The incident occurred just before the 42 km mark when one woman, holding a Kenya flag, stepped onto the race path and unintentionally blocked Kamau.

The Kenyan athlete, who was leading far ahead of Nathan Martin at the time, tried to avoid the fan, forcing him off course. This unexpected situation made him run in the wrong direction and stop to readjust.

In the late stages, with his energy already depleted, this disruption caused Kamau to lose his rhythm. Soon after, Martin accelerated, overtook his competitor, and finished first.

Organizers recorded Martin's time as 2 hours 11 minutes 18,50 seconds, while Kamau achieved 2 hours 11 minutes 18,68 seconds before collapsing from exhaustion. With a difference of just 0,18 seconds, this marks the narrowest victory in the 45-year history of the Los Angeles Marathon.

While a video near the finish line might suggest Martin's surge was only in the final meters, the American runner's effort to close the gap with Kamau began earlier. From the 35 to 40 km mark, Martin accelerated, completing that 5 km stretch in 15 minutes 8 seconds. This was the fastest 5 km split of the race, at a pace of 3:02 (meaning one km in 3 minutes 2 seconds). This allowed him to bring Kamau back into sight before his decisive sprint.

In a post-race interview, Martin emphasized his constant reminder to never give up. "Whether there's someone ahead to chase or I'm running alone, I want to give it my all," the 36-year-old athlete said. "I want to know I finished the race with everything I could."

Martin, 36, currently competes professionally and serves as the head coach for cross country and track and field at Jackson High School in Michigan. He primarily trains alone and works remotely with US marathon specialist James McKirdy.

After the race, McKirdy wrote on social media that he was proud of his student for "running hard to the finish line," something coaches always stress from the beginning of an athlete's career.

Nathan Martin celebrates after finishing first at the 2026 Los Angeles Marathon. Photo: Kevin Morris

The 2026 Los Angeles Marathon attracted approximately 27,000 participants, starting from Dodger Stadium and concluding on Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City. Typically held on the third sunday of March, this year the race was moved one week earlier to avoid conflicting with the Oscar Awards ceremony, which took place on 15/3 at the Dolby Theatre, located on the race route.

The Los Angeles Marathon was first organized in 1986. Rick Sayre (men, 2 hours 12 minutes 19 seconds) and Nancy Ditz (women, 2 hours 36 minutes 17 seconds) were the inaugural champions. The current men's record belongs to Markos Geneti with 2 hours 6 minutes 35 seconds, set in 2011, while the women's record was established by Askale Marachi in 2019 with 2 hours 24 minutes 11 seconds.

Hong Duy (according to Canadian Running Magazine)