RUNNING Pina, Kortchaguina record fast times in Pittsburgh Marathon

Juan Camacho Pina will use the prize money to buy land for a home.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Juan Camacho Pina and Lioudmila Kortchaguina took advantage of perfect weather and dominated their divisions on the way to titles in the City of Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday.
Camacho, a 30-year old from Mexico, recorded the third fastest time in the 19-year history of the men's open division -- and the fastest since 1996 -- when he finished the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 5 seconds.
Ends drought
Camacho, the first Mexican to win the men's title since 1987, finished two minutes in front of his nearest competitor, Andrey Gordeyev of Belarus, who finished a distant second at 2:14.07.
It was the first marathon title for Camacho, who took the lead at mile 15 and ran away from the field. Camacho fell four seconds short of a $2,500 bonus, but did earn $12,500 for winning the title.
"Winning is very important for me and my family," said Camacho, who was making his first appearance in Pittsburgh. "I will use the prize money to buy some land so I can build a home for my family.
"The difference between this race and my previous nine races is that I had 14 weeks of training. I was really prepared for this race."
Kortchaguina, a 31-year old from Russia, recorded the second-fastest time in the history of the women's open division with 2:29:53, three seconds short of the course record of 2:29:50 set in 1998 by Margaret Groos.
"I did a good job of preparing for this course," said Kortchaguina, who also made her Pittsburgh debut. "I tried to break the course record, but it is a very difficult course."
Kortchaguina, who won two marathons in 2002, pulled away from the pack at mile nine and was never seriously challenged from that point on. By finishing at or better than 2:30, she earned a $2,500 bonus to add to the $12,500 winners' prize.
Runnerup
Defending champion Magdalena Lewy, of Oakland, Calif., finished a distant second at 2:31:38. Despite finishing second, Lewy did qualify for the United States Olympic Trials by recording a time of 2:32:00 or better.
The temperature at the beginning of the race was 49 degrees and rose to the mid 50s as the elite runners finished.