| Running USA wire 93, November 20, 2005 |
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Hansons-Brooks, See Jane Run
Win Team Titles at National Club Cross Country Championships ROCHESTER, N.Y. - (November 19, 2005) - See Jane Run successfully defended their Open women's team title and Hansons-Brooks reclaimed the Open men's team title Saturday at the 8th USATF National Club Cross Country Championships, sponsored by Brooks Sports, at Genesee Valley Park in Rochester. A runner-up finish by Erika Aklufi, led Southern California's See Jane Run to the women's team title for the second year in a row, with 86 points, defeating the Boston Athletic Association with 101 points. Placing third was the adidas Raleigh Track Cub with 139 followed closely by fourth place Indiana Invaders with 140 points and The Farm Team fifth with 142 points. In the Open men's team competition, Brian Sell's fifth place finish led the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project to its fourth national club title in five years, with a score of 50 points, 18 points ahead of the runner-up ASICS Aggies. Rounding out the top five were Team XO (Oregon), Wisconsin Runner RT, Boston Athletic Association (New England). Former University of Wisconsin standout Matt Tegenkamp (Madison, Wisc.) turned in an impressive performance in winning the Open men's 10K race and Elizabeth Woodworth (Baton Rouge, La.) won the open women's 6K. Tegenkamp, the 2001 Junior men's national champion, broke open an exciting duel with former NAIA All-American Fernando Cabada of Bristol, Va., winning the race in 29:47, while Cabada finished in the runner-up spot in 29:50. "That was a tough race. I was going into this race feeling the pack, and it broke open at 7K. I've been doing a lot of base training, so I wasn't quite ready to go out this fast. Fernando Cabada and I had a great competition. He's a great competitor," recounted Tegenkamp. Finishing third was Max King (Bend, Ore.), in a time of 30:01. Fourth was Brandon Leslie (Albuquerque, N.M.) in 30:05, and fifth was Brian Sell (Rochester Hills, Mich.) in 30:07. Woodworth, an NCAA Division III All-American who attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, took command in the middle of the second lap to win the race in a time of 20:29, six seconds ahead of Aklufi (Santa Monica, Calif.). Samia Akbar (Herndon, Va.) finished third in a time of 20:36. Rounding out the top-five was Erin Dromgoole (Brighton, Mass.) in 20:37, and Erin Nehus (Galliolis, Ohio), who ran 20:43. In the women's masters 6K race (40 and older), Carmen Troncoso (Austin, Tex.) took command from the gun winning overall in 21:44 to claim the women's 45-49 title. In addition, women's national age group titles were won by; Karen Steen (40-44), Cathy Utzschneider (50-54), Carolyn Smith-Hanna (55-59), Mary Shaver (60-64), Carrie Parsi (65-69) and Mary Harada (70-74). The men's masters 10K race saw Pete Magill (South Pasadena, Calif.), 1984 Olympic marathoner John Tuttle (Atlanta, Ga.), and Scott Bagley (Pittsford, N.Y.) in a fierce battle over the last 100 meters, with Magill edging Bagley in a identical time of 32:46. Tuttle's 32:49 was good for the men's 45-49 national title. Additional men's national age group titles were won by; Tom Ryan (50-54), Terry McCluskey (55-59), Terry Delph (60-64), Bill Borla (65-69), Ray Parrella (70-74) and Richard Sullivan (75-79). Seattle's Club Northwest, led by Regina Joyce's second place finish, packed four runners in the top eight to successfully defend its women's 40+ team title, defeating the host Genesee Valley Harriers 11 points to 26. The Genesee Valley Harriers also won team titles in the 50+ and 60+ divisions. Team Runner's High from the Southern California Association won the men's 40+ team title. Additional age group team titles were won by; Derby City A/C (50+), Raritan Valley (60+) and Belle Watling (70+). The USATF National Club Cross Country Championships featured clubs from across the United States vying for top honors and bragging rights as the nation's best cross country teams. Over 60 clubs and 900 competitors took part in the event, which featured a 10 kilometer Open and masters men's races and a 6 kilometer Open and masters women's race. The 2006 club championships will be held in San Francisco, Calif. on December 9. 8th USATF National Club Cross
Country Championships 10K Men's TEAM (top 5 score) Masters MEN (40+) 6K Women's TEAM (top 5 score) Masters WOMEN (40+) For complete res ults, go to: www.usatf.org/events/2005/USATFClubXCChampionships Return to top / Return to main page Runners to Gallop Around Historic Churchill Downs at
