| Running USA wire 79, September 29, 2004 |
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In this Edition Wire 79, September 29, 2004(click)
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Return to top / Return to main page Contacts: Twin Cities Marathon Field Features Past Champions,
Familiar Faces, First-Timers MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - (Sept. 29, 2004) - The 23rd Twin Cities Marathon field promises to be one of the strongest in race history. Three-time TCM women's champion (1998, 2000-01) and course record-holder Zinaida Semenova of Russia and 2001 men's winner Joshua Kipkemboi of Kenya will be the most recognizable of the familiar faces for the Sunday, Oct. 3 race. On the women's side, last year, Semenova, competed for the first time as a master at TCM, finished 4th overall and won the masters title. Semenova will face a strong field of challengers including 1999 TCM champion Kim Pawelek of Arden, NC, 2002 runner-up Jill Boaz of Los Osos, CA (both won national titles at TCM) and Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova of Russia, the two-time Grandma's Marathon champion who narrowly missed the world masters record in the marathon with her 2:27:05 in Duluth in 2003. A passel of contenders hoping to make their first big splash at TCM include Russians Alevtina Biktimorova, Victoria Klimina, Irina Permitina and Silvia Skvortsova who finished 3rd at TCM in 2001. Elena Fadeeva of the Ukraine is also expected to challenge. In addition, Brainerd Minnesota native Turena Johnson Lane of Statesboro, GA is an especially intriguing prospect for the race. Johnson Lane, who finished 6th at TCM last year, won the USA 20K title in early September with a breakthrough performance that could augur bigger things for her at the marathon distance. On the men's side, Kipkemboi, who owns the masters record at TCM with his 2:11:45, second place clocking in 2002 (also the U.S. All-Comers Record) - will face both the challenge of time - he's now 45-years-old - and rivals on the streets connecting the Metrodome and the State Capitol. Fellow Kenyan master Jackson Kipng'ok, who ran just a few steps behind Kipkemboi in 2002, returns to challenge for masters and overall supremacy, as does Fedor Ryzhov of Russia the overall and masters runner-up last year. Perhaps the sentimental favorite this year will be 1997 Boston Marathon Champion Lameck Aguta. Aguta was a victim in 1997 of an automobile accident in his native Kenya where he was subsequently robbed, beaten and left for dead. He continues his inspiring comeback at TCM. Other international standouts include Gabriel Muchiri of Kenya, 4th at TCM in 2003 after leading the race onto Summit Avenue; Mohamed Nazipov a top masters runner from Russia; Dmitry Kapitonov of Russia and Augustus Kavutu of Kenya. Looking to challenge the old guard and the international runners is an intriguing group of U.S. marathoners which include 2001 USA Marathon champion Scott Larson of Boulder, CO; 2002 USA Half-Marathon champion and 2000 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials runner-up Peter De La Cerda of Alamosa, CO; former U.S. marathon record-holder David Morris of Albuquerque, NM; Patrick Muturi of Pullman, WA, the 1996-97 Grandma's Marathon champion; Jimmy Hearld of Louisville, KY; Scott Strand of Birmingham, AL; Teren Jameson of Salt Lake City, UT and Minnesota native Marty Rosendahl of Rochester Hills, Michigan. At TCM, U.S. runners will not only compete for $147,000 Open prize money, but also for the $100,000 purse dedicated by TCM to American athletes. The total prize purse for TCM in 2004 is $327,000. TCM will once again host the USA Masters Marathon Championship. Dennis Simonaitis of Draper, UT, who was the USA Masters Championship runner-up in 2003 and Antoni Niemczak of Albuquerque, NM, who was third head the men's field. Minnesota's own Janet Robertz returns to defend the USA Masters title she won at TCM last year. Challenging her will be 2003 runner-up Lisa Vaill of Gainsville, FL and Susan Loken of Phoenix, AZ, who beat Robertz this spring at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in St. Louis. The 2004 Twin Cities Marathon weekend is October 1-3. The three-day weekend celebration of fitness includes a 5K run/walk, children's fun runs, pasta dinner, two-day health and fitness expo and a 10-mile race in addition to the marathon. Twin Cities Marathon, a Running USA Founding Member, continues its 14th consecutive year as the designated USATF National Masters Championship for both men and women. Major corporate sponsors for the marathon are Cub Foods and Seagate Technology. Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. is a non-profit organization that directs the TCM weekend as a community service for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Visit www.twincitiesmarathon.org for more information. Twin Cities Marathon Elite
