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 9, 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.
For more information, visit www.lamarathon.com.
Elite Men Runners confirmed:
| 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 |
Elite Female Runners confirmed:
| 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 |