2006 Meijer Derby Festival Races "This will be the first time that runners have actually been able to enter Churchill Downs and run around the most famous racetrack in the world," said Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO. "We think both local and out-of-town runners will be excited about this new addition to the races. We're grateful to Churchill Downs for allowing us to use their facility on the opening day of their Spring Meet. This is a great way to help showcase the city during the most beautiful time of the year." Berry said the route change is a way to enhance the course and make it more appealing, especially to runners from outside Kentucky. "We have faced some pretty stiff competition from spring races in Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Nashville, and we believe that adding Churchill Downs to the course will make the Meijer races more of travel destination for runners looking to add another marathon or half-marathon to their resume," said Berry. "We hope runners will rest up after they finish and return to Churchill that weekend to watch the four-footed racers." Runners will enter Gate 3 at Fourth and Oakdale and run through the tunnel onto a circular asphalt surface inside the track's infield. They will run approximately eight-tenths of a mile in the infield before exiting through the tunnel onto Central Avenue. To account for the added mileage to the course, the simultaneous start of the races will move from New Cut Road to Southern Parkway near Iroquois Middle School. The rest of the miniMarathon course will remain unchanged from there, but there likely will be a change to the Marathon course at approximately Mile 22. The Meijer Derby Festival miniMarathon and Marathon will start at 7:30am on Saturday, April 29, 2006. This will be the 33rd consecutive year for the running of the miniMarathon and the fifth year for the Marathon. Meijer returns as the title sponsor of the event, along with contributing sponsors Bluegrass Family Health and Powerade. Visit the race website at: DerbyFestivalMarathon.com Contact: Aimee Boyd, Kentucky Derby Festival, (502) 584-6383 Return to top / Return to main page Contact: Jeff Darman, (610) 925-1976 or Jonathan Beverly, (203) 761-1113 Korir, Radcliffe Selected as Road Racers of the
Year by Running Times Running Times magazine has named John Korir of Kenya and Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain as its 2005 Road Racers of the Year in its January/February 2006 issue (on sale December 6). Just one point separated Korir and runner-up, Gilbert Okari also of Kenya. "That seems appropriate," said Jonathan Beverly, Running Times editor, "as both had remarkable years." Korir started the year with a six-race winning streak,
stretching from the November 2004, Lagos International Half Marathon
to the June 2005, Bellin Run in Green Bay, WI, with stops in Puerto
Rico, Washington DC, Spokane, WA and Guatemala. During that year, he
defeated Okari three times, as well as several other runners in the
top 10. Okari lost the Road Racer of the Year at the wire based on two races. In March at the World's Best 10K, Korir won and Okari placed seventh. Then seven months later, Okari returned from a Kenyan stay to run the World Half-Marathon Championships in Edmonton on October 1 and placed 25th. That sealed the #1 spot for Korir. As with the two top men, little separates the two top women in the Running Times' Road Racers of the Year. Both had stellar years, and both could easily be considered the #1 road racer. Unlike the top men, however, Paula Radcliffe and Lornah Kiplagat rarely raced each other; in fact, their last meeting came at the 2004 ING New York City Marathon, which falls in the October 2004 to October 2005 race window for these rankings. In the Big Apple, Radcliffe won and Kiplagat was seventh. Top Americans selected by Running Times were two-time Olympians Abdi Abdirahman of Tucson, AZ and Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, CA. Abdirahman's highlight of the year may have been on Labor Day in New Haven when he ran 58:42 to break Meb Keflezighi's 2-year-old U.S. 20K record in spite of going off course twice and dodging a minivan in the last mile. Kastor, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and a Team Running USA athlete, won the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon (2:21:25) and the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run (1:07:53, U.S. half-marathon record) and also set a U.S. 8K record (24:36) last March in Chicago. Rankings were calculated over a period from mid-October 2004 to mid-October 2005. Data and analysis for Running Times rankings were done by Ken Young, the Analytical Distance Runner, ARRS.net. Details on how Running Times ranks runners plus weekly updates are available at RunningTimes.com. Running Times, headquartered in Wilton, CT, is a national magazine (founded in 1977) known as "the runner's best resource". With readership of close to 400,000, it is the publication turned to for accurate analysis of competition, and shoe and other essential equipment buying decisions. Return to top / Return to main page Bowdoin, Nike Honor Joan Benoit Samuelson with Rededication of Magee Track When runner Libby Barney was a student at Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine, the name that stood out among all the legendary