Sports

Ethiopian Woman First to Cross LA Marathon Finish Line Under Sunny Skies

Fatuma Sado captures $100,000 for winning "The Challenge" title by finishing before the fastest man, Simon Njoroge of Kenya.

A 20-year-old Ethiopian woman was the first runner to cross the finish line of the 2012 Los Angeles Marathon under blue skies on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica.

In a red T-shirt, Fatuma Sado kneeled down to kiss the ground after completing the 26-mile, 385-yard course starting at Dodger Stadium, with an official time of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 39 seconds. (Click the accompanying video to see Sado run down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.)

"The race was good," Sado said, speaking softly through an interpreter at a news conference. "The weather was cold when I started and at the end it was windy—that is why I did not get so good of a time."

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Her time is the fifth fastest for women in the history of the LA Marathon. She hasn't placed lower than second in the four marathons she has completed since 2011.

Sado captured a $100,000 bonus as part of "The Challenge" competition for finishing before the fastest man. Simon Njoroge, 31, of Kenya won the men's race with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 11 seconds. Though Njoroge's time was quicker than Sado's, she crossed the finish line 4 minutes and 4 seconds before him. 

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The elite women's field received a 17-minute, 31-second head start based on a formula involving the lifetime bests of the elite runners of both genders. The female and male winners each receive $25,000 and a Honda CR-V, valued at $29,795. The $100,000 bonus has been won four times by female runners and four times by male runners.

It was dry at dawn as runners massed outside Dodger Stadium. The starter's gun for the main pack fired at about 7:25 a.m.

Forecasters had predicted on-and-off showers throughout the day, as well as hail and thunderstorms. But temperatures were in the mid-40s for the elite runners during most of the race—what organizers described as "perfect conditions."

, a drenching 2.42 inches of rain fell over the marathon course as dozens of runners got dangerously cold. On Sunday, race organizers had about 5,000 plastic trash bags to keep participants warm and dry from the start. Some 23,000 Mylar blankets to help guard runners against hypothermia were divided among 10 medical stations along the course and at the finish line, according to marathon Chief Operating Officer Nick Curl.

Heating buses were standing by at the course's medical stations and finish line.

"We're confident that by coordinating our efforts with the fire departments in all four jurisdictions [along the course] and Keck Medical Center of USC, we'll have enough equipment and support to keep our runners, volunteers and medical personnel as dry, warm and comfortable as possible on race day," Curl said.

More than 300 marathon runners were evaluated for hypothermia and 20 were hospitalized in 2011. Rain has fallen on the L.A. race three other times in addition to last year. Trace amounts of rain fell twice in the 1990s and 1.6 inches fell on the race in 2000, spokesman Rich Perelman said. The race has been held annually since 1986. For the third year in a row, it was run on the "Stadium to the Sea" course, billed by organizers as having a landmark at every mile.

From Dodger Stadium, the course headed towards downtown L.A., passing Chinatown, Olvera Street, City Hall, Little Tokyo, the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. After the downtown leg, the course went westward through Echo Park and Silver Lake into Hollywood, passing the Hollywood & Highland Center, home of the Academy Awards, and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

The field then went south onto Sunset Boulevard, entering West Hollywood, then Beverly Hills, where the runners hit Rodeo Drive. The latter parts of the race—officially known as the Honda LA Marathon—included Century City, the Veterans Administration grounds and Brentwood's broad San Vicente Boulevard, finally concluding near the Santa Monica Pier.

Changes to the race included allowing two-person relay teams, with each person running half the race, and an expansion of the race's charity program. About 200 relay teams ran the marathon, raising funds for the race's official charities. The relay hand-off point was on Sunset Boulevard, just before the Sunset Strip. The expansion of the race's charity fundraising efforts include the "I Run 4 Something" initiative, encouraging all participants to raise money for their favorite causes.

Race organizers believed runners could raise $4 million for charitable causes, breaking last year's record. Since Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt purchased the operating rights to the race in 2008, the amount of money raised for charity has gone from just over $1.25 million in 2009 to $1.95 million in 2010 and just under $3 million in 2011, according to race officials. A field of about 23,000 runners was expected this time around. 

Marathons have a rich history. Phidippides, the legendary Greek herald who ran from the Marathon battlefield to Athens to announce the rout of the Persian army in 450 B.C., is believed to have announced the victory, then collapsed and died on the spot. However, he had to run about 150 miles over two days.

This report was compiled with information from City News Service.

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