| Running USA wire 86, October 26, 2005 |
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Contact: Vic Knight, (251) 438-2276 Food World Senior Bowl Charity Run Hosts USA
Men's 10K Championship MOBILE, Ala. - (Oct. 26, 2005) - America's best are
again coming to Mobile. Considered by many America's best young distance runner, Ritzenhein, 22, earned a spot on 2004 U.S. Olympic at 10,000 meters. He has enjoyed a solid 2005 racing season, which includes a victory at the USA 12K Cross Country Championship. A former NCAA champion from the University of Colorado, he is also the current American collegiate 10K record holder with a time of 27:38.50. Jennings, 26, won the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials 1500 meter with a time of 3:35.90, and is currently making the transition to longer distances. The Team Running USA athlete is also a former multiple NCAA 1500 meter champion from Stanford University. Riley, 26, was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team at 5000 meters. A three-time USA 3000 meter indoor national champion (2003-05), he was also the 2001 NCAA 5000m champion while at Stanford University. The U.S. men will be competing for a $30,000 national championship prize purse with the national champion taking home $10,000. The event is also the season finale for the USA Running Circuit, a USATF road racing series featuring national championships from 5K to the marathon, and the final grand prix positions will be decided after Mobile. Other top U.S. men expected in Mobile include Brian Sell, the 2005 USA 25K champion who is currently ranked as the number two U.S. road runner by Running Times magazine; Trent Briney, a member of the 2005 U.S. World Marathon team and fourth place finisher at the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials; 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials finalists Matt Gonzales, Chad Johnson, Jason Hubbard, Brandon Leslie, Ray Hughes, Matt Tegenkamp and Clint Verran, who finished fifth at the 2004 marathon trials. Joining America's premier distance runners will be nearly 5,000 other runners from throughout the Gulf Coast who will be participating in the Charity Run's 10K and One-Mile Fun Run races. Since its inception in 1989, the Charity Run has also made contributions to charities along the Gulf Coast which have exceeded $2.8 million, with last year's event raising a one-year record $208,000 which was donated to 16 different Gulf Coast charities. For more information on the race, visit:
SeniorBowl.com WOMEN Return to top / Return to main page For further information, contact: Teams at USA Distance Running Summit Consider Steps Toward Unified Effort BOSTON - (Oct. 25, 2005) - Cooperative actions and coordinating opportunities for their athletes emerged as top priorities at last Saturday's USA Distance Running Summit hosted by the Boston Athletic Association. Coaches and directors of seven top elite distance-running teams said they'll work to coordinate and point their athletes towards distance races, especially during the outdoor track season. They also intend to communicate their cooperative efforts so that track meet directors can consider adding sections for developmental athletes. Their resulting effort would create a few additional - but well-placed and important - sections at world-class track-and-field events in the U.S. They will underscore their effort by pursuing ways to fund their athletes' participation. They also agreed to band together in exploring health-coverage options and enhancing the opportunities to train together. Among the topics generating the liveliest discussion at Saturday's roundtable was the format for choosing the 2008 Olympic Marathon teams. Most team representatives were vocal in their desire for a one-race Trials like past editions. "The saying goes that there is strength in numbers, and the desire by these teams to work together more closely came through loud and clear," said Guy Morse, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association. "We were proud to organize and sponsor the Summit. Each of these distance clubs has already distinguished itself, and it is clear that they will continue to do so. We regard all of them as am ong the leaders in U.S. distance running." Participating in the summit were ZAP Fitness of Blowing Rock, N.C., Team Running USA of Mammoth Lakes / San Diego, Calif., Team USA Minnesota, the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project of Rochester Hills, Mich., the Big Sur Distance Project, the new Boulder Performance Training Group, the Indiana Invaders, Jim Estes, USA Track & Field's manager of long distance running and Glenn Latimer, USATF men's long distance running chair. Among them, athletes in the seven clubs reflect every phase of topnotch distance running in America, from the promising-but-unknown sub-elites to 2004 Olympic marathon medalists Meb Keflezighi (silver) and Deena Kastor (bronze). In October alone, Katie McGregor of Team USA Minnesota won the national 10K road title; Zika Palmer of ZAP Fitness was runner-up in the USA Marathon Championship; Ryan Shay of Team Running USA and Jason Hartman of the Boulder Performance Training Group finished as the top two Americans at the World Half-Marathon Championships; Blake Russell of the Big Sur Distance Project ran a personal best in placing sixth at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon; the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project won the USATF 10K Team Challenge and Kastor, also of Team Running USA, won the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. At the dinner to conclude the summit, keynote speaker Greg Meyer implored the developmental teams to carry on with their group mission, saying "There is no doubt this is the way to go." Meyer was a member of the legendary Greater Boston Track Club when he won the 1983 Boston Marathon, the last American man to do so. Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, and its five-year-old B.A.A. Half Marathon on Oct. 9 was highlighted by American newcomer Celedonio Rodriguez's victory over an international field. The organization also sponsors other local events, including the Mayor's Cup Cross Country Races last Sunday won by the B.A.A.'s Jarrod Shoemaker, with Kyle King of ZAP Fitness as runner-up in the Men's Championship Race. In addition to events, the B.A.A. supports comprehensive charity, youth and year-round running programs. Return to top / Return to main page For more information, contact: Runner's World ING New York City Marathon Podcast
presented by ASICS Online Now NEW YORK - (October 26, 2005) - Runner's World magazine, the worldwide authority on running information, debuts its first-ever podcast this week with the Runner's World ING New York City Marathon Podcast presented by ASICS, a free download of several MP3 files created for the 35,000-plus runners taking part in the ING NYC Marathon on Sunday, November 6. The podcast, featuring tips and advice for running
New York from the editors of Runner's World, is available online beginning
today at three addresses: The podcast content includes: Additional content and expert insight will be added during the week leading up to the ING NYC Marathon, of which Runner's World is a proud founding sponsor. "This is a really exciting step for us," said Willey. "I love the idea of being able to literally speak directly to our readers, in this case the thousands of readers who'll be running New York. It takes service journalism to an entirely different level for us, and I think our audience will really appreciate the advice they'll be able to hear-especially those running a marathon for the first time. "We plan on expanding our podcasting efforts even further in time, not only for specific races but also for use as ongoing training tools. And we hope to use this technology to add a new dimension to some of our in-depth features and storytelling." ASICS and Runner's World will also both have listening stations available at their respective booths during the ING NYC Marathon expo next week at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. The podcast will also have a nearly two-week spotlight on Apple's iTunes home page beginning today. About Rodale's Runner's World
Return to top / Re turn to main page Contact: Wendy Johnson, (727) 363-8881 Beach Charities Receives Grants for Its Youth Running
Program from ST. PETE BEACH, Fla.- (October 24, 2005) - Beach Charities, a not-for-profit corporation formed to manage and produce quality running events and to promote a healthy lifestyle, has been named as the recipient of grants from the Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation and the New York Runner's Foundation for its Youth Running Program. "We are very proud to be partners with the Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the highly respected New York Road Runner's Foundation, which puts on the ING New York City Marathon," says Wendy Johnson, founder and president of Beach Charities. "These grants will help establish a much needed youth fitness program. We are gratified that these outstanding organizations recognize the work Beach Charities is doing in the community." The Youth Running Program is designed to get elementary and middle school youth to participate in a running or walk/run program. The focus is on participation, individual achievement and ultimately to incorporate healthy choices into the children's everyday lives. The sites will be a mixture of public and private schools, after school programs at schools, city recreation centers and YMCAs. Priority site selection will be based on sites with higher numbers of children who meet the free and reduced lunch family income criteria. The curriculum as well as some of the start up funding will be provided by a grant from the New York Road Runner's Foundation under their mandate of national expansion of their highly successful Youth Running Program, which serves 3,500 New York school children each week. The Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation, which supports numerous youth and educational programs throughout the community, is giving sponsorship to support the program at both the St. Petersburg and Tampa campuses of Academy Prep. Administration, coaches and site interface provided by Beach Charities staff. Characteristics of the Youth
Running Program Beach Charities is supported by Motion Sports Management (MSM). Now in its third year of operation, MSM has introduced the highly successful St. Pete Beach Classic, rejuvenated the time-honored Bay to Bay race while raising much-needed funds and awareness for local charities. Motion Sports Management, owned and operated by Wendy and Al Johnson, is based in St. Pete Beach. MSM has two primary focuses: professional management services for road races and triathlons and coaching services for triathletes. For more information about MSM, visit MotionSportsManagement.com Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director (805) 696-6232, fax (805) 696-6252 |