athletes in her sport was Joan Benoit Samuelson. Benoit Samuelson - winner of the 1984 inaugural women's Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles and two-time winner of the Boston Marathon - had graduated from Bowdoin in 1979. So for Barney, Samuelson was - and is - more than just a hero: "She is our hero. Bowdoin's own." Barney met up once again with her hero Saturday, October 15, 2005, when Bowdoin College rededicated its outdoor track in honor of Benoit Samuelson during Homecoming Weekend. The outdoor track, named for legendary Bowdoin track and field director John Joseph Magee, was rededicated through the generosity of Nike, Inc., whose $300,000 gift funded recent upgrades to the facility. "I'm proud to be here today, on behalf of Nike, to help rededicate and celebrate Bowdoin's track and field in honor of Joan Benoit Samuelson," said Nike Brand President Mark Parker at the rededication ceremony. "Joan has been a part of the Nike family for more than 25 years. To be able to celebrate her running legacy with a world-class track and field is truly the ultimate expression of Nike's appreciation for her accomplishments. Joan's enduring inspiration is unparalleled by any other female distance runner, and it is Nike's hope that this new track will inspire many young athletes in the future to compete or simply to enjoy the benefits of a physically active lifestyle." In her remarks during the ceremony, a "humbled and honored" Benoit Samuelson acknowledged the Magee family, and many Olympic athletes, including Steve Prefontaine, who had trained on the Magee track. Bowdoin President Barry Mills marveled that Samuelson's running career all began simply as a way for "Joanie the skier" to recover from a broken leg. "But running is only part of Joanie's story," Mills noted at the rededication. "She is a devoted wife and mother. A motivational speaker. A community organizer and volunteer. A coach and commentator. A constant friend of this College, and a role model and hero for women athletes at the top of their game, as well as for young girls taking the field for the first time. At Bowdoin, we often claim to produce leaders in all walks of life. While Joanie doesn't do much 'walking,' she is certainly counted among the leaders of her generation." Following the rededication ceremony and the Bowdoin football team's win against Hamilton College, Benoit Samuelson led a group of runners around the track. Nike's gift to Bowdoin for the track enhancement was part of the Bowerman Track Renovation Program, a 10-year, $2 million program dedicated to refurbishing or constructing running tracks around the world; and NikeGO, Nike's signature U.S. community affairs initiative and the company's long-term commitment to getting kids more physically active. The material for the pole vault, steeple chase, long jump and high jump equipment incorporate Nike Grind material made from approximately 4,000 recycled athletic shoes as part of the company's Reuse-A-Shoe Program. Reuse-A-Shoe is an integral part of NikeGO, the company's long-term commitment to get kids active and give them the means to do it. The most recognizable athlete in Bowdoin College's history, Joan Benoit Samuelson is one of the most decorated runners in the world. A two-time champion at the Boston Marathon (setting a world best, 2:22:43, in 1983), she was presented with the Jesse Owens Award in 1984, and in 1985, earned the Sullivan Award as the top U.S. amateur athlete. She will forever be remembered for her dominating gold medal performance in the inaugural women's marathon at the 1984 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles. She has been inducted into the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of America National Hall of Fame, the Maine Sports Hall of Fame, the International Women's Sports Foundation Hall of Fame, the Bowdoin College Athletic Hall of Honor, and, most recently, the USATF National Track and Field Hall of Fame. A native of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Joan Benoit Samuelson now resides in Freeport with her husband, Scott Samuelson (Bowdoin Class of 1980), and their two children. Nike, Inc., based in Beaverton, Ore., is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Throughout its 30-year history, Nike has been a consistent and strong supporter of women's sports, including its support of Joan Benoit Samuelson in her quest to become the first women's Olympic Marathon gold medalist. Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program collects, slices, and grinds up old and unusable athletic shoes to make Nike Grind material, which is then used in a variety of sports surfaces, called NikeGO Places. Since its inception in 1993, Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program has recycled more than 16 million pairs of shoes, and has donated more than 170 NikeGO Places in communities around the world. Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director (805) 696-6232, fax (805) 696-6252 |