Field MEN MASTERS MEN WOMEN MASTERS WOMEN Return to top / Return to main page Contact: Ryan Hubele, (512) 536-6970 Freescale Austin Marathon Announces New Race Bonuses for 2005 AUSTIN, Tex. - (Sept. 27, 2004) - The Freescale Austin Marathon - formerly known as the Motorola Austin Marathon - announced a new bonus structure for 2005. A total of $40,000 in cumulative bonuses will be offered to encourage faster times at the February 13, 2005 event, setting the stage to make a serious bid to beat the state of Texas men and women's Open division marathon records within three years. In addition to $60,000 in prize money, a bonus of $5000 for new event Open division records will be offered. Additionally, the first male or female runner to better the state record would also earn another $5000 and the first runners to break 2:10 for men or to go under 2:27:00 for women, would earn an additional $5000. And finally, the Freescale Austin Marathon will award another $5000 to the first man under 2:09 or the first woman under 2:26. If the bonuses go unclaimed in 2005, the money will carry forward to the following year and be added to the bonus pool for each successive year until a bonus is finally paid. The current State of Texas marathon records of 2:10:04 [Richard Kaitany, 1989] and 2:27:51 [Ingrid Kristiansen, 1986] were both run in Houston. The Freescale Austin Marathon event records are 2:11:14 by Mohamed Nazipov [2001] and 2:30:39 by Tatiana Borisova [2004]. "The Association of Road Race Statisticians has rated the Freescale Austin Marathon as having the fastest course in the world for the past two years" said race director John Conley. "But as we all know, fast times are not always a function of how fast a course is, but are often linked to such things as prize money or the caliber of the elite field that is assembled". "With the cash incentives rolling over into each successive year, $70,000 or more in first-place and bonus money will be up for grabs within three years. Like a lottery, eventually the prize purse and bonuses become big enough to attract the kind of runner who can run under 2:09 or under 2:26 without too much trouble on a course like ours" said Conley. "Even though many PRs are set on our course and the Freescale Austin Marathon generated more qualifiers to the 2004 Boston Marathon than any other marathon in Texas (BAA, 2004), we are ready to set the bar higher and make a serious bid for new records". Entry into the open elite field at the 2005 Freescale Austin Marathon is by invitation-only and runners must have run a 2:14 or better for men and a 2:34 or better for women, within the past two years on a USATF or AIMS certified course. Travel assistance is available to qualified athletes. In 2004, over 10,500 runners form 47 states and 28 countries participated in the event making it one of the largest running festivals in the United States and generated over $6 million in total economic impact. Close to 12,000 runners are expected to participate in the 2005 marathon and half-marathon. For more information about the Freescale Austin Marathon, or inquiry about entry into the elite field for 2005, contact John Conley at john@freescaleaustinmarathon.com, visit www.freescaleaustinmarathon.com or call (512) 478-4265 or toll-free at 1-877-601-6686. Return to top / Return to main page San Diego 1 Day Hosts the 2004
AUA American National 24-Hour Championship SAN DIEGO, Calif. - (Sept. 29, 2004) - San Diego 1 Day, the U.S.'s premier 24-hour race, will host the 2004 American Ultrarunning Association (AUA) 24-Hour American National Championship. The San Diego 1 Day Race Association is providing ultrarunning's biggest cash purse of $5000 to be split among the top three men and women American finishers. In conjunction with the championship race, there will be a 12-hour 6-person relay race to enable runners in the community to compete side-by-side with the country's best ultra distance runners. The San Diego 1 Day race is an ultra distance road race where entrants compete to run the most mileage within a 24-hour period. Many of the runners are expected to run well in excess of 100 miles. Their mileage will be recorded through an electronic sensor attached to their shoe, which accurately counts their laps and accumulated distance. The race will be held November 6-7, at Hospitality Point in Mission Bay Park on a one-mile loop course with beautiful ocean views. In its 6th year, San Diego 1 Day will host San Diego's richest relay race, which will run concurrently with the first 12 hours of the AUA American National 24-Hour Championship race. The winning relay team will split a $1000 cash prize sponsored by the San Diego Track Club, and fire, police and service teams will vie for the Uniform Championship Awards Each relay team will consist of 6 runners and each runner must run a minimum of 1 lap during the 12-hour period. A plentiful aid station, helpful crew and entertainment will make for a fun day. "By opening the race to relay teams at this year's AUA 24-Hour Championship, we are encouraging runners in the community to run with some of the country' s best ultra-runners who are competing for this year's national championship," said John Metz, race director of the San Diego 1 Day. About San Diego 1 Day Contact: Ellie Sanchez, (858) 382-7477 Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director (805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958 |