Los Angeles Marathon 2006s

Tue, Mar 7th 2006, 07:00 by

25 Thousand compete in Marathon XXI of Los Angeles

Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia was the women's winner in the 26.2-mile (41.9-km) race with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, 10 seconds -- a new course record.

Kenya's Benson Cherono won the 21st annual Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 8 minutes and 40 seconds. Banco Popular

Grigoryeva edged out Cherono by 16 seconds in a separate marathon event dubbed the $100,000 "Banco Popular Challenge."

Elite women in this gender competition got a 16-minute, 46-second head start, and the first runner to cross the finish line, male or female, was the winner.

Los Angeles police detective Raul Reyna, 53, and retired Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy James Leone, 60, are believed to be the second and third contestants in the 21-year history of the L.A. Marathon to die during the 26.2-mile (40-km) race.

Reyna collapsed 3 miles into the race. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Leone was stricken less than 3 miles from the finish line and died at a local hospital, officials said.

A third man had a heart attack about seven blocks into the race but survived.