben Maiyo of Kenya led Mile 2 in 4:47, Mile 3 in 4:49 and Mile 4 in 5:02. Korir led Mile 5 in 5:03.

Between the 3 1/2 mile-point and the 5 1/2-mile point, there was a 185-foot rise, the largest and longest climb on the course.

The race started at Dodger Stadium and Mile 5 was at Temple and Victor streets.

On the women's side, American Amy Hastings, Ethiopian Mare Dibaba and Ethiopian Buzunesh Deba have separated from the pack and are in the lead.

-- Melissa Rohlin

L.A. Marathon: Let the chase begin

The elite men took off at 7:43 a.m. in the L.A. Marathon.

During a news conference on Friday, the majority of them said their goal was to beat the women and win the $100,000 gender challenge. The women were given a 17-minute, 3-second handicap.

The women just passed through Chinatown and are on their way to Little Tokyo.

-- Melissa Rohlin

L.A. Marathon: And the elite women are off

The elite women took off at 7:26 a.m. and the elite men are supposed to begin running at 7:43 a.m.

It was 54 degrees at the start.

American Amy Hastings is leading the women's pack. She ran a 5-minute, 44-second split for the first mile. 

-- Melissa Rohlin