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