Elite Field Announced For 2014 LA Marathon On March 9th
Erick Mose, Julius Keter Among Top International Elites with Eyes Set on the Win
Press Release
January 23, 2014
LOS ANGELES — A stacked line-up of more than 20 of the world’s most competitive distance runners—including defending men’s champion Erick Mose and 2013 men’s runner-up Julius Keter—headline the field for the 2014 ASICS LA Marathon, which will be held on Sunday, March 9th 2014.
This year’s ASICS LA Marathon, which will once again follow its popular Stadium to the Sea course, starting at Dodger Stadium and finishing near the Santa Monica Pier, will be the 29th edition of the race, which became an annual event following the historic 1984 Olympic Game in Los Angeles.
Kenya’s Mose, whose come-from-behind surge in the final two miles ultimately overtook fellow countryman Keter—the grandson of Olympic legend Kip Keino—and clinched last year’s title, heads a talented list of 11 top male runners who have committed to this year’s race, including rising Americans Aaron Braun, Adam Roach and Stephan Shay.
The women’s field is equally competitive, with five top Ethiopian talents who each sport sub-2:36 marathon PRs, including Genet Getaneh, the top finisher at the 2007 and 2007 IAAF World Half Marathon Championship, as well as Ukranian Olena Burkovska, a former winner of Europe’s venerable Košice Peace Marathon, along with four emerging young American talents.
“As we are continually looking to attract an ever growing number of world-class marathoners, we know this year will elevate the level of competition being able to field last year’s men’s champion Erick Mose and runner-up Julius Keter,” said Tracey Russell, CEO LA MARATHON LLC. “The 2014 ASICS LA Marathon will be an exciting year for the elites, general runners and the spectators.”
Fresh off the heels of a second place finish in the 2014 U.S. Half Marathon Championship earlier this month, Aaron Braun will make his marathon debut alongside two-time defending Big Sur International Marathon champion Adam Roach and Stephan Shay, who placed in the top five at the 2012 U.S. Half Marathon Championship, to lead the elite U.S. runners competing in Los Angeles this year. Among the women, the Americans are also well represented with athletes who include three-time Olympics Trials qualifiers Kristen Fryburg-Zaitz and; Heather McWhirter, the second-place finisher at last year’s Buffalo Marathon; and Lindsey Scherf who placed second at the 2012 U.S. 25K Championship.
Additional top international male qualifiers include Ethiopian Raji Assefa , the 2012 Paris International Marathon runner-up; Lani Rutto of Kenya, a top-ten finisher in the 2013 BMW Frankfurt Marathon and Canadian Greg Wieczorek, a three-time Blue Nose Marathon winner.
A list of the elite runners who have committed to this year’s ASICS LA Marathon on March 9 is below. More information on additional runners who have committed to the race will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information, visit www.lamarathon.com.
2014 ASICS LA MARATHON
Elite Runners Confirmed
MEN
| NAME | PERSONAL BEST | COUNTRY |
| Gezahegn Alemayehu | 2:09:42 (Košice, 2013) | Ethiopia |
| Raji Assefa | 2:06:24 (Paris, 2012) | Ethiopia |
| Fikre Assefa | 2:10:23 (Linz, Austria, 2013) | Ethiopia |
| Aaron Braun | 2nd – 1:01:38 (Houston Half, 2014) | USA |
| Julius Kipyego Keter | 2:10:31 (Los Angeles, 2013) | Kenya |
| Erick Mose | 2:09:44 (Los Angeles, 2013) | Kenya |
| Adam Roach | 2:24:30 (Sacramento, 2013) | USA |
| Lani Rutto | 2:10:01 (Frankfurt, 2013) | Kenya |
| Stephan Shay | 2:16:48 (Houston, 2012) | USA |
| Greg Wieczorek | 2:25:56 (Houston, 2012) | Canada |
| Dawit Wolde | 1st – 1:00:46 (Egmond Half, 2012) | Ethiopia |
| Gabriel Proctor | 1:02:22 (Houston Half, 2014) | USA |
WOMEN
| NAME | PERSONAL BEST | COUNTRY |
| Olena Burkovska | 2:27:07 (Hannover, 2013) | Ukraine |
| Gulume Chala | 2:36:04 (Danzhou, 2013) | Ethiopia |
| Degefa Bruktayit Eshetu | 2:26:22 (Houston, 2014) | Ethiopia |
| Kristen Fryburg-Zaitz | 2:37:50 (Sacramento, 2013) | USA |
| Genet Getaneh | 2:25:38 (Amsterdam, 2012) | Ethiopia |
| Agnes Jepkosgei | 2:39:17 (Nairobi, 2013) | Kenya |
| Heather McWhirter | 2:45:33 (Buffalo, 2012) | USA |
| Elfnesh Melaku | 2:31:41 (Chongqing, 2013) | Ethiopia |
| Lindsey Scherf | 2nd – 1:25:12 (U.S. 25K Champ, 2012) | USA |
| Tigist Tufa | 2:29:24 (New York City, 2013) | Ethiopia |
| Lauren Kleppin | 2:42:17 (Carlsbad, 2013) | USA |
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LA MARATHON LLC is a leading U.S. running organization dedicated to inspiring the athlete in every runner and connecting communities through health and fitness. The ASICS LA Marathon is among the largest marathons in the country with more than 25,000 participants, thousands of volunteers and hundreds of thousands of spectators. The “Stadium to the Sea” course, starting at Dodger Stadium and finishing near the Santa Monica Pier, is one of the most scenic in the world, taking runners on a tour of Los Angeles past every major landmark. The race has been named Best Big City Race by Runner’s World.