Merrell News

Russian tops LA Marathon

A Russian woman has scooped the $100,000 (£50,000) grand prize for the first runner across the finish line of the 23rd Los Angeles Marathon.

Tatiana Aryasova, who was running her first competitive marathon, completed the course in two hours 29 minutes and will receive an additional $20,000 for being the first in her division.

She joined an estimated 25,000 other runners, some of whom may have been sporting the latest Merrell running shoes, to compete on what the LA Times called a "sunny, warm … Sunday morning".

The prize, which is rewarded to the first person - man or woman - who crosses the finish line, has been won three times by women in its five year history.

In order to balance the event, elite women competitors were given a 19-minute 38-second head start on male entrants, which is designed to create an exciting last few miles of the marathon.

However, Ms Aryasova maintained a strong lead throughout the race and ran 5-minute 30-second miles after the 20 mile mark- which is one of the hardest parts of the event.

The men's race was won by Laban Moiben, from Kenya, who took the $20,000 prize after completing the run in two hours 13 minutes.

According to organisers' figures, the LA marathon is the largest held in California, fourth biggest in the US and the world's seventh largest.

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