FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ULTRA-FAST COURSE BRINGS BIGGER REWARDS IN 2010 HONDA LA MARATHON
LOS ANGELES, California – Feb. 6, 2010 – There has never been a marathon
course quite like the new Stadium-to-the-Sea route for the 2010 Honda LA
Marathon presented by K-Swiss. And there are few marathons which will
reward the fast times expected as lavishly as the 2010 Honda LA Marathon.
A total prize purse of more than $400,000 will be available for the elite
men and women competing in the 25th anniversary edition of the race, to be
held on Sunday morning, March 21, split almost evenly between prize money
and bonuses for fast times on the new course:
For the men and women competing in the elite field, the top five places in
each gender will earn a combined total of $50,000 plus a new Honda. The
male and female winners will receive $20,000 each and a new Honda Insight
EX hybrid with navigation (retail price of $23,100), with placers 2-5 in
each gender winning $12,500, $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.
In addition, the winner of the unique Honda LA Marathon Challenge, for the
first male or female runner to cross the finish line, will receive a
$100,000 cash bonus. The female elite runners will begin earlier than the
men according to a carefully-calculated handicap based on the career-best
times recorded by the top runners in the race.
That base prize purse of $200,000 plus two Honda Insight hybrid sedans will
be augmented by an additional bonus purse of up to $200,000, with $100,000
available in each gender for times which will rank among the top marks in
the world:
> For times equal to or better than the 10th-best time in the world for
2009: $50,000: Men: 2:06:00 or Women: 2:25:06
> For times equal to or better than the 20th-best time in the world for
2009: $25,000: Men: 2:06:30 or Women: 2:25:38
> For times equal to or better than the 30th-best time in the world for
2009: $12,500: Men: 2:07:10 or Women: 2:25:53.
> For times equal to or better than the 40th-best time in the world for
2009: $10,000: Men: 2:07:52 or Women: 2:26:47.
> For times equal to or better than the 50th-best time in the world for
2009: $5,000: Men: 2:08:15 or Women: 2:27:06.
There is a cap of $100,000 in bonus awards for each gender for a total of
$200,000.
In 2009, using a loop course start started and finished in downtown Los
Angeles, course records were set in both the men's and women's races, with
Kenya's Wesley Korir winning the men's race in 2:08:24 and Russia's Tatyana
Petrova first among women in 2:25:53. Those marks ranked 56th and 25th,
respectively, in the world for 2009, but the course for 2010 is much
faster.
Starting at legendary Dodger Stadium, the 26.2-mile route swings through
downtown Los Angeles, passes the city's birthplace on what is now Main
Street, then moves through Echo Park before moving west along some of the
world's iconic streets: Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Boulevard, Santa Monica
Boulevard and onto one of the great running avenues anywhere, San Vicente
Boulevard in Santa Monica before finishing on Ocean Avenue just steps from
the Pacific Ocean.
The course begins at an elevation of 505 feet above sea level at Dodger
Stadium, but ends at just 75 feet above sea level in Santa Monica. And
while five of the first nine miles have climbs in elevation, only seven of
the final 16 miles have climbs – all fairly modest – and the final 3.2
miles are essentially downhill.
"It's a wonderful course for the elite and recreational runner alike,"
noted Honda LA Marathon president Russ Pillar. "For the elites, the course
has some challenges, but with an early start and a westward finish, there
should be cool temperatures and a ripping-fast race. It's also going to be
a visually-interesting course with so many L.A. landmarks along the way.
"Our commitment to a world-class footrace is underlined by the expanded
prize and bonus purse we're offering this year."
Registration for the 25th anniversary edition of the Honda LA Marathon is
continuing, but will be capped at 25,000 for the first-ever
Stadium-to-the-Sea edition.
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