Toroitich, Rotich win Las Vegas Marathon

Kenyan runners Christopher Toroitich and Caroline Rotich won the Las Vegas Marathon on Sunday, topping a field of more than 27,600 on a frigid morning in the desert.

Toroitich finished in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 15 seconds to beat Terefe Yae of Ethiopia by 1:27. Assefa Tesfaye of Ethiopia was another second back in third.

"The weather was the biggest challenge," Torotich said of the 36-degree temperatures (2 Celsius) at the start. "My muscles were so cold they just wouldn't respond."

Toroitich ran the first 10 miles (16 kilometers) with fellow Kenyan Matthew Koech. Koech is a world class half-marathoner, with a personal best of 59:54, but was competing in his first full marathon.

"I was not afraid of him," Toroitich said. "That's because I know the marathon is different than the half marathon. "

Toroitich began to think he could win after the 10-mile mark.

"When I saw the other guys weren't responding, I said 'OK, if they catch me it will have to be at the finish line,'" he said.

The top American finisher was Stephen Haas in fifth with a time of 2:18:45.

Rotich crossed in 2:29:47 to win the women's race 18 seconds ahead of Alevtina Ivanova of Russia. Serkalem Abrha of Ethiopia was third in 2:36:26.

Rotich was also bothered by the chilly weather and was well behind the two women leaders at 20 miles.

But then she overtook fellow Kenyan Alice Timbilili at 23 miles to move into second place and thought, "Maybe (Ivanova) is too far ahead, but let me push and see if I can catch her."

Rotich made up 70 seconds in the final three miles, passing the fading Ivanova 2:26:50 into the race and going on to the victory less than three minutes later.