LOS ANGELES — Matt Richtman became the first American to win the Los Angeles Marathon since 1994 Sunday, topping the second-largest field in race history in a course-record two hours, seven minutes, 56 seconds.

What You Need To Know

  • Richtman, who attended Montana State University, triumphed despite running in just his second marathon
  • Tejinesh Gebisa Tulu of Ethiopia won the women's portion of the race with a time of 2:30:16. Antonina Kwambai of Kenya was second at 2:30:19
  • Several firefighters who fought January’s devastating wildfires were among those participating in the 26-mile, 385-yard race

  • The capacity field for the 40th Los Angeles Marathon numbered more than 26,000

The 25-year-old Richtman, a cross-country All-American at Montana State who was raised in Illinois, took the lead midway through the 26-mile, 385- yard race. Athanas Kioko was second in 2:10:55 with fellow Kenyan Moses Kiptoo third in 2:13:13.

Richtman also won the Marathon Chase as the top overall finisher, receiving a $10,000 bonus in addition to the $10,000 he received as the men's winner. The elite women started 16 minutes, 5 seconds ahead of the elite men, a difference determined by projected winning times.

Richtman is the first man to win the chase since it was revived in 2022. The chase was part of the marathon from 2004 to 2014, with women winning seven times and men four. It was discontinued in 2015 when the race served as the USA Marathon Championships, then revived in 2022.

The previous course record was 2:09:08, set by Kenyan John Korir in 2022. The race has been held on the same course since 2021.

Tejinesh Gebisa Tulu of Ethiopia was the women's winner in 2:30:16, the 13th victory by an African woman in the last 16 LA Marathons. Kenyan Antonina Kwambai was second in 2:30:19. The last American woman to win was Olga Appell, also in 1994.

Savannah Berry of Bakersfield finished third among the women in 2:30:31.

"I'm beyond thrilled," Berry said. "It was fun racing against this group of girls, and then honestly seeing Matt by me ... I was like, `OK, yes, we got this. I wanted to represent for the state, and I wanted to represent for our country."

Richtman called the victory in his second marathon "definitely a surprise."

"I came in feeling really good," Richtman said moments after crossing the finish line. "It's really hard to judge where you stack up against competition, but it was a really good group out there today, and I was really happy to run with those guys and then ultimately win it,"

"I didn't have too much of a strategy," he continued. "The first half I just wanted to stay in that group, didn't really want to push the pace or lead or anything like that, just kind of stay, feel it out, 'cause it's a challenging course. ... I told myself, `Once you get the hour mark then you can start to feel it out, do any moves if you want to do that, so that's what I did. ... The whole race I was running with a little bit of fear. It's tough when you can't see what's going on behind you."

Richtman said he drew inspiration from the atmosphere in Los Angeles.

"It's such a great day for it, you know, the 40th anniversary, there's so many legacy runners out here, and the crowd out here was amazing. There were people throughout the whole course and it really helps. It's amazing how much a crowd can change the course of what you're doing."

Richtman was fourth in his marathon debut in the 2024 Twin Cities Marathon in 2:10:45 on Oct. 6 in a race won by Kenyan Shadrack Kimining in 2:10:17.

Richtman credited Sunday's victory to "good training and good support group around me."

Paul Pilkington was the last American to win the LA Marathon in 1994 in 2:12:13 on the race's original course which began and ended in Exposition Park. The men's race has been won by Kenyans 22 times since 1999, and Ethiopians four times.

The capacity field for the 40th Los Angeles Marathon numbered more than 26,000.

The men's and women's winners each received $10,000, the second-place finishers $5,000 and third-place finishers $3,500. The men's and women's wheelchair winners received $2,500.

Francisco Sanclemente of Colombia was Sunday's men's wheelchair winner in 1:38:10, his third consecutive LA Marathon triumph. Miguel Jimenez Vergara of Chula Vista was second in 1:43:32.

Wakako Tscuhida of Japan was the women's wheelchair winner in 2:03.56. The 50-year-old is a gold medal winner in track in the Summer Paralympics and two-time gold medal winner in ice sledge racing in the Winter Paralympics..

The wheelchair racers took off from Dodger Stadium promptly at 6:30 a.m., followed by the hand crank racers at 6:35 a.m. and the women’s elite field at 6:44 a.m. The elite men’s field hit the pavement at 7 a.m.

Several firefighters who fought January’s devastating wildfires were among those participating in the 26-mile, 385-yard race.

U.S. Forest Service Capt. Jerry Garcia, who helped battle the Eaton Fire,l co-paced the group of runners who hoped to complete the marathon in two hours, 55 minutes.

“I guarantee that 90% of the runners in the marathon probably know somebody who lost their home or was personally impacted,” Garcia said in a statement. “When they asked me to pace, I knew it could be about helping runners and being part of an event that will be about the Los Angeles community. I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

The 47-year-old Palmdale resident was the top runner in the 45-49 age group in the 2024 Los Angeles Marathon with a personal best time of 2:40:13. He won the 2017 Angeles Crest 100 trail running race.

