9:35 a.m.: Aleksandra Duliba of Belarus has won the women’s race and $50,000 gender challenge in the 28th Asics Los Angeles Marathon, outrunning Ethiopia’s Zemzem Ahmed to win the race in her first marathon in an unofficial time of 2:26:08, a Belarus national record.

Kenyan Erick Mose has won the men’s race, after outkicking countryman Julius Keter in the 24th mile. Mose won in an unofficial time of 2:09:43. The marathon record stands in 2:08:24. Keter finished second while Nicholas Chelimo, also of Kenya, was third in 2:10:41. Cal State Fullerton product Nick Arciniaga finished seventh in 2:17:04.


Ahmed finished second in the women’s race in 2:30:33. Agoura Hills’ Deena Kastor, 40, finished third in 2:32:38.

9:32 a.m.: First-time marathon runner Aleksandra Duliba, a 27-year-old from Belarus, and Kenyan Erick Mose are nearing victories in the women’s and men’s races of the L.A. Marathon. Mose, in Mile 25, has stretched his lead over countryman Julius Keter, while Duliba, now running on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, is nearing the $50,000 gender challenge bonus, shrugging off a right hamstring twitch at the 24.5 mile.


9:28 a.m.: In Mile 24, Aleksandra Duliba continues to push for a $75,000 pot of gold at the end of the L.A. Marathon by maintaining not only her substantial lead over her nearest female pursuer, but on men’s runners Erick Mose and Julius Keter for the race’s $50,000 gender challenge.

Mose and Keter would have to substantially quicken their pace, unlikely at this late-going point. Duliba caused some alarms at the 24.5-mile mark, slightly grabbing her right hamstring and grimacing before returning to form.


9:20 a.m.: The L.A. Marathon men’s race has become a two-man contest in Mile 22 between Kenya’s Erick Mose and Julius Keter. Keter, 24, won the 2008 Baltimore Marathon in 2:11:56. Currently, the L.A. Marathon men’s winner is on pace to win in 2:10:07. Keter has won the Hispaniola Lowenbrau Half Marathon in the Dominican Republic four consecutive times. Mose holds citizenship in Kenya, but was born in Toluca, Mexico.

The men are running hard, trying to catch women’s leader Aleksandra Duliba for the $50,000 gender challenge bonus. Mose holds a slight lead over Keter, who marathon officials say is the grandson of legendary Kenyan distance runner Kip Keino, at the moment. Race officials put the men’s duo at about one minute behind Duliba.


9:15 a.m.: In the 22nd mile, Alexsandra Duliba is on pace to win the L.A. Marathon by about a quarter of a mile, marathon officials announced. Duliba is on pace to finish in 2 hours 27 minutes 14 seconds while the men’s estimated winning time would be 2:09:52, which would give Duliba the $50,000 gender challenge bonus.

A pack of five now lead the men’s race, headed by Erick Mose and Julius Keter, while defending champion Simon Njoroge and early leader Philemon Baaru have now slipped off the lead pace in Mile 21.


9:08 a.m.: While Aleksandra Duliba continues to maintain a strong lead in the L.A. Marathon women’s race, the men’s competition has become a six-man chase in Mile 20 with Kenya’s Erick Mose, Philemon Baaru and Weldon Kirui in the front of the group.

Duliba has a quarter-mile lead over the men in the $50,000 bonus gender challenge in Mile 21, but marathon experts are intrigued with how the first-time marathon runner can hold up in the uncharted waters as the grind of the race takes full effect. Duliba is calmly checking her stopwatch as she makes her way toward the finish line at the Santa Monica pier.


9:00 a.m.: Aleksandra Duliba of Belarus is making her first marathon a stirring one, expanding her lead in Mile 19 over Ethipia’s Zemzem Ahmed in the Asics L.A. Marathon while holding a lead over a pack of eight men’s leaders for the $50,000 gender challenge.

Duliba has been spotted frequently checking her stopwatch to monitor her split times. The 27-year-old is pulling away from the more experienced Ahmed.


8:56 a.m.: Kenya’s Nicholas Chelimo and Philemon Baaru are the leaders of the men’s race in the L.A. Marathon at Mile 17, in front of a group whose time is now closing the gap on women’s leaders Aleksandra Duliba and Zemzem Ahmed, who are on pace to finish in 2:28:08. Duliba, 27, has extended her lead to 8.5 seconds in Mile 19, and is looking very strong.

