We’re excited to announce the runners of the elite fields of the 2024 Los Angeles Marathon presented by ASICS on March 17. Based on the credentials of these world-class runners, we could be in for some of the fastest and most competitive races in the history of the Los Angeles Marathon.
Adding to the excitement, the elite women’s field will start with approximately an 18-minute head start on the men as part of our annual Marathon Chase, which will reward the first runner to reach the finish line in Century City with a winner-take-all $10,000 bonus.
Women’s Elite Field
The top contender in our women’s field is Kenya’s Stacy Ndiwa, who returns after winning the women’s race last year in a personal-best time of 2:31:00. Ndiwa surged near mile 19 and ran away with the women’s title and also held off men’s winner Jemal Yimer in the homestretch on Santa Monica Boulevard to win the Marathon Chase.
Olga Mazuronak of Belarus should be another one of the top contenders in the women’s race this year. She owns a 2:23:54 personal best and has a long list of strong finishes at big, international marathons, but she’s also a local runner who has lived in Los Angeles for the past year or so. She was the fifth-place finisher in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 (2:29:06), the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in 2019 (2:36:21) and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (2:24:48).
Other top runners in the women’s elite field include Ecuador’s Silvia Paredes, a 2016 Olympian with a 2:40:58 personal best; Kenya’s Pamela Rotich, who won the Malaga Marathon (2:33:52) in Spain in December; and Canada’s Rachel Hannah, the 2015 Pan Am Games bronze medalist who has raced well in major races including Chicago (2:36:04) and most recently won the 2023 Indianapolis Marathon (2:35:17).
Men’s Elite Field
Our men’s field is also deep with talent. Leading the way this year is Kenya’s Dominic Kipyegon Ngeno, who placed third at the Eindhoven Marathon in the Netherlands last October in a personal best 2:07:26. Meanwhile, Kenya’s Moses Kiptoo Kurgat brings a personal best of 2:08:40 to Los Angeles and most recently won the 2022 Kuala Lumpur Marathon in 2:11:05.
We’re excited to have a pair of Eritrean runners who have been training in Flagstaff, Arizona, entered in our elite field: Tsegay Tuemay has a personal best of 2:09:07 and last October won McKirdy Micro Marathon (2:11:04) in New York, while his training partner and countryman Tesfu Weldegebreal owns a 62:48 half marathon personal best as he approaches his marathon debut.
Other fast runners in our field include: Kenya’s Cosmas Kiplimo, who owns a 2:09:44 personal best and last October finished third in the Geneva Marathon (2:10:44) in Switzerland; Kenyan Sammy Rotich, who won the Austin Marathon (2:14:25) and placed second in Grandma’s Marathon (in a personal best 2:10:08) in 2022; and Ethiopia’s Belay Tilahun Bezabh, who won the 2019 NYC Half Marathon in New York City (1:02:10), placed third in at the Hamburg Marathon (2:14:01) in Germany in 2021 and most recently finished sixth in China’s Dalian Marathon (in a 2:11:49 personal best) last October.
The current course records on our Stadium to Stars route are the 2:08:26 that Ethiopia’s Bayelign Teshager ran in 2020 and the 2:25:04 effort of Kenya’s Delvine Meringor in 2022. The fastest times ever run in Los Angeles are from our Stadium to Sea course—the 2:24:11 women’s mark of Ethiopian Askale Mariachi in 2019, and the 2:06:35 men’s record performance from Ethiopia’s Markos Geneti in 2011.
We can’t wait to see what these runners can do on our Stadium to the Stars course on March 17. We hope you’ll join them and chase your own goals on your journey to the finish line.
Marathon Chase
The Marathon Chase will provide a special competition among the elite runners that will play out live on local television KTLA Channel 5, as well as streaming on KTLA.com and KTLA+ digital mediums. To facilitate the challenge, the women’s elite starting time will be set based on the expected men’s and women’s winning times estimated at approximately 18 minutes. (The final margin will be based on the average times of the competitors and will be announced the day before the race.) This head start on the men’s elite field should put the top female and top male runners within seconds of each other heading into the final mile as they approach the finish line. The first runner to reach the finish line will receive the $10,000 bonus.