LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — A long losing streak at the Los Angeles Marathon was broken on Sunday. Matt Richtman won the 2025 L.A. Marathon with a time of 2:07:56, which was an impressive three minutes faster than second-placed Athanas Kioko of Kenya.
Richtman’s victory means he is the first American to win the race since 1994. In that race 31 years ago, Paul Pilkington of Utah won with a time of 2:12:13.
Richtman told Nexstar’s KTLA that his victory was “definitely a surprise.”
“The whole race, I was running with a little bit of fear,” he explained. “It’s tough when you can’t see what’s going on behind you.”
This was Richtman’s second-ever marathon with his first being the Twin Cities Marathon in October. There, he recorded a time of 2:10:45, earning him a fourth-place finish among the men.
Richtman was a member of the Montana State University cross-country team. According to the university’s website, the Elburn, Illinois native was the third Montana State men’s cross-country runner to earn All-American honors in his junior year in 2022-2023.