Marathon Champ Secures Silver; Thrilled Locals Roar for Champion

Cal Calamia won the nonbinary division of this year’s Los Angeles Marathon. But unlike the race’s men’s and women’s champions, they received no prize money. Calamia also won the division in 2024 and returned this weekend to claim a second victory in the only category that still offers no financial reward.

Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ + news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter. In March, the ASICS Los Angeles Marathon offered a dedicated registration division, allowing nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people to register and appear in results under this category.

The top three winners of this division are awarded medals but are not recognized on the main podiums, unlike the winners of the cisgender categories. They also don’t receive prize money because there is no nonbinary category in the elite divisions, according to The McCourt Foundation and the LA Marathon rules. Related: I didn’t just run the world’s major marathons.

I changed them “I was definitely the only nonbinary person there,” Calamia told The Advocate . “It’s kind of a privilege, but it’s also lonely, because you’re like: ‘Wait, where’s the community? ’ I think that through running and advocating for nonbinary divisions, I’m hopeful those numbers continue to grow.