Cheruiyot, Grigoryeva to Defend Boston Marathon Titles at 112th Edition
Top international field expected at flagship road race on April 21

BOSTON - (January 23, 2008) - John Hancock Financial, in its 23rd year as principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon, has announced the return of three-time champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya and 2007 champion Lidiya Grigoryeva of Russia for the 112th running of the race on Monday, April 21.

Cheruiyot, the race winner in 2003, 2006 and 2007, will seek to become the first Kenyan to claim four Boston Marathon crowns. Winning this year also would put him in the company of only three men who have won four or more times, Canadian Gerard Cote and Americans Bill Rodgers and Clarence DeMar.

"I'd like to thank John Hancock for inviting me back to defend my title," said Cheruiyot. "I have had much success on the Boston course because the more difficult and competitive a race is, the more I commit myself to do my best."

Cheruiyot, who set a course record of 2 hours, 7 minutes, 14 seconds in 2006, then went on to win the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in an unprecedented same-year double. He returned to a stormy Boston in 2007 to claim his third victory and secure the inaugural World Marathon Majors Series title and $500,000 prize. The series, now entering its second two-year cycle, brings together the best athletes in the world to compete at Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.

Boston's 2007 women's champion, Lidiya Grigoryeva, found the tape first last year holding off the top three ranked women in the world: Deena Kastor, Jelena Prokopcuka and 2006 Boston champion Rita Jeptoo.

"Winning Boston was a career highlight for me," said Grigoryeva. "I am eager to compete again with the best runners in the world and thank John Hancock for the opportunity."

Grigoryeva is a two-time Olympian at 10,000 meters and, in addition to her Boston success, she earned a course record win at the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon and was the 2005 Paris Marathon champion.

"We are very excited to have both of our defending champions returning for the 112th Boston Marathon," said Guy Morse, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association. "Robert and Lidiya showed their strength by winning in difficult conditions in 2007. We look forward to seeing how they follow up on those victories in 2008."

"John Hancock Financial is closing in on a quarter century of bringing the world's top runners like Robert and Lidiya back to the race year after year, ensuring that the Boston Marathon remains one of the world's premier road races," said John D. DesPrez III, President and Chief Executive Officer of John Hancock Financial. "We are very pleased to celebrate our 23rd year of fulfilling our promise to the city of Boston and surrounding communities to support this great race. Not only is it an annual sign that spring has arrived here, but the Boston Marathon also provides a tremendous positive annual economic effect on the region, generating a direct and indirect economic impact of an estimated $95 million. John Hancock is proud of its long history of supporting the Boston Marathon."

For more race information, go to: BostonMarathon.org

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The Original Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Begins a New Decade in San Diego
Runners and walkers are encouraged to begin training and reserve a spot at the start line today

SAN DIEGO - (January 21, 2008) - On Sunday, June 1, 2008, the original Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego begins a new decade as one of the world's premiere marathons. The event is known as a 26.2-mile block party with a live band at every mile along the course, hundreds of cheerleaders, themed water stations and a post-race concert, which featured SEAL in 2007.

Now is the time to set training plans and begin preparing for the entertaining fitness experience. For 20,000 runners and walkers, race weekend offers a unique opportunity to take an active vacation, accomplish personal goals, team up with friends and family, raise funds for charity or race like the King.

Jumpstart New Year's Goals
The most important step towards a marathon goal is to commit. The New Year is here, and training for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon is one way to conquer 2008 fitness goals. Step one is to register. Runners and walkers can take advantage of the lowest entry price by registering online at RnRmarathon.com before January 31st.

As extra incentive, every participant who registers online on Saturday, January 26 will receive a Runner's World Training Log to help support any training schedule. Runners can log their progress in this convenient journal and keep record of the distance of every run, the routes followed and the pace maintained during a training run.

Rookie Marathoners Welcome
Running or walking a marathon is a great lifetime achievement and the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon's miles of scenery, entertainment and extensive on-course support has made it a favorite race for runners of all abilities, including first timers who make up nearly 50% of the field.

Girls Weekend Getaway
The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon is inviting women to register for a Girls Weekend Getaway. Any woman who registers during the month of January will be entered into a drawing to win an ultimate vacation with three of her closest friends. The package includes a three-night stay at a luxurious San Diego hotel, a relaxing spa package, dinner at a gourmet restaurant, matching running apparel and much more.

