Anne Audain Featured Speaker at Women's Trailblazer Award Luncheon
Event part of Running USA 2007: The National Conference for the Running Industry

New Zealand Olympian Anne Audain, a pioneer in the sport, will be the featured speaker at the upcoming Women's Trailblazer Award luncheon, presented by HerSports. The Tuesday, February 6th luncheon is part of Running USA 2007: The National Conference for the Running Industry, powered by Running USA, The Active Network, Inc. and Gen-A Network. The annual signature event for the road racing and distance running industry returns to the San Diego area on February 5-8, 2007 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines.

Audain, who now resides in Evansville, Indiana, has a rich, inspiring and long involvement in the sport.

* Born in 1955 in Auckland, New Zealand, with severe bone deformities of both feet; adopted at birth.
* Qualified for six Olympic Games - 1972 to 1992 - from 800 meters to the marathon.
* Pioneered professionalism for female track and field competitors.
* Set a World Record at 5000 meters (15:13.22) in March 1982.
* Honored by Queen Elizabeth II of England with a Member of the British Empire award in 1995.
* Co-founded the "St. Luke's Women's Fitness Celebration 5K" in Boise, Idaho (1993), one of the largest women-only races in the world.
* Won more U.S. road races (75) than any other male or female runner in the 1980s.
* Won Gold (3000m) and Silver (10,000m) medals at the Commonwealth Games - Australia 1982, Scotland 1986.

More Running USA 2007 conference information including registration, hotel reservations, schedule and speakers is available at www.runningusa.org/conference/rusa2007_intro.shtml or by calling (805) 696-6232.

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Aspiring Olympians Take Run at 2008 Trials Qualifying Times in Chevron Houston Marathon

HOUSTON - (December 18, 2006) - More than 60 emerging American distance runners are headed to the 2007 Chevron Houston Marathon - slated for Sunday, Jan. 14 - in search of qualifying times for the Olympic Trials.

The runners are part of the Chevron Houston Marathon's "U.S. Athlete Development Project", which is designed to assist up-and-coming athletes with securing marathon times to earn spots in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials preceding the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Bringing this innovative program to our race is another way the Chevron Houston Marathon is supporting U.S. distance running," said race director Brant Kotch. "Runners are coming from 25 states and the District of Columbia, and they will be treated to a first-class race experience to give them the best opportunity to run a qualifying time."

The 65 Project runners, including 18 women, are aiming for one of two qualifying times. The Trials "A" standard for men is 2 hours, 20 minutes or faster, while the "B" standard is 2:22. To become "A" qualifiers, women must run 2 hours, 39 minutes or faster. The "B" time to achieve is 2:47.

Participants receive a complimentary race entry and accommodations. They also will start the race at the front of the pack and be able to place their own re-hydration beverages at designated spots on the course. In addition, four pace runners will lead the athletes through at least 16 miles at a pace for each of the qualifying times.

"This gives them a better chance to qualify," said Greg McMillian of McMillian Running Co., who created the Project. "They don't usually get this type of support. We know it's hard for these athletes to train at the level necessary to qualify and also have a full-time job. For them to see the support they're getting in Houston is huge."

The Chevron Houston Marathon is the second race to host the Project, which was launched in 2006 at the Austin Marathon. Participation in Houston is up 35 percent compared to the first effort in Austin.

Nearly 18,000 runners are expected to participate in the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon and Houston Press / Smart Financial Credit Union 5K, all scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 14, 2007.

The Chevron Houston Marathon, a Running USA Founding Member, is the nation's premier winter marathon, annually attracting participants from all 50 U.S. states and several foreign countries. In 2006, nearly 20,000 runners took part in four marathon weekend events (marathon, half-marathon, 5K run and children's run). The Chevron Houston Marathon offers the only closed marathon course in Texas and is ranked among the top five in the nation by the Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd support. More than 5,000 volunteers work the race, which is Houston's largest single-day sporting event.

For more information, visit ChevronHoustonMarathon.com or call (713) 957-3453.

