Legless Marathoner: First Place Mettle

Bob Wieland finally crossed the Los Angeles Marathon finish line Tuesday morning--74 hours, 8 minutes and 26 seconds after he started. He came in last. Most of the other finishers came in Sunday, the same day they started.

Wieland, 41, a former medic who in 1969 lost his legs to a land mine in Vietnam, was cheered at the close by about 100 supporters who went the last mile with him. There were photographers and admiring schoolchildren on hand at the tape.

He propelled himself with his powerful arms to beat his 1987 Los Angeles Marathon time by about 18 hours.

“My goal,” he said at the end, “was the same as any other runner--to finish the marathon. Outside of . . . Vietnam, this was the most intense time of my life.”

Wieland said he slept only about eight hours during the 74. Pain and fatigue swept through him. Near the end, he had to stop every few yards to rest.

Holding one end of the yellow ribbon for him at the finish line outside the Coliseum was Jesse Al-uqdah, 63, the one-legged marathoner who completed the 26.2-mile course on crutches Monday.