La Marathon

It was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. The race starts at about 8:15AM, and this year the marathon kicked off at Lankershim and Cahuenga near Universal Studios, and runs through Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, the Crenshaw district, and passes by the University of Southern California, as well as several other landmarks.The XXIII marathon took place on March 2, 2008.
On September 25, 2008, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt completed a deal to acquire operating rights to the Los Angeles Marathon. The basic course that will be used is the 2006 course, and the date for the XXIV Marathon was moved to May 25, 2009, Memorial Day.


Awards
The first-place male and female athletes are awarded a brand-new Honda Accord V6 sedan as well as $35,000.
Starting in 2004, elite women have been given a headstart, in what is known as the Banco Popular Challenge, which awards $100,000 to the runner who crosses the finish line first.The 22nd Los Angeles Marathon was held March 4, 2007 on a brand new course that started near Universal Studios and finished in downtown Los Angeles in front of the library.