Kenya's Wesley Korir wins L.A. Marathon in record time

The Kenyan distance runner stereotypes don't apply to Wesley Korir.

He trains at low altitudes. He has mostly run five-kilometer races. He enjoys Subway tuna sandwiches before races.

"Six inches," Korir said. "I can't finish a foot-long."

Korir had little trouble polishing off his more renowned competitors Monday morning in the Los Angeles Marathon, winning in a record 2 hours 8 minutes 24 seconds amid ideal conditions that quashed concerns about the latest starting date in the race's history.

It was a stunning display for a runner competing in his second marathon. Korir broke Benson Cherono's 2006 race record of 2:08:40 and logged the fastest time ever for a 26.2-mile run in California.

"At the start of the race I thought my chance of winning was zero," Korir said.

It might be time for the former University of Louisville track star to adjust his expectations.

After receiving some encouragement from countryman Laban Kipkemboi, Korir, 26, pulled away from race favorite Tariku Jufar of Ethiopia on Olympic Boulevard in the 24th mile.

"I told him, 'If you are still strong, keep pushing because you can break the course record,' " Kipkemboi said.

Jufar finished second in 2:09:32 and Kipkemboi was third in 2:10:29 on a day runners collected $138,000 in time bonuses.

Korir tallied an impressive winner's haul of $160,000 and a 2009 Honda Accord EX-L. He received $20,000 for winning, $40,000 for clocking under 2:09 and $100,000 for becoming the first runner -- male or female -- to finish. The men started 16:57 behind the women in an effort to level the field.

Shortly after he overtook Jufar, Korir also passed women's leader Tatiana Petrova of Russia in the 24th mile. Petrova won the women's race in 2:25:29, the third-fastest time in race history. Aaron Gordian of Mexico won the wheelchair race in 1:31:19.

Paul Kosgei of Kenya, who finished 11th among the men's runners, was hospitalized because of dehydration, a race official said, but he was expected to recover and there were no other reports of serious incidents.

Typically run on the first Sunday in March, the race was pushed back to Memorial Day as the result of a decree by City Hall officials who bowed to pressure from religious leaders concerned that access to churches would be hindered by streets clogged with runners.