Woman Wins L.A. Marathon (well, not really)

I was fascinated to read headlines saying that Russia's Tatiana Aryasova won the Los Angeles Marathon, ahead of the entire men's field. Could this be the Bobby Riggs/Billie Jean King showdown for marathon running? But, upon closer reading of the articles, I discovered that Aryasova was given a 20-minute headstart as part of the race's men vs. women format. She won a $100,000 bonus because she crossed the finish line before the top male runner, Laban Moiben of Kenya.

Hmmm....now, I'm all for equal coverage for men's and women's running. That's why I think it's great that some of the major marathons -- like New York City and Boston -- have separate early wave starts for the elite women, so the women can be front and center from their start to finish. But those races don't go as far as proclaiming the female winner as the overall winner just because she crossed the finish line first.

What do you think? Is this the way women want to win the Battle of the Sexes -- with a head start? Share your thoughts here or in our forum discussion.