Moiben of Kenya gets win

Laban Moiben had hopes of overtaking the elite women in the L.A. Marathon and erasing the head start they had been given in the challenge for a $100,000 bonus for the first runner to cross the finish line.

“I was thinking I could catch the ladies at 25 miles,” he said, “but then I said, ‘No, let it go.’ ”

Although he didn’t win the challenge, the 24-year-old Kenyan, who won the California International Marathon in Sacramento three months ago, added a Southern California victory to his resume.

He covered the warm, hilly course that began in Universal City and ended at 5th and Flower streets in a personal-best 2 hours 13 minutes 50 seconds, winning $20,000 and a car.

Moiben led a 1-2-4 finish by Kenyans. Christopher Kiprotich was second in 2:14:19, followed by Khalid Kamal Yaseen of Bahrain in 2:15:23 and Augustus Kavutu in 2:16:01. Dmitriy Safronov of Russia went out fast and led for much of the way but faded in the second half to finish 11th.

Kiprotich, said he and his countrymen have had difficulty training at home since violence broke out following a disputed presidential election in December.

Kiprotich has been training in Mexico, while Moiben has been spending time in Atlanta, where he won a 10,000-meter race and a half-marathon last year.

-- Helene Elliott