8:47 a.m.: American Deena Kastor, 40, fell off the pace of the lead in the women’s race of the Asics L.A. Marathon, but she has moved back into third -- podium position -- as Belarus’ Aleksandra Duliba and Ethiopia’s Zemzem Ahmed continue to lead the race.


Krige Schabort just claimed $3,500 by winning the elite wheelchair race in 1:30:50, a new course record in his fourth consecutive L.A. Marathon victory.

8:43 a.m.: Ethiopia’s Wegayehu Girma, 24, Kenya’s Philemon Baaru, 31, and Kenya’s Erick Mose, 26, have taken turns near Mile 14 holding slight leads in men’s race at the 28th Asics L.A. Marathon.


Girma ran a 2:08:25 in the 2010 Seoul Marathon. He ran earlier this year in the Jacksonville Marathon, completing the course in 2:15:42. Mose ran his personal-best at the 2012 Torreon Marathon in Mexico at 2:10:40. Baaru completed a hilly marathon run on dirt in Kenya last year in 2:19:52.

8:31 a.m.: The men’s leaders in the L.A. Marathon are clearly conspiring to run down the women’s leaders. Defending men’s champion Simon Njoroge along with Kenyan countrymen Philemon Baaru and Julius Keter have been sharing split times, as their present pace at Mile 12 leaves them less than 11 minutes behind women’s leaders Aleksandra Duliba and Zemzem Ahmed for a $50,000 gender challenge bonus. Njoroge and Baaru are slightly ahead of a pack of 10 men.


8:25 a.m.: Defending L.A. Marathon men’s champion Simon Njoroge has taken the lead after Mile 10 of the race, just ahead of a pack of 10 men.

In the women’s race, Belarus’ Aleksandra Duliba has again passed Ethiopia’s Zemzem Ahmed in what is clearly a two-woman race in Mile 13.


8:15 a.m.: Aleksandra Duliba of Belarus and Zemzem Ahmed of Ethiopia have moved ahead of two other Ethiopian runners in Hollywood while 10 men’s runners have increased their pace to 4:56 a mile in an effort to collect the L.A. Marathon’s $50,000 gender bonus.

The men are now just 12:24 behind the women after starting 18:35 behind. Ahmed, a more experienced marathoner, has just retaken the lead from Duliba, who is cautious of the pace, and whispered for Ahmed to pass her.


8:06 a.m.: The men’s leaders in the L.A. Marathon are averaging a 4:58 mile, projecting they will complete the 26-mile race in 2:10:13.

8:00 a.m.: Belarus’ Aleksandra Duliba has retaken the lead in the L.A. Marathon women’s race after briefly surrendering it to Ethipioa’s Zemzem Ahmed. The men’s runners have completed the first 10 kilometers in 30:49, putting them on pace for a time of 2 hours10 minutes as compared to the women’s pace of 2 hours 28 minutes.


Since the women started more than 18 minutes ahead of the men, and the gender winner collects a $50,000 bonus, an announcer at the Santa Monica media headquarters has announced, “There could be some drama here.”

7:55 a.m.: At the nine-mile mark, Ethiopia’s Zemzem Ahmed has taken over the lead in the L.A. Marathon from Belarus’ Aleksandra Duilba, who is now fourth. Ahmed is at the head of a tight pack that includes countrywomen Shuru Diriba and Selomie Getnet. Ahmed is averaging a 5:46 mile.


7:52 a.m.: American Deena Kastor has fallen significantly off the pace of women’s leader Aleksandra Duliba and three others at the 10-kilometer mark in the L.A. Marathon while a pack of 10 men, paced by Kenya’s Nicholas Chelimo, have passed the Mile 4 marker at Disney Hall. Chelimo is averaging a mile in 5:05.

7:42 a.m.: The elite women’s race of the L.A. Marathon started as a battle of youthful legs vs. veteran experience. Alexsandra Duliba of Belarus, 27, is winning that contest early in her first marathon. While Duliba is checking her watch constantly to inspect her split times, veteran Deena Kastor, 40, has taken to mini-shortcuts she knows along the course to keep up.


