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Team Running USA Athletes Shine in 2007 SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - (December 12, 2007) - Led by Ryan Hall's sub-one hour half-marathon in Houston, U.S. marathon debut record at London and Olympic Marathon Trials triumph in Central Park, Team Running USA athletes again distinguished themselves with world class performances, multiple national titles and U.S. records and USA Running Circuit Grand Prix titles. "Since 2001, Team Running USA athletes have performed well nationally and internationally, and this year was no exception. Ryan Hall, of course, had an exciting, historic year, while Deena Kastor added 5 more national titles and two U.S. records, fellow Olympic medalist Meb Keflezighi took on Kenya's best road racers this summer and Kate O'Neill had a wonderful marathon debut for third in the heat at Chicago," said Basil Honikman, CEO of Running USA. "Our training group works because the dedicated athletes and coaches Terrence Mahon, Bob Larsen and Joe Vigil understand the importance of teamwork and that the collective whole is bigger and better than the individual. In 2008, we expect Team Running USA to vie for several Olympic team berths and to continue its high level of achievement," Honikman added. During 2007, Team Running USA athletes also generated plenty of media interest and exposure with features, profiles and cover shots in major wire services and publications such as the AP, New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe and Runner's World as well as a feature piece on NPR's "Only a Game". Below is the major 2007 performance summary for the Team Running USA development program. 3 NATIONAL RECORDS On March 10, at the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville, Florida, Deena Kastor ran 47:20 to set the U.S. women-only mark. At the national championship, the top women had a 5 minute head start for the Equalizer Bonus and she beat all the men to the finish line. At the IAAF World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy on October 14, Kastor finished 16th in 1:09:38 to set a U.S. women-only record for the half-marathon. U.S. MARATHON DEBUT RECORD U.S. OLYMPIC MARATHON TRIALS & USA CHAMPIONSHIP
RECORD 3 USA CHAMPIONS, 8 NATIONAL TITLES 3 USA NATIONAL RUNNERS-UP, 5 TIMES TWO USA RUNNING CIRCUIT GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONS SILVER MEDAL at YOKOHAMA WOMEN'S EKIDEN #1 U.S. PERFORMANCES for 2007 - (9) About Team Running USA Since 2001, Team Running USA athletes have won two Olympic medals, 12 World Cross Country Championship medals and three major marathons, set one world road record, 22 national records and numerous personal records, earned 57 national titles and five USARC Grand Prix titles and added to world and U.S. all-time lists. In short, they are the most accomplished distance training group in the United States. Supported by the New York Road Runners, the Town of Mammoth Lakes and the Atlanta Track Club, the program's athletes utilize the resources at Mammoth Lakes for high / low altitude training and the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista for sea level training throughout the year. Renowned and Olympic coaches Joe Vigil and Bob Larsen and coach Terrence Mahon coordinate this elite group. For more information on Team Running USA including sponsorship opportunities or to make a donation, contact: Ryan Lamppa, (805) 696-6232, ryan@runningusa.org or visit: RunningUSA.org |
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Return to top / Return to main page Tolossa Defends Honolulu Marathon Title HONOLULU - (December 9, 2007) - Ambesse Tolossa of Ethiopia won the 35th Honolulu Marathon for the second consecutive year on Sunday, with a relatively slow time of 2 hours, 17 minutes and 26 seconds. His winning time last year was 2:13:42. Five-time winner and course record holder Jimmy Muindi of Kenya was second for the second consecutive year, finishing almost a minute and a half behind Tolossa. His time was 2:18:53. Alvetina Biktimirova of Russia was the women's winner in 2:33:07. Heavy showers fell briefly shortly before the 5:00am start and again about 10 minutes into the race. But the rain stopped early in the race, and the runners had mostly ideal conditions - no wind and cool temperatures. Tolossa, 30, said he was happy to win again, and said, "Now Honolulu is my home." He and Muindi were part of a pack of six runners that set a fast pace for the first nine miles, with an average pace of less than five minutes per mile. After the pace slowed, the pack was reduced to Tolossa, Muindi, Lawrence Saina of Kenya and pacesetter Boniface Mbuvi of Kenya. After the 18 mile mark on the Kalanianaole Highway return, Saina dropped back and Mbuvi followed a short time later. While Tolossa and Muindi were expected to make a move on the return, that never materialized, and the two were running a pace of about 