Loken Three-Peats as Champion of More Magazine Marathon
Denisova, Painter join forces to win accompanying team half-marathon
From New York Road Runners

NEW YORK - (March 25, 2007) - At age 43, Susan Loken of Phoenix, AZ, became the three-time winner of the More Magazine Marathon, held here Sunday in Central Park. Loken won the world's only marathon exclusively for women age 40 and over in a time of 2 hours, 47 minutes, 52 seconds.

Loken ran unchallenged on a course that has become familiar to her since her first win here, back in 2005. Leading from the gun, she broke the finish-line tape more than 23 minutes in front of runner-up Gordon Bakoulis, 46, of New York City (3:11:24). Peggy Nelson-Panzer, 45, of Aurora, CO, rounded out the top three with her 3:16:55 finish. Temperatures were in the low 40s with partly cloudy skies and light winds.

The event also featured a half-marathon in which teams of two women, one of whom must be over 40, competed together with their times combined for scoring purposes. Forty-year-old Trina Painter of Flagstaff, AZ (1:19:10), teamed up with Lyubov Denisova (1:16:49), 35, a Russian citizen who resides in Gainesville, FL, to claim the title. Denisova, who has also spent time living and training in New York City, was the individual half-marathon winner, followed by runner-up Claudia Camargo (1:17:27), 35, a native of Argentina living in Danbury, CT. Painter claimed third place.

More than 6,000 women took part in the races, which are put on by New York Road Runners and More Magazine, a lifestyle publication for women age 40 and older. The More Magazine Marathon and Half-Marathon has become a destination event for women of all ages and fitness levels, who make it the centerpiece of a weekend with friends and family in New York City.

Both courses cover multiple loops of Central Park, allowing for plenty of interaction among all participants. The race-day camaraderie wasn't lost on Loken, who has returned to this race three years running in large part because of the supportive nature of the event. "It was inspiring out there with so many people cheering me along," she said, adding that she regretted she would probably not return to defend her title in 2008 due to the timing of the race just weeks before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon on April 20, 2008, in Boston.

Loken set the event record at her first outing, in 2005, when she won in 2:45:35, the fastest women's marathon time on a course entirely within Central Park. Her 2006 winning time was 2:50:01. She is the reigning USA Masters Marathon champion - a title she has won twice - and was the first 40+ woman to cross the finish line at last year's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, which hosted the event. Loken has done all of her best running since turning 40. She ran a personal best time of 2:41:31 last year in Phoenix. A mother of three, Loken traveled to New York with a group of women she coaches at Foothills Sports Medicine, a physical therapy firm where she works as a marketing manager.

Denisova is the 2006 Honolulu Marathon champion and finished in the top three at the ING New York City Marathon in 2002 and 2004. Painter has a half-marathon personal best time of 1:11:07, set in 1993, and this past January, she was the women's over-40 winner at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon, finishing in 1:19:29. Camargo set a half-marathon PR of 1:13:39 last August at the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE, placing sixth, followed by a marathon PR of 2:35:04 with her 13th place finish at the ING New York City Marathon in November.

Loken won $2000 in prize money for her win, plus a $1000 time bonus. Denisova and Painter will collect a combined $2000 first-place prize and $500 time bonus. The total guaranteed event prize purse is $14,000.

"Being over 40 is now a reason for women to celebrate, and what better way than being part of the exclusive More Magazine Marathon - the only marathon in the world limited to women over 40," said Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of New York Road Runners and race director of ING New York City Marathon. "It's a work-hard party for women who are strong and want to feel good about life."

Complete results and race photos at: NYRR.org

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Ferrell Leads Team USA Senior Women to 8th Place Team Finish at World Cross Country Championships
Host Kenya reaches medal stand numerous times
From Jim Estes, USATF

MOMBASA, Kenya - (March 24, 2007) - In her first appearance in a national uniform, Cack Ferrell of Eugene, Ore. led Team USA to an eighth place team finish in the Senior women's 8K race at the 35th IAAF World Cross Country Championships Saturday at the Mombasa Golf Course here in the east Kenyan seaport city.

The Princeton grad, who finished 30th overall in 29 minutes, 34 seconds, was followed by Renee Metivier Baillie of Boulder, Colo. who saw her best performance at the championship to-date finishing six places behind in 29:47.

Katherine Newberry of Williamsburg, Va. finished 39th in 29:54, while Mary Duerbeck of Henderson, Nev. rounded out the American team, running 32:01 to place 71st.

Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands earned her country's first World Cross gold medal with her clear victory on her former native soil, navigating the 8-kilometer course in 26:23. Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba (and defending champion) nabbed the silver medal in 26:47, while teammate Meselech Melkamu took the bronze in 26:48. Ethiopia took top team honors and the gold medal with 19 points, with the host nation taking silver with 26 points and Morocco the bronze medal (38 points).

Saturday afternoon's races were contested under sunny, but humid conditions with temperatures in the mid 90s and humidity around 63 percent.

Michael Spence of Ogden, Utah, who like Farrell, made his first appearance Saturday at the World Cross Country Championships, placed 55th in the Senior men's 12-kilometer race, running 39:32 to lead Team USA to an 11th place finish, scoring 573 points.

Matt Gabrielson of Apple Valley, Minn. followed, placing 88th (40:41).

Other Americans included Ryan Shay from East Jordan, Mich. who was 99th; (41:12); Marty Rosendahl of Rochester Hills, Mich., 103rd (41:25); Celedonio Rodriguez from Alamosa, Colo., who finished 112th in 41:59; Zach Sabatino from Morgantown, W.Va., 116th in 42:11 and Fasil Bizuneh from Flagstaff, Ariz., who was 129th in 44:00.

In an unexpected twist to the dramatic Senior men's race, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000 meters, Zersenay Tadesse from Eritrea won the world title in 35:50, wresting it away from defending and 5-time long course champion Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia on the final lap. Moses Mosop (36:13) and Bernard Kiprop Kipyego of Kenya (36:37) earned the silver and bronze medals, while Bekele failed to finish.

Mosop and Kipyego led a parade of six straight Kenyans across the line, to earn the host country yet another team world championship, scoring 27 points. Morocco was second, with 156 and Uganda was third (175).

In the opening race involving Team USA, Kenny Klotz of Eugene, Ore. was the first American across the line in the Junior men's 8K race, running 27:11 to finish 56th. Alamosa, Colorado's Ryan McNiff was 86th in 28:28, and Matt Tebo from Albuquerque, N.M. rounded out the American finishers in 100th (30:56). Team USA's Noel Bateman (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and Joshua Edmonds (Lynchburg, Va.) did not finish.

In the Junior men's race, Asbel Kiprop led four straight Kenyans across the line, winning the gold medal in a time of 24:07. Vincent Kiprop Chepkop (24:12) and Mathew Kipkoech Kisorio (24:23) earned the individual silver and bronze medals.

Kenya won the Junior men's world title with a perfect score of 10 points. Eritrea was second with 44 points and Ethiopia third with 54 points. Team USA did not have enough finishers to earn a team score.

Team USA did not field a Junior women's squad.

For Team USA quotes and more, go to: USATF.org and for complete results, visit: IAAF.org

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Chirlee, Levushinka Beat the Heat to Win Inaugural ING Georgia Marathon

ATLANTA - (March 25, 2007) - Kenyan Joseph Chirlee and Russian Valentina Levushkina bested a top elite field on Sunday to win the inaugural ING Georgia Marathon in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 17 seconds and 2:41:25, respectively. As an inaugural event, the winners' times for the half and full marathon established the event records as a standard for future ING Georgia Marathon hopefuls on the hilly neighborhood Atlanta course.

Despite having switched from the half-marathon to the marathon only 48 hours prior to the event start, Chirlee maintained a pace of 5:19 minutes per mile through the marathon course on an unseasonably warm day.

"I switched to the marathon because I felt like I was strong enough to win," commented Chirlee who earned $5000 as race champion. "But it's not about winning. Everybody that finishes a marathon is a winner."

In the women's race, Levushkina led a trio of Russians to the top spots. Levushkina, who won in her marathon debut, explained: "I chose the ING Georgia Marathon as my first because of ING's reputation in these races. And the hospitality here in Atlanta was amazing."

In the inaugural ING Georgia Half Marathon, a pair of Kenyans took top honors, with Laban Moiben winning the men's race in 1:04:33 and Janet Cherobon pacing the women in 1:16:33. Each pocketed $1500.

In one of the largest wheeler fields this year, Krige Schabort of South Africa and Amanda McGrory of the United States raced to dramatic finishes to win the wheelchair divisions of the ING Georgia Half Marathon. Schabort, a previous winner of the South African National Championship Marathon, won the men's race with a time of 50:33. McGrory, a world champion wheeler and 2005 winner of the ING New York City Marathon wheelchair competition, finished the wheelchair half marathon in 58:09.

The first-ever ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon became the state's largest long-distance running event, with all 15,000 spots selling out before the race. Sporting a diverse race field, 38 percent signed up for the marathon and 62 percent signed up for the half-marathon. As a combined group, the racers represented all 50 states and 25 countries, with Ireland, Canada, Kenya and Mexico having the highest representation among the international athletes.

