2011 Honda LA Marathon Flash! Geneti runs 2:06.35 CR, and Deba runs 2:26:34! by Larry Eder

The 2011 Honda LA Marathon, presented by K-SWISS, is still in progress for most of the 26,000 starters, but the elite races have been decided!

Markos Geneti, 2010 Carlsbad 5,000m, photo by PhotoRun.net

Markus Geneti, running his debut marathon, ran a new course record of 2:06:35, the number six debut marathon of all time. Geneti, known for his fast 3,000m and 5,000m times, mostly indoors, used his 13:00 5,000 meter speed to just blast the course record into the present!

On the women’s side, Amy Hastings, in her debut, lead over Buzenesh Deba, who lives in the Bronx, NY. Deba went by Hastings as Geneti went by the lead group of three women about 1:36 into the race, (just past 20 miles).

Geneti flew by and Deba followed, with Hastings and Deba breaking Dibaba, the third runner on the women’s elite side. Hastings stayed with Deba until Deba busted away about 22 miles.

Buzunesh Deba ran 2:26.34 for the victory. Afterwards, she told the assembled media: “My husband wanted me to run a 2:24, but I don’t like running in the rain.”

Buzenesh Deba, 2010 ING New York City Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.net

Amy Hastings was rewarded by running a 2:27:03, in her debut, making her a real prospect for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. Amy had planned to run the Houston Marathon, but had an achilles problem, so ran the half there, hitting a 1:14, which disappointed her. Honda LA was a whole different matter for Hastings, who hit the halfway in 1:14.06, and ran a negative split on a rolling, challenging course! Great job by Amy Hastings !

Amy Hastings, 2011 Aramco Houston Half Marathon, photo by PhotoRun.net

Most of the runners and walkers in Honda LA marathon are still out on roads as we write this, so best wishes to the nearly 26,000 runners and walkers who are still on the roads of LA!

More details to come. To follow the race, please check out www.lamarathon.com, and www, KTLA.com!

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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