Lornah Kiplagat

The Los Angeles Marathon, long disparaged in elite runners' circles for a carnival atmosphere not considered conducive to serious competition, will receive a boost today with the announcement of a new sponsor. Saucony, a 100-year-old athletic shoe and apparel company in Peabody, Mass., has signed on for five years, and the money from the deal will be plowed back into the marathon. Prize money for this year's race, March 29, will be doubled, to $150,000.

On Sept. 17, 2006, in the Netherlands, Lornah Kiplagat of Kenya set a world record in the 10-mile run after some unconventional training. For the two weeks before the event, while trying to rehab an injury, she ran almost entirely in a swimming pool. Easy on the joints, water running and water aerobics offer muscular and cardio benefits similar to their land-based counterparts -- but without the impact.

He wanted to be a soccer player, because in Mexico soccer players can be heroes. But his ability was hardly heroic. "Ahhhh," says Alejandro Cruz, wiggling his right hand from thumb to little finger and back in the universal sign of mediocrity. Baseball? No. And then he saw the announcement on Mexico City television. A foot race. A marathon, actually, and he decided to run as a 17-year-old bandit, because he didn't know how to enter, might not have had the money if he had known.

Not only is Gezahegne Abera of Ethiopia returning to the Boston Marathon as the closest runner-up in the race's 105-year history, he's coming back as the Olympic marathon champion. History, however, is not on his side. Only one man has won at Boston after winning the Olympic gold medal--Gelindo Bordin of Italy in 1990. Only one Ethiopian has won at Boston--Abebe Mekkonen in 1989. And Kenyans have won the last 10 Boston races. The 22-year-old Abera is unfazed.

Venus Williams jumped back into the top 10 in the WTA Tour rankings by winning Wimbledon, rising from No. 16 to No. 8. The woman she edged, 9-7, in the third set of Saturday's epic final, Lindsay Davenport, increased her hold on No. 1, and Williams' sister Serena dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 after being upset in the third round at the All England Club. Roger Federer stayed atop the ATP Tour entry rankings and ATP Champions Race by winning a third consecutive Wimbledon title.

She couldn't see Svetlana Zakharova ahead, so she didn't much worry about her. Irina Bogacheva had run about 10 miles, and as far as she was concerned, the race hadn't really started. And wouldn't for another 14 miles. "Mile 24 is the most difficult of the race," Bogacheva, the winner of the women's division of the Los Angeles Marathon, said Sunday through an interpreter. "Therefore, if you can master it, you will probably be the winner."

About 18,000 Americans will be among the 20,000 runners participating Sunday in the 14th Los Angeles Marathon. But none will win. The winner of the 26.2-mile race will emerge from a group of about three dozen "elite" runners brought in to enhance the event's status. Most are Africans. None are Americans. "We'd all love to have an American," says Anne Roberts, who recruits the top runners for the Los Angeles, New York and Lisbon marathons. "But if there isn't one, we can't manufacture one."

It would seem the Kenyan men no longer have to worry about anyone else in the Boston Marathon. Their success in one of the world's most renowned long runs is unrivaled: an unprecedented 10 consecutive victories, first-and-second-place finishes four of the last six years, five of the top six finishers a year ago. Yet there is a rivalry developing between Kenya's defending Boston champion, Elijah Lagat, and the Ethiopian whom Lagat defeated in a photo finish last year, Gezahegne Abera.

Dennis Green, who has been threatening to leave as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, may get a push from the team's new management. Green will meet Tuesday with Red McCombs, who purchased the team last Thursday, and his aides to discuss the future of the team. Green's future is also expected to be discussed.

Sunday "Los Angeles Marathon" / 8 a.m. KCOP Nearly 20,000 runners are expected to break from the starting line in the 13th annual event, with start-to-finish coverage anchored by Alan Frio and Ann Shatilla. The male runners to watch, according to producer Dave Goetz, are Manual Matias of Portugal (whose best time is 2:08:33) and Simon Lopuyet and Philip Chirchir of Kenya. The women's field will be headed by Lornah Kiplagat of Kenya, last year's winner at a time of 2:33:50. The 26.