Kastor, however, has fallen off the leader’s pace, and at this point appears to be struggling to keep up with a pack of four runners headed by Duliba.

7:37 a.m.: Cal State Fullerton product Nick Arciniaga of Flagstaff, Ariz., is in the elite men’s field, positioned in a pack of 14. Arciniaga has run a marathon in 2:11:30, faster than last year’s winning time of 2:12:12.


Arciniaga told reporters his plan for the race is to not look at his stopwatch for an extended period, to run on feel, and hope that leaders who might try to chase a $50,000 gender bonus by passing the women’s winner might burn themselves out, allowing Arciniaga to gain a top-three finish.

7:30 a.m.: The L.A. Marathon has begun in earnest, with all runners slowly making their way from the starting line at Dodger Stadium behind the men’s elite field. An unidentified male, smiling throughout, sprinted past the top male runners in the opening feet of the race before quickly falling behind.


7:27 a.m.: Elite men have started the L.A. Marathon at Dodger Stadium. Defending champion Simon Njoroge of Kenya leads the 16-man elite field after winning last year in 2 hours 12 minutes 12 seconds. Njoroge said he hopes to collect a $50,000 bonus by passing the women’s winner before the 26.2-mile race ends at Ocean Avenue and California Avenue in Santa Monica, where a cool marine cloud layer lingers with temperatures in the mid-50s.

Kenyans Nicholas Chelimo, Moses Kigen and Philemon Baaru are expected to challenge Njoroge. Early reports had the women at a pace of 2:28, a bit slower than the time of last year’s winner. The women started more than 18 minutes ahead of the men.


7:18 a.m.: A group of five women headed by Aleksandra Duliba of Belarus, Deena Kastor of the U.S. and Ethiopians Zemzem Ahmed, Selomie Getnet and Shuru Diriba have separated from the field in the elite women’s competition of the 28th Asics L.A. Marathon.

Elite men, including defending champion Simon Njoroge, will start at 7:25 a.m. Njoroge has said he’ll go after the $50,000 gender challenge bonus, trying to pass the winner of the elite women, who will have a head start of 18 minutes 35 seconds.


7:08 a.m.: Elite women have started in the 28th Asics L.A. Marathon, the field including Deena Kastor, 40, the U.S. women’s record holder in the event (2:19.36) who is seeking to become the first American woman in 19 years to win the event.

The race winner will receive $25,000. Last year’s winner, Fatuma Sado of Ethiopia, won in 2:25:39.


7:00 a.m.: Elite women are lined up, positioned for their 7:08 a.m. start.

6:56 a.m.: The 28th Asics L.A. Marathon is underway with the wheelchair division participants pushing off at Dodger Stadium. Three-time defending champion Krige Schabort is among 18 men in the race, which opens with a sprint down Elysian Hills. He won last year in 1:39.53. Two-time defending champion Shirley Reilly, who finished in 1:57.09 last year, is among seven women in the field.


6:55 a.m.: The wheelchair race has begun as daylight washes over Dodger Stadium, the starting point for the L.A. Marathon.

6:48 a.m.: The hand-crank race begins the 28th Asics Los Angeles Marathon this morning as daybreak greets the thousands of competitors on St. Patrick’s Day.


Prerace

About 24,000 runners will take to the streets Sunday morning to participate in the 28th Asics L.A. Marathon.


The 26.2-mile event begins at Dodger Stadium and will wind through Los Angeles, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills before ending at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and California Avenue in Santa Monica.

Simon Njoroge of Kenya, winner of last year’s men’s race, leads the 16-man elite field.


Deena Kastor, the U.S. women’s record holder, is among eight elite female runners.

Winners of the men’s and women’s races each receive $25,000.


There is also a $50,000 gender challenge bonus for the first runner to cross the finish line. The women will start 18 minutes 35 seconds ahead of the men — the difference in time between event records in the men’s and women’s divisions.

Winners in the wheelchair divisions receive $2,500.


Wheelchair races begin at approximately 6:55 a.m., elite women’s runners at 7:08 and elite men at 7:25.

The race will be broadcast on KTLA Channel 5 beginning at 6 a.m. A radio broadcast on AM 570 begins at 5 a.m.