New Back-to-Back in L.A.

Stephen Ndungu says he has a poor finishing kick, but there was nothing wrong with the way he ran miles 18 through 23 in the 17th Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday morning.

It was during that stretch that the 34-year-old Kenyan ran six consecutive miles at faster than five minutes per mile on his way to his second consecutive victory in the men’s division.

Ndungu’s time of 2 hours 10 minutes 27 seconds lowered his previous best of 2:11:16 and made him the first man to win consecutive L.A. Marathon titles.

He earned $25,000 and a new car worth $25,300 from one of the race’s major sponsors for winning the race and $5,000 for breaking 2:11.

Raymond Kipkoech Chemwelo of Kenya placed second in 2:12:19 with 2000 champion Benson Mbithi third in 2:12:32.

Sylmar native Peter De La Cerda was the first U.S. finisher, placing seventh in 2:18:25. De La Cerda, runner-up in the 2000 U.S. Olympic trials, had hoped to lower his career best of 2:15:11.

Although Ndungu’s time was the third-fastest clocking in L.A. Marathon history, it came on a reconfigured 26.2-mile course that was flatter than in previous years.

“I feel good to be a two-time champion,” Ndungu said. “I’m happy about that.”

Ndungu ran 2:13:13 in winning last year’s race by two minutes, but it became clear early in Sunday’s race that the winning time would be substantially faster on the new course.

With designated pacesetters Joseph Kariuki and Godfrey Kiprotich setting the pace, the leading runners came through two miles in 9:53 and five miles in 24:30.

Ndungu and Kipkoech Chemwelo were part of the seven-runner lead pack at that point, but Mbithi was about 50 yards back in a second pack.

“That is the way I run,” Mbithi said later.

Mbithi caught up to the leaders a few miles later, as did Karl Johan Rasmussen, a Norwegian with a best of 2:14:52.

The leaders came through 10 miles in 49:23, an average of 4:57 per mile, but it took them 5:25 to cover the next mile as they ascended a hill after running on a downhill grade for much of the first 10 miles.

Kiprotich dropped out of the race after leading the field through the halfway point in 1:05:01 and Rasmussen began to fall off the pace shortly thereafter.

The lead pack of Kariuki, Ndungu, Mbithi, Kipkoech Chemwelo and Kenya’s Noah Bor averaged 5:03 per mile for miles 14-17 before Ndungu briefly opened a small lead after bypassing a water station at which the others slowed to grab a drink.

“That was tactics for a runner like me,” Ndungu said. “It was a chance to at least push the pace a little.”

Kariuki, Mbithi, Kipkoech Chemwelo and Bor caught up to Ndungu over the next 200 meters, but the pack was reduced to four at 181/2 miles when Kariuki dropped out as expected.

Ngundu, running with short, efficient strides, looked very relaxed at that point while Kipkoech Chemwelo, Mbithi and Bor appeared to be laboring.

Bor, 24, fell off the pace shortly before 19 miles.

Mbithi, 23, quickly followed suit.

Kipkoech Chemwelo, 23, ran with Ngundu for the next two minutes, but then began to lose ground.

“I was trying to stay close,” Kipkoech Chemwelo said. “But it was hard.”

Ngundu, who ran 4:54 for the 18th mile of the race and 4:47 for the 19th, clocked 4:52, 4:58, 4:55 and 4:55 for the next four miles while running by himself.

“I am a poor finisher,” Ngundu said about his decision to pick up the pace in the 18th mile. “I do what I have to do to try and separate myself from the others.”

Ngundu’s pace slowed to 5:07, 5:10 and 5:05 in the final three miles of the race, but his lead continued to grow.

“It wasn’t bad,” he said. “But I had some cramps. Little ones here and there. When you get to the end, you are physically very tired.”

Mbithi, third in the L.A. Marathon the last two years, said finishing times would have been faster, but a delayed start led to warmer temperatures in the final miles of the race.

The start of the race, scheduled for 8:45 a.m., was delayed for 28 minutes because the Los Angeles Police Department’s bomb squad was investigating a suspicious package found along the race route. The package turned out to be of no danger, according to Police Chief Bernard Parks.