LOS ANGELES — Matthew Richtman ran away from the competition and made history in his Los Angeles Marathon debut Sunday.
Richtman, a former All-American at Montana State, won the men’s race by nearly three minutes, in a personal best time of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 56 seconds (4:53 per mile) and the $10,000 Marathon Chase bonus.
“I put my foot on the gas and went with it,” Richtman said.
The 2028 L.A. Olympic hopeful is first American to win the race since 1994, when Paul Pilkington finished first in 2:12:13.
“That’s a huge reason to come here,” Richtman said. “We do have a lot of time but the course, I know they haven’t planned it out yet but you’re right, it’s probably something similar or at least on similar parts, so just to have that experience three years out, that’s really important to me and something to train for, for sure.”
Halfway into the race, the 25-year-old laid down a decisive surge and never looked back.
“That wasn’t super planned out,” said Richtman, who would like to defend his title in 2026. “It was more it kind of just happened. It was right after a (water) bottle or something like that where we did split up a little bit and I said I feel good and I can push the pace a little bit here. We were past the hour mark and I said we’ll make a move a little bit and see if people go with and really no one did quite at first.”
Kenya’s Athanas Kioko, 30, finished second in 2:10:55. Kenya’s Moses Kiptoo Kurgat, 33, finished third in 2:13:12.
“It is a big accomplishment,” said Kioko, a former All-American runner for Campbell University, who made his marathon debut in Los Angeles. “I have worked so much for it. It is not the end of it. I have to get back to work and focus on my next event. I’m excited for what comes next … stepping into the next marathon, I am expecting to do even better.”
Meanwhile, Ethopia’s Tejinesh Gebisa Tulu, 30, won the women’s race in 2 hours, 30 minutes and 16 seconds (5:44 per mile). Kenya’s Antonina Kwambai, 32, was second in 2:30:19. USA’s Savannah Berry, 29, led for the majority of her L.A. Marathon debut but finished third in 2:30:31.
“I just kept thinking in my head how much I wanted it,” Berry said. “Even if I didn’t come up with the win that’s what I wanted and that’s what I wanted to give in effort. The whole time I was just thinking, you can do it. You haven’t lost yet. You can win, type thing. Even when you fall short, it’s not a bad result. A third place finish is still an amazing result.”
The Bakersfield native said the L.A. Marathon has been instrumental in her desire to be a professional distance runner.
“It’s kind of a dream because it’s a race that I’ve watched since I was a kid on TV,” Berry continued. “It’s one of the things that’s inspired me to do marathons and things like that is seeing people finish on that big podium years ago. It’s fun. This is my first L.A. Marathon to be able to actually put it into practice and hopefully, I’m an inspiration for some of those other people watching on the TV at home.”
The 40th running of the Los Angeles Marathon began before sunrise at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. The 26.2-mile course traversed through Downtown, Echo Park, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and ended on Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City.
In the men’s race, Richtman was among the top eight runners through Mile 6, pacing around a 5 minutes per mile.
Richtman broke away from the pack at Mile 15 in Beverly Hills. Sammy Rotich, Boniface Kibiwott, and Kioko went with him, as they ramped up the pace to 4:46 per mile.
Richtman extended his lead to a few seconds at Mile 17 on Wilshire Boulevard and a few minutes before entering the homestretch near the Avenue of the Stars.
It was a five-woman race at Mile 6 (10k) with American Savannah Berry leading Mamitu Balchu Hey, Rita Jelagat, Tejinesh Gebisa Tulu, and Antonina Kwambai. Hey dropped off the lead pack by Mile 12.
Berry, an Olympic hopeful heading into the L.A. 2028 Summer Games, said it was important to prove to herself that she could run the entire race with the lead pack.
“I’m hoping that they actually do hold it similarly on this course because then it’s like I’m practicing,” Berry said. “It’s just getting ready for when it happens in 2028.”
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Meanwhile, the Marathon Chase challenge gave the elite women’s field at 16:05 head start over the men. A $10,000 bonus was on the line for the first runner to cross the finish line. However, Richtman tracked the women down by Mile 18 and secured the five figure sum.
“It was still something that was on my mind,” Richtman said. “It’s that competitive nature.”
Luis Francisco Sanclemente won the wheelchair marathon for the third consecutive year. He finished in 1:38:10.