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Youth Running Programs Earning Good Grades this Fall "Running laps" has a whole new meaning in elementary and middle schools across the country this year. In communities where running organizations have partnered with school districts to provide innovative fitness programs, gone are the days when running meant defeat, drudgery or even punishment for some. Today's model youth running and fitness programs described below offer cost effective results set in a fun, non-competitive atmosphere. Trained teachers and volunteers use tested curricula with a mix of teamwork, goals and incentives to help fill the voids left by dwindling resources for PE. A few of these programs such as New York Road Runners Foundation and Marathon Kids began 8 to 10 years ago but most were started in the last two years as communities and running events began to realize the magnitude of problems created by overweight populations. For recent successful youth running program stories, click on the following: |
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CALIFORNIA WORKSHOP for ALL: Youth Running
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Return to top / Return to main page Olympians Headline USA 5K Championships
at CVS / pharmacy Downtown INDIANAPOLIS - (September 13, 2006) - U.S. Olympians Anthony Famiglietti (New York, N.Y.) and Amy Rudolph (Providence, R.I.) lead the fields for this weekend's USA 5K Championships hosted by the CVS / pharmacy Downtown 5K in Providence. Sunday's race will mark the fifth year that the CVS / pharmacy Downtown 5K has hosted the USA Championships for men and the second for women. Famiglietti, 27, a 2004 Olympian in the 3000 meter steeplechase, will look to improve his runner-up finish at last year's national championship to win his first USA road title but will be tested by a list of challengers that includes past USA road champions, former collegiate All-Americans and a U.S. record holder. Famiglietti's most serious challenges will come from U.S. 25K record holder Fernando Cabada (Bristol, Va.), Team USA Minnesota's Andrew Carlson (St. Paul, Minn.) and former Georgetown University star and Big East Conference 10,000 meter champion Rod Koborsi (Washington, D.C.). While Famiglietti comes into the USA Championships with the fastest 5000 meters of the men's field at 13:24.47, Koborsi is close behind with a 13:26.65 personal best set earlier this summer. Carlson and Cabada are counting on their respective bests of 13:32.71 and 13:34.94 to keep them in the mix as well. In the women's race, hometown favorite Rudolph, 32, is set to defend the title the Providence grad won last year but expect challenges from last year's national runner-up Jenelle Deatherage (St. Louis Park, Minn.) and her Team USA Minnesota teammate and 2004 1500m Olympian Carrie Tollefson (St. Paul, Minn.). The trio will also have to deal with Sara Slattery (Lafayette, Colo.), who finished second to Rudolph at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships 10,000 in June. Slattery brings a 5000 best of 15:08.32, the season fastest in the U.S. field. Team Running USA athlete and two-time NCAA 5000 meter runner-up Sara Hall (Woodside, Calif.) should also be in contention for the title, with a season best of 15:20.88. The CVS / pharmacy Downtown 5K features $30,000 in national championship prize money with $5000 going to the respective U.S. champions. The event also offers prize money in the Open division that features defending race champions Olga Kravtsova of Belarus and Mohamed Amyn of Morocco. The CVS / pharmacy Downtown 5K is the sixth stop for men and the fifth for women on the 2006 USA Running Circuit (USARC). The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series that features USA Championships from 5K to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The twelfth edition for the men and eleventh for the women, the 2006 circuit has seven events for men and women. The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6000, $4000, and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships - Medtronic Twin Cities on October 1 - will be doubled. The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $5.6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners. For more information on the 2006 USARC and the USA 5K Championship, visit: USATF.org Return to top / Return to main page Contact: Elite Racing, Inc., Susan Reid / Ian Monahan, (800) 311-1255 Kiplagat Takes Second Step Towards Prize Bonus
at Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run PHILADELPHIA - (Sept. 13, 2006) - Fresh off her victory at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, Va. just 11 days ago, 26-year-old Edna Kiplagat from Kenya now has extra incentive to win the 29th Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run on Sunday, Sept. 17. She is seeking the $25,000 "Triple Crown" bonus offered to any athlete who wins all three fall half-marathons produced by Elite Racing, Inc. (Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, Virginia Beach, Sept. 3 - Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run, Sept. 17 - Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, San Jose, Calif. Oct. 8). Approaching the end of a conservative race in her half-marathon debut in Virginia Beach, Kiplagat knew she had secured victory in the final two miles of the race along the oceanfront boardwalk, finishing in one hour, 11 minutes, 8 seconds. If she is able repeat in Philadelphia, Kiplagat will have the opportunity to take home at least $53,000 if she can complete the hat trick in San Jose on Oct. 8. Kiplagat admitted the field in Virginia Beach contained some dangerous competition and Philadelphia is no different. The toughest challenge to Kiplagat should come from Japanese athletes Naoko Takahashi, 34, and Yurika Nakamura, 20. Takahashi, Japan's running superstar, returns to Philadelphia for the second year in a row. Last year, the 2000 Olympic Marathon gold medalist finished fourth here (1:11:28) in preparation for what would be a victorious run at the prestigious Tokyo International Women's Marathon on Nov. 20, 2005 in a time of 2:24:39. Nakamura is coming off a second place finish at the 2006 Japan Corporate Half Marathon Championships in 1:10:03, more than a minute faster than Kiplagat's half-marathon time. The veteran ladies in the field, Anne Jelegat, 37, of Kenya (1:08:58), and American Colleen De Reuck, 42, (1:08:38) hold the fastest times of the group. De Reuck is well-known for winning the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and the 2005 USA Cross Country 8K Championship. On the men's side, Wilson Kiprotich of Kenya leads the field with the fastest half-marathon time (59:27). Kiprotich is an experienced distance athlete at the young age of 26 and already has a string of victories at some of the world's toughest distance competitions. The running world will be watching Sammy Kipketer's half-marathon debut as he moves up in distance. The 25-year-old Kenyan was the first and only athlete to run 13 minutes flat on the roads when he set the world record in 2000 at the Carlsbad 5000 in Carlsbad, Calif. In 2001, Kipketer came back to Carlsbad and produced a carbon copy of his record setting performance from the previous year. Abdi Abdirahman, 29, from Tucson, Ariz. leads a strong group of Americans entered in the field. The two-time Olympian finished third at the inaugural NYC Half-Marathon and has the speed that could pose a threat to competitors around him near the finish. Other top U.S. athletes joining Abdirahman are Jason Hartmann, 25, from Boulder, Colo. and Brandon Leslie, 30, from Albuquerque, N.M. Hartmann finished second at the 2006 USA Half-Marathon Championships, while Leslie was fourth. This year, athletes from nine countries, masters runners and top Philadelphia area runners will compete for a prize purse set at more than $70,000. Prizes are awarded to the top 10 men and women. Course record bonuses, masters and first male and female Philadelphia resident prizes are included. The 29th annual Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run welcomes its largest field in race history with 13,000 runners and walkers on Sun., Sept. 17. On race day, approximately 20 bands will play on 11 stages at points along the course and including the finish line festival at Eakins Oval. Bands playing jazz, reggae, alternative rock, classic rock, and country will create a block party atmosphere for runners and walkers, as well as cheering fans. To learn more about the half-marathon and the prize purse, visit RunPhilly.com or call (800) 311-1255. JHPDR Professional Field MEN WOMEN Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director |