And They're Off! Thousands Of LA Marathoners Pound The Pavement

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — More than 25,000 runners pounded the pavement Sunday for the 2014 ASICS Los Angeles Marathon.

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The 26.2-mile race got underway at 7 a.m. at Dodger Stadium. The course was expected to take runners through some of the most scenic routes, concluding at the Santa Monica Pier.

Although runners did not have to run in cold and windy weather as in years past, they did lose an hour of sleep for daylight-saving time.

Organizers moved up the race to avoid a city-wide conference, which they said would have interfered with the logistics of the marathon.

"Oh, it's awful. I think when we all first found out, it was like, 'Really? Really,'" a participant told KNX 1070's Ed Mertz. "It was just one last little ... 'Hey, 26.2 miles is tough so let's throw a one hour less of time at you as well.'"

Another runner said, "I could have used the extra hour sleep for sure."

Runners this year also saw noticeable changes in security, which began with their packet pick-up. The changes were implemented in the wake of last year's Boston Marathon bombings.

Dodger Stadium