"The ING Georgia Marathon provided an opportunity for everybody to come together and get a sense of the community spirit that we have here in Atlanta," added Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. "We are glad to share that community spirit with ING and the marathoners. It is an opportunity for all of us to come together, and each of us in our own way can use this to begin our own challenge of physical fitness."

The ING Georgia Marathon offered a special surprise for local racers in the marathon and half-marathon events. The top male and female runners in the marathon who are U.S. citizens and permanent residents of Georgia were awarded an all expenses paid trip for two to the prestigious 2007 ING Amsterdam Marathon in Amsterdam, courtesy of Delta Airlines and Mizuno. Tom Kutter of Loganville punched his ticket to Amsterdam with a 2:30:12 marathon finish, with Miranda Shapiro of Atlanta taking the women's prize in 3:00:27.

The grand prize for the top Georgians in the ING Half Marathon was an all-expense paid trip to the 2007 ING Bay to Breakers 12K race in San Francisco, courtesy of KPMG. Andy Bishop of Cartersville took the prize with a finish in 1:15:02, while Kyla Barbour of Roswell won the women's prize at 1:33:14.

Inaugural ING Georgia Marathon
Atlanta, GA, Sunday, March 25, 2007

MEN
1) Joseph Chirlee, Kenya, 2:19:17, $5000
2) Jospeh Sitienei, Kenya, 2:22:00, $3000
3) Jonathan Ndambuki, Kenya, 2:22:46, $1750
4) Charles Kamindo, Kenya, 2:23:17, $750

WOMEN
1) Valentina Levushkina, Russia, 2:41:25, $5000
2) Victoria Zueva, Russia, 2:45:00, $3000
3) Alena Vinitskaya, Belarus, 2:45:58, $1750
4) Wioletta Kryza, Poland, 2:49:50, $750

Half-Marathon
MEN
1) Laban Moiben, Kenya, 1:04:33, $1500
2) Chris Lundstrom, USA / MN, 1:06:17, $750
3) Dominic Kipkembo Lagat, Kenya, 1:06:57, $250

WOMEN
1) Janet Cherobon, Kenya, 1:16:33, $1500
2) Claudia Colita, USA? / GA, 1:17:17, $750
3) Jill Horst, USA / NM, 1:22:53, $250

Full results at: INGGeorgiaMarathon.com

The 2008 ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon will be held on Sunday, April 6.

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Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K Establishes Non-Profit Organization to Support Local Charities

CLEVELAND - (March 19, 2007) - The Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon & 10K, one of the 50 oldest marathons in America, has established a 501(c)3 charitable organization whose mission is to raise and distribute funds to other Northeast Ohio non-profit organizations.

"Our goal for Cleveland Marathon Charities is to formalize our philanthropic efforts in the community, which have already surpassed $1 million in donations through sponsorships and discounted entry fees," said Jack Staph, executive director of the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon. "Cleveland Marathon Charities will provide funding to non-profit organizations that get involved in the race by providing volunteers and spectators, and it will coordinate their involvement."

"The marathon has brought more than 250,000 runners and hundreds of thousands of spectators to the streets of Cleveland since 1977, and it will pump about $8 million into the local economy this year - mostly into hotels, restaurants and other for-profit businesses," said Mary Grace McGuirk, director of fundraising for the Cleveland Marathon Charities. "This new organization will provide an avenue for those companies that benefit from the race's impact to give something back to the community."

"As the number of participants in the marathon, half-marathon, 10K, wheelchair challenge and kid's run continue to increase, so does the need for volunteers and spectators," continued McGuirk. "Northeast Ohio charitable organizations that organize groups of spectators or volunteers may be eligible for Cleveland Marathon Charities contributions and should contact the organization to learn more about the guidelines of the program."

Interested charitable organizations and businesses interested in making a financial contribution to the Cleveland Marathon Charities may contact Mary Grace McGuirk at (216) 589-9053 or mgmcguirk@yahoo.com for additional information.

Cleveland Marathon Charities (501c3) organizes and financially rewards school, church and other non-profit groups that show their support of health and fitness through running by their active involvement as participants, volunteers or cheerleaders in the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon.

The 30th annual Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon will hit the streets of Cleveland on Sunday, May 20 at 7:00am, and weave runners through historic and scenic parts of the city. There will be a 26.3 Mile Rock Party at the finish line featuring food and live music. Those who are interested in participating in the marathon, half-marathon, 10K, wheelchair challenge, walking divisions or kid's race, can register online at ClevelandMarathon.com or call 1-800-467-3826 for more information.

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