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Trapp Inducted into American Ultra Hall of Fame
From Dan Brannen, Executive Director, AUA

Sue Ellen Trapp of Fort Myers, Florida is the 2006 inductee into the American Ultrarunning Association's Hall of Fame. Trapp joins 2004 inaugural inductees Ted Corbitt and Sandra Kiddy and 2005 honoree Marcy Schwam in the pantheon of American ultrarunning legends so honored. Only one inductee per year is admitted, and an athlete must have reached the age of 60 or been retired for 10 years to qualify. Trapp, whose ultra career began in 1979, turned 60 this year. She is still competing.

In 1979, Trapp - a wife, mother and full-time dentist until her recent professional retirement - emerged on the ultra scene by breaking the American 100K record by almost a half hour with an 8 hours, 43 minutes 14 seconds. She spent the next two years trading U.S. and world records at 50 miles, 100K and 24 hours with fellow American Marcy Schwam.

By 1981, Trapp owned the world 100K (62 miles) mark of 8:05:16 and the world 24 hour standard of 123 miles, 593 yards. She then went into an 8-year semi-retirement, concentrating on racing distances from 5K through the marathon.

She returned spectacularly in 1989, now in her mid-40s, adding 14+ miles to her best 24 hour distance to finish runner-up to Ann Trason at the USA 24 Hour Championship in Queens, New York, as both women shattered the U.S. record.

For the next decade, Trapp owned American distaff 24 hour racing like few athletes have possessed their signature event. During that span, she won an unprecedented seven national 24 hour run titles (most of the time finishing among the top 5 overall in the race) and took two silvers. She also returned to the 100K event, qualifying for the national 100K team three times, highlighted by a clutch performance of 8:17 as third scorer on the U.S. team at the 1993 World 100K which put the American women on the team medals podium for the first time ever.

During her decade of 24 hour run dominance in the 90s, Trapp took ownership of both the track and road versions of the U.S. women's 24 hour Open record. The highlight was her 1993 recapturing (with 145 miles, 503 yards) of the national road and absolute 24 hour mark from Trason, who is universally regarded as the greatest American ultrarunner, male or female, in history. In the past two decades, no other American woman has been able to come close to a Trason-held U.S. record.

Approaching the end of the decade, Trapp extended her expertise into the multi-day realm, putting the women's national 48 hour road and track marks out of reach of all other American women, and capping her career with an absolute world record 234 miles, 1425 yards to win the Surgeres 48 Hour in France in 1997. She had set absolute world records 17 years apart, an accomplishment which makes her unique in all of athletics. Her 48 hour mark stood for almost a decade and resisted targeted attempts by virtually all the world's top female 24 hour runners until Japan's Sumie Inagaki finally broke it earlier this year by less than 3 miles.

For more information on the American Ultrarunning Association, visit: AmericanUltra.org

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Contact: Debbie Jansen, Event Manager, (920) 882-9439

Community First Fox Cities Marathon Festival of Races Donates over $20,000 to Local Charities

APPLETON, Wis. - (December 12, 2006) - Recently, the Community First Fox Cities Marathon Festival of Races donated 2005 race proceeds to two local charities. A check for $12,000 was presented to the YMCA of the Fox Cities Strong Kids Program and $2,800 was donated to Fox Cities Greenways.

YMCA of the Fox Cities Strong Kids Program provides financial assistance to children, adults and families who would like to benefit from YMCA programs, camps, child care or membership, but do not have the financial means to do so.

Fox Cities Greenways exists to serve as an advocate for trail and greenways development, facilitate projects, and to raise awareness. Donations to Fox Cities Greenways support trails and greenways throughout the greater Fox Valley region.

In addition, the 2006 Community First Fox Cities Marathon helped three other local charities raise funds through this year's events in September. Participants were given the opportunity to donate funds to one of three local charities - American Cancer Society, Fox Valley Humane Association, and Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs. Participants in the Time Warner Cable 5K Run / Walk chose one of these charities and $5 of their entry fee was donated to that charity. Participants in other events could donate additional funds on their entry form.

The three charities were recently presented with checks in the following amounts: American Cancer Society - $4,155, Fox Valley Humane Association - $1,962 and Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs - $1,371.

The Community First Fox Cities Marathon, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, had over 4,700 participants in 2006. The 17th annual event is set for September 22-23, 2007. For more information, visit: FoxCitiesMarathon.org

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232
Ryan@RunningUSA.org | www.RunningUSA.org