5:20 per mile. Muindi, 34, was expected surge on the Diamond Head hill, but it was Tolossa who made the move and opened a wide lead. Muindi said after the race that he vomited at the start of the hill as Tolossa made his move. He said he was feeling stomach distress during the second half of the race, and was unable to respond. "Every time I tried to take on water, I felt like vomiting," he said. "My legs were strong, but my stomach was not." It was Muindi's 14th consecutive Honolulu race. Biktimirova, 25, ran with the lead women's pack, but moved out front around the 15 mile mark. Akemi Ozaki caught up a couple miles later, but the Russian woman took the lead for good around 22 miles. Biktimirova said that after the 30K (18.6 miles) mark, she felt she would win. "I felt good during the race, but humidity was the main problem," she recounted. Japan's Ozaki was women's runner-up in 2:34:22. Three complete all 35
editions Chun, a former Honolulu resident who now lives in LaJolla, Calif., finished in 4 hours, 32 minutes and 55 seconds. The 48-year-old Chun is a professor at the Scripps Research Institute. He and his siblings were part of the "Hunky Bunch" formed by their father, the late Dr. Hing Hua "Hunky" Chun, a Honolulu physician. Dill, a Honolulu commercial fisherman, finished in 6:53:23. He predicted a difficult race because his training was interrupted by a fishhook injury. Dugan, a 74-year-old retired University of Hawaii civil engineering professor, ran 7:19:31. Dugan has walked the past few marathons because of angina and knee problems. The three were inducted into the Honolulu Marathon Hall of Fame last Thursday. Marathon Association President Jim Barahal said it was "an extraordinary accomplishment" by the three. He said including them in the Hall of Fame also symbolizes that the Honolulu Marathon is a "people's race." 35th Honolulu Marathon MEN WOMEN Full results and more at: HonoluluMarathon.com Return to top / Return to main page Kathrine Switzer to Take on All-Comers at Inaugural
Bermuda Triangle Challenge BOSTON - (December 11, 2007) - Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run in the Boston Marathon, will take on all-comers at the first Bermuda Triangle Challenge during the Bermuda International Race Weekend, announced Marathon Tours and Travel. The official travel agency for the race weekend, Boston-based Marathon Tours and Travel is the creator of the Bermuda Triangle Challenge which is set for January 18-20, 2008, during the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. The inaugural Bermuda Triangle Challenge consists of the KPMG Open Mile, the Bermuda International 10K Run / Walk and either the Bermuda International Marathon or Half Marathon. Participants entered in the Challenge must finish three events to qualify for the commemorative Bermuda Triangle Challenge medal and tee-shirt. All runners entered in the Challenge are invited to run with Switzer, who changed history in 1967 when she finished the all-male Boston Marathon despite being grabbed and nearly thrown out by a race official. A veteran marathoner with a 2:51:37 best and a New York City Marathon title to her credit, Switzer, 60, has been training for the Challenge, but has admittedly not raced at an elite level in over 30 years. "I must be out of my mind," said Switzer. "I will need mysterious forces just to get through the weekend," she said jokingly, referring to the legendary Bermuda Triangle, a region of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and planes have reportedly vanished due to unexplained phenomena. "Kathrine has not lost her sense of what is important in life," said Thom Gilligan, president of Marathon Tours and Travel and long-time friend of Switzer. "She still is up to a challenge but, at the same time, she realizes that this is Bermuda and runners should take in the sights, run and relax." A lively and entertaining personality and television commentator, Switzer will be the featured speaker at the pre-race pasta dinner on Saturday evening at The Fairmont Hamilton Princess, the official host hotel for Bermuda's International Race Weekend. Boasting one of the most picturesque courses on the planet, the Bermuda International Marathon features spectacular views of Harrington Sound's blue waters, elegant pastel-colored homes and the island's lush green flora. The two-loop course marathon course and one-loop half marathon course start and finish in Hamilton. For more information on the Bermuda Triangle Challenge and Bermuda International Race Weekend travel packages, visit www.marathontours.com/bermuda or call Marathon Tours and Travel at (617) 242-7845 from 9:00am to 5:00pm EST. For more information on Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and the Run Away to Bermuda packages, visit: www.fairmont.com/promo/bermudamarathon Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director |
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