To enter the contest, use the code UGOGIRL during online registration at: RnRmarathon.com

Elvis Has Left the Start Line
Join Bart Yasso, Runner's World Magazine's Chief Running Officer, as he trains for his first marathon with the Running Elvi. A 10-year tradition at the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, the Running Elvi will try to better their world record attempt from 2007. Men and women of the 2008 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon are encouraged to get into the act and run like the King.

Visit RnRmarathon.com/features/runningelvi to submit your name to the list of Running Elvi.

Yasso will release a new book titled "My Life on the Run" in April.

Join Team In Training's 20th Anniversary Celebration
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training (TNT) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2008. TNT offers runners and walkers professional training, support, travel and accommodation to the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in exchange for fundraising efforts, which will help make a difference in the lives of more than 785,000 Americans living with blood cancers.

Visit RnRmarathon.com/training to learn how to join TNT.

Over the past 10 years, TNT has raised $122.1 million (net) at the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in the fight against blood cancers: leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. This year, TNT runners and walkers will raise more than $12 million (net) at the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon.

Marathon Military Overseas
As the start gun goes off at the 11th Rock 'n' Roll Marathon hundreds of military men and women will compete in their own version of the 26.2-mile race on ships and military bases around the world.

In support of the overseas races, Elite Racing will send training packages to all military participants including specialized race numbers, race T-shirts, finisher's medals and emails from fellow Rock 'n' Roll Marathon participants with words of encouragement and support.

For more stories from the Military Rock Stars, go to: RnRmarathon.com

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First-Ever Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year: Ashley Brasovan
Florida runner named nation's top high school performer

WEST PALM BEACH - (January 24, 2008) - In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, has announced Ashley Brasovan of Wellington High School (Wellington, Fla.) as its 2007-08 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. Brasovan becomes the first student-athlete to win the award. The Gatorade Company announced the addition of girls cross country to the Player of the Year program this past October.

The award, which recognizes not only athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse, distinguishes Brasovan as the nation's best high school girls cross country runner. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Brasovan from more than 180,000 high school girls cross country runners nationwide. Brasovan is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year Award, to be presented at a special ceremony the afternoon prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

Brasovan, a junior distance runner, won the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships national title with a time of 17:20, outracing defending national champion Kathy Kroeger of Tennessee and 2005 national champion Jordan Hasay of California for the victory. Brasovan finished sixth at the Foot Locker South Regional in 17:20 and also captured a third consecutive Class 4A individual state championship this past fall. Brasovan's triumphs in 2007 included a meet-record victory (16:43) at Tampa's Southern Stars Invitational, a course-record win (17:10.77) at the University of Florida Mountain Dew Classic and a course-record victory (17:06) at the Great American Cross Country Festival in the Girls' Nike Race of Champions.

Brasovan has maintained a 4.4 weighted GPA in the classroom. An annual participant in the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Race for the Cure, Brasovan serves as editor of the sports section for her school's yearbook and has donated her time to the Wellington Parks & Recreation youth football program. She has also volunteered on behalf of the Wellington Art Festival and waited tables as part of a charity effort to benefit the Wellington High literary magazine, Poetic Justice.

"She is probably the most determined runner that I've ever met," said Wellington Head Coach Kara Weber-Fleming. "She's very mentally tough and does whatever she has to do to be successful. She usually takes the lead; she never really has to come from behind. That was the only surprising thing about the (Foot Locker) Nationals."

Brasovan, just the ninth high school junior to win a national Gatorade award in the program's 22-year history, will begin her senior year of high school this fall and remains undecided upon a collegiate destination.

"Without question, Ashley is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school girls cross country runner based on her performance and the tremendous ability she's demonstrated," said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban. "But she is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young runners of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. She represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit: gatorade.com/playeroftheyear

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"T-Bone" to Appear at 2008 Jr. Gasparilla Distance Classic

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Tim "T-Bone" Arem, America's Health & Fitness Ambassador, will be leading the warm-up and performing his interactive stage show T-Bone's Healthy Adventure www.tbonerun.com for the 1,500 runners and their families prior to the Jr. Gasparilla children's races at the University of Tampa, Pepin Stadium on Saturday, February 2, 2008.

For more information, visit the race website at: www.tampabayrun.com/Race_Info/GDCA_Jr__Classic_Kids_Event.htm

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