LOS ANGELES — With the LA 2028 Summer Olympics on the horizon, the 2024 Los Angeles Marathon is beginning to draw Olympic hopefuls like 27-year-old Makena Morley from Bozeman, Montana, who want to get a head start on their competition.
Morley did not run in this year’s Paris 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Marathon Trials in Orlando due to an injury in February, so she pivoted to Sunday’s LA Marathon.
“I think it’s pretty cool to be here in LA and experience the streets of LA,” Morley said. “Even though it’s probably going to be a little different course, I’m sure it’s going to hit some of the same areas, so just experiencing racing in the LA will give me a little upper hand maybe to some people when it comes to 2028 here.”
The 26.2-mile marathon course begins at Dodger Stadium and ends in Century City, along the Avenue of the Stars. The race runs through and past iconic landmarks like LA’s Chinatown, Los Angeles Cty Hall, the Disney Concert Hall, West Hollywood and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer won the 2023 men’s marathon in 2 hours, 13 minutes and 13 seconds.
However, this year’s top contenders include Kenya’s Dominic Kipyegon Ngeno, a newcomer to the LA Marathon scene, who comes into the race with a personal best of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 26 seconds at the Eindhoven Marathon in the Netherlands from October 2023.
“I thank God because this is my first time in LA,” Ngeno said. “I believe in myself. I have trained a lot and I will tell the people from this area to come and cheer us on. I believe I am going to win this race.”
The 26-year-old believes he will win the tactical race because he spent most of his training building the endurance necessary to run faster than 2 hours and 10 minutes (pace of 4:57 per mile) on the unsuspectingly hilly course.
“I will try my best,” Ngeno continued. “I will run good and because I know how to run the hills, I saw that this race is very hilly, so I believe we will run good.”
Meanwhile, other elite runners said running fast at the LA Marathon, can take a professional runner’s career to new heights.
“I was here last year and the LA Marathon is a very good race. … When you achieve a good performance here, you can also get a chance to run big races in the U.S.,” Wilson Kipkosgei said. “One of my friends ran LA and they got the chance to run Chicago and Boston but they started with the LA Marathon.”
The 2023 women’s marathon was won by Kenya’s Stacy Ndiwa in 2 hours and 31 minutes, who is looking to win back-to-back titles.
“I came here to defend my title so I’m happy because LA invited me again,” Ndiwa said. “I’ll do my best to defend my title.”
The 31-year-old Nwida said her goal is to finish in 2 hours and 28 minutes (pace of 5:40 per mile), which would set a new personal best.
Meanwhile, Morley, the top American runner in the field, who also serves as a volunteer coach at Montana State University, is ready to run her second-ever marathon.
“I’m really excited,” said Morley, who holds a marathon personal best of 2 hours, 30 minutes and 28 seconds from 2022. “I hope there’s a group up front to run with and get some good energy from each other and race and hope it goes well.”
The Marathon Chase will provide a special winner-take-all competition between the women’s and men’s elite fields. The women’s race will begin exactly 17 minutes before the men’s race. In past races, the head start normally puts the fastest woman and the fastest man within seconds near the finish line. Women are 9-4 all-time against the men. The first runner to reach the finish line will receive a $10,000 bonus.
“I think it keeps the races more honest and upfront will help us run pretty fast because we’re like we’re kind of scared, I don’t want it to come to a kick because I don’t know if I can outkick them,” Morley continued. “I definitely think it will be just fun to have that in the back of your mind, we have to keep it up.”
Meanwhile, the 39th annual Los Angeles Marathon Weekend will end with an icon.
Nearly 40 years since becoming the first woman to win an Olympic marathon gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Joan Benoit Samuelson will hold the finish line tape for the elite runners on St. Patrick’s Day.
Samuelson’s historic run inspired city leaders to commemorate the 1984 Olympics with the Los Angeles Marathon, which debuted in 1986.
Dominic Ngeno is confident he’s going to win the 2024 Los Angeles Marathon.
He trained with this specific race in mind.
He’s done his long runs on the hills in Kenya and he’s ready to run faster than 2 hours and 10 minutes (pace of 4:57 per mile) to win the race. #LAMarathon pic.twitter.com/ownfrB7XOi
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 15, 2024
Defending LA Marathon champion Stacy Nwida is back to defend her crown.
Nwida won last year’s women’s race in 2 hours and 31 minutes (pace of 5:46 per mile).
She also won a $10,000 bonus in 2023 for being the first runner to cross the finish line in the #LAMarathon Chase. pic.twitter.com/v3VEXBDI3c
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 15, 2024
Olympic hopeful Makena Morley is one of the elite runners that will toe the line at the 2024 LA Marathon. Morley wants to use the race to get a head start on her competition for the @LA28 Olympics. #LAMarathon pic.twitter.com/wnfimemDXq
— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 15, 2024
