LA Marathon celebrates Valentine's Day mid-race

The Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon kicked off to a festive start at Dodger Stadium on Valentine’s Day despite forecasts of unseasonably warm weather Sunday.

Using the Twitter hashtag #UniteLA, some 26,000 ruers registered to compete in this year’s iconic “Stadium to Sea” course from the stadium to Santa Monica.

• See live updates from the race

The race was romantic for many.

Marathon ruer Rosy Bliss, 42, met her husband Robert at Mile 10 at Hollywood and Vine to quickly renew their vows at a station set up for that very purpose.

“She had to keep it quick, but it was nice,” Robert Bliss said, noting his wife was ruing her fourth L.A. Marathon and trying to beat her 3 hour, 40-minute best time. Robert gave her a red rose, but his wife quickly retued it to him after the ceremony and she was on her way again. “I just cost her seven minutes up here. Now she has to beat 3:47,” Robert Bliss said.

Marathon ruer Steve Engel of Chatham, New York, stopped by the wedding station to renew vows with his wife Karen of nearly 20 years. “He just lost his dad. We just moved home after a house fire. This is just what we needed,” said an emotional Karen Engle after the minutes-long ceremony.

• VIDEO: Steve and Karen Engle renew vows

Steve Engle, 52, has run the L.A. Marathon consecutively for 29 years. He ran his first marathon just two weeks after he met Karen.

“It was beautiful,” he said of the ceremony. “Couldn’t be better. A celebration of our 20 years.”

Wheelchair racers were the first to take off from the starting line at 6:30 a.m. with hand cyclists close behind. Elite women were given the signal at 6:45 a.m. while elite men followed by the rest of the field set out at 6:55 a.m.

More than 150 Legacy Ruers, who have run all past 30 marathons, were at the head of the start line on Sunday.

The high in downtown Los Angeles today is expected to reach the mid to upper 80s, while the high for the coast is expected to be closer to 80 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

The average high this time of year is 69 degrees downtown so “it’s well above normal,” said Robbie Munroe, an NWS meteorologist.

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials 2016 took place Saturday on the streets of Los Angeles, starting and ending at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Karla Ferrer of Canoga Park was ruing with Damian Heandez. They’ve been ruing together since 2009. Ferrer said she was nervous. “It feels like it’s going to be warm today. I am hydrating a lot.”

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