Another firefighter in the field was Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighter Greg Balandran, who is running on behalf of the Widows, Orphans and Disabled Firefighters Fund, the official charity of the Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association.

Shortly after the wildfires erupted, the fund began providing long- term support for the more than two dozen LAFD firefighters and their families who lost homes or were displaced

The Los Angeles Marathon, New York Road Runners, the nonprofit organization that produces the New York City Marathon, the Chicago Marathon and the Boston Athletic Association, organizers of the Boston Marathon, have come together to support Together LA, an initiative spearheaded by The McCourt Foundation, which owns and operates the Los Angeles Marathon, to aid those affected by the Los Angeles County wildfires.

The four organizations have co-branded limited-edition Together LA merchandise, with all net proceeds benefiting Community Organized Relief Effort and the California Fire Foundation. These funds will provide emergency relief, assist displaced families and support long-term recovery efforts.

Only the 2020 field of 27,150 entrants has had a larger field than Sunday’s. Dan Cruz, the head of communications for The McCourt Foundation, told City News Service the capacity field could be attributed to the marathon’s growing reputation, “its scenic and iconic course, strong community support and a robust charity partner program.”

The field consisted of runners from all 50 states and more than 70 nations. It included 93 legacy runners who have run all 39 previous editions of the race while 40% are first-time marathoners. Cruz said the large number of first-time marathoners “could be due to the explosion in popularity of social run clubs throughout the region.”

“We’ve also seen growth in the younger 20-29 year-old demographic and Students Run LA,” the after-school mentoring and physical fitness program for at-risk middle and high school students, “has returned to pre-pandemic numbers with 3,500 participants,” Cruz said.

Mayor Karen Bass was the honorary starter.

It was 49 degrees with winds of 4-5 mph at Dodger Stadium as the race began, National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Rorke told City News Service.

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The wheelchair racers took off from Dodger Stadium promptly at 6:30 a.m., followed by the hand crank racers at 6:35 a.m. and the women's elite field at 6:44 a.m. The elite men's field hit the pavement at 7 a.m. Mayor Karen Bass was the honorary starter.

From Dodger Stadium, runners headed through Chinatown, downtown Los Angeles, Echo Park, Thai Town, Little Armenia, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood and Brentwood then back through Westwood to Century City, with the finish line for the "Stadium to the Stars" course on Santa Monica Boulevard, just past Century Park East.

Several firefighters who fought January's devastating wildfires were among those participating in the 26-mile, 385-yard race.

U.S. Forest Service Capt. Jerry Garcia, who helped battle the Eaton Fire, co-paced the group of runners seeking to complete the marathon in two hours, 55 minutes.

"I guarantee that 90% of the runners in the marathon probably know somebody who lost their home or was personally impacted," Garcia said in a statement. "When they asked me to pace, I knew it could be about helping runners and being part of an event that will be about the Los Angeles community. I'm grateful for the opportunity."

The 47-year-old Palmdale resident was the top runner in the 45-49 age group in the 2024 Los Angeles Marathon with a personal best time of 2:40:13. He won the 2017 Angeles Crest 100 trail running race.

Another firefighter in the field was Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighter Greg Balandran, who ran on behalf of the Widows, Orphans and Disabled Firefighters Fund, the official charity of the Los Angeles Firemen's Relief Association.

Shortly after the wildfires erupted, the fund began providing long- term support for the more than two dozen LAFD firefighters and their families who lost homes or were displaced.

The Los Angeles Marathon, New York Road Runners, the nonprofit organization that produces the New York City Marathon, the Chicago Marathon, and the Boston Athletic Association, organizers of the Boston Marathon, came together to support Together LA, an initiative spearheaded by The McCourt Foundation, which owns and operates the Los Angeles Marathon, to aid those affected by the Los Angeles County wildfires.

The four organizations co-branded limited-edition Together LA merchandise, with all net proceeds benefiting Community Organized Relief Effort and the California Fire Foundation. These funds will provide emergency relief, assist displaced families and support long-term recovery efforts.

Only the 2020 field of 27,150 entrants had a larger field than Sunday's. Dan Cruz, the head of communications for The McCourt Foundation, told City News Service the capacity field could be attributed to the marathon's growing reputation, "its scenic and iconic course, strong community support and a robust charity partner program."

The field consisted of runners from all 50 states and more than 70 nations. It included 93 legacy runners who have run all 39 previous editions of the race while 40% are first-time marathoners. Cruz said the large number of first-time marathoners "could be due to the explosion in popularity of social run clubs throughout the region."

"We've also seen growth in the younger 20-29 year-old demographic and Students Run LA," the after-school mentoring and physical fitness program for at-risk middle and high school students, which "has returned to pre- pandemic numbers with 3,500 participants," Cruz said.