City of Los Angeles Marathon prepares to mark 15th
anniversary
Courtesy of Running USA Wire
19 January 2000 – Los Angeles -The 2000 City of Los Angeles Marathon presented by Honda is shaping up to be the most successful and entertaining in the event's 15-year history. Coming off an exciting year in which Simon Bor of Kenya shattered an eleven year course record with an impressive 2:09:25 finish (a new California state record) and a record 20,630 runners participated in the history-making event, the City of Los Angeles Marathon is set to celebrate its 15th anniversary on March 5, 2000 as one of the major marathons of the new millennium. Runners are registering at a rapid pace (with applications running 100% above where they were last year at this time) and the City of Los Angeles Marathon appears headed for another record-breaking year in 2000.
The City of Los Angeles Marathon is equal parts "people's race" and prestigious sporting event. The Guatemalan Olympic Committee has selected the 2000 L.A. Marathon as its official qualifying race for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Joining the Guatemalan Olympic hopefuls will be a strong field of elite athletes from around the world. An impressive field of wheelchair athletes is also being recruited for the 2000 race, which last year ended in a photo finish won by the event's first-ever three-time winner Saul Mendoza of Mexico followed by world record holder Heinz Frei of Switzerland.
With the sound of Randy Newman singing "I Love L.A." and encouragement from surprise celebrity starters (Muhammad Ali and Jackie Joyner-Kersee in past years) at the start line, runners from all fifty states and some one hundred nations will take to the streets for the world's most entertaining marathon.
On a course that winds its way through the multi-cultural heart of the city, runners will run past the just completed Staples Center, home of the Clippers, Lakers and Kings, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, through Koreatown, Hancock Park and past the world famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood on the way back to the start/finish line in downtown Los Angeles.
For more information visit www.lamarathon.com.
