Los Angeles — March 4, 2008 With Head Start, Woman Wins Los Angeles Marathon LOS ANGELES — Tatiana Aryasova of Russia made a smashing marathon debut Sunday, taking advantage of a head start on the men’s field to capture the Los Angeles Marathon. Aryasova won a $100,000 bonus as part of the Challenge, a men-versus-women format that gave the top women a lead of nearly 20 minutes over the men. The time differential was chosen by race officials in hopes of creating a close finish. Aryasova held off a group of Kenyan men and finished in 2 hours 29 minutes 9 seconds. She said she gave little thought to the men in pursuit. “It didn’t matter to me,” she said through an interpreter. “If I see the men behind me, it’s not going to make me run faster.”