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Carlson, Kastor Take USA 15K Titles at Gate River
Carlson also earns Equalizer Bonus on windy day; race record of over 12,000 finishers
From Jim Estes, USATF

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - (March 8, 2008) - Rising star Andrew Carlson (Bloomington, Minn.) captured his first national title and 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist and defending champion Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) dominated the women's field at the 2008 USA 15K Championships hosted by the 31st Gate River Run on Saturday in Jacksonville.

Despite strong, gusty winds, Carlson, 25, took charge of the men's lead pack early, leading a group of nearly 20 men past the first mile in 4:47. Occasionally, Fasil Bizuneh (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Reid Coolsaet (Canada) would take a brief turn at the front only to have Carlson take control again as Dan Browne (Portland, Ore.) and 2008 Olympian Brian Sell (Rochester Hills, Mich.) remained tucked in the pack.

Passing through 10K just under 29 minutes, Team USA Minnesota's Carlson maintained control of the pace as Browne of Team Running USA moved to his side. As the leaders started the long climb up the Hart Bridge towards the eight mile mark, Browne, a 2004 Olympian, made an effort to break away from the pack. The move was enough to drop everyone except Carlson, who would answer with a move of his own, quickly putting ten meters on Browne.

At the finish inside Alltel Stadium, Carlson hit the line in 44 minutes, 12 seconds, nine seconds ahead of 2000 USA 15K champion Browne. Coolsaet finished third overall in 44:25, while Bizuneh took third in the national championship race in 44:29. Sell and Jason Hartmann (Springfield, Ore.) rounded out the top five in 44:47 and 44:57, respectively.

In the women's race, Kastor, 35, led from the gun as the Team Running USA athlete fought the strong winds on her own. Running 49:36, Kastor earned her sixth national 15K title (tying teammate Meb Keflezighi for the most U.S. titles at the distance) and her 24th USA title overall. Katie McGregor (Minneapolis, Minn.) ran the majority of her race alone as well, taking the national runner-up spot in 50:53, while Tara Storage (Beavercreek, Ohio) took third in 52:33 just edging Mandi Zemba (Minneapolis, Minn.) fourth, also in 52:33, and Samia Akbar (Herndon, Va.) rounding out the top five in 52:35.

Athletes competed for a total prize purse of $61,500, with the USA champions earning $12,000 each.

This year's running again featured the Equalizer Bonus, awarding $5000 to the first male or female to cross the finish line, with the top-seeded women beginning 5 minutes before the men. The 5 minute "head start" is based on the time differential of the U.S. 15K records: 42:22 for the men (Todd Williams, 1995) and 47:15 for the women (Deena Drossin, 2003), both set on the Gate River Run course. Carlson secured this year's Equalizer Bonus after catching Kastor - who won the bonus last year - as they descended the Hart Bridge.

A race record of over 12,000 braved the wind and completed the 9.3 mile distance. In 2007, Gate River was the largest U.S. 15K with 11,336 finishers.

31st Gate River Run: USA 15K Championship
Jacksonville, FL, Saturday, March 8, 2008

MEN
1) Andrew Carlson (MN), 44:12, $17,000*
2) Dan Browne (OR), 44:21, $5000
3) Reid Coolsaet (CAN), 44:25
4) Fasil Bizuneh (AZ), 44:29, $3000
5) Brian Sell (MI), 44:47, $2000
6) Jason Hartmann (OR), 44:57, $1000
7) Bret Schoolmeester (OR), 45:21, $900
8) Fernando Cabada (CO), 45:33, $800
9) Luke Humphrey (MI), 45:35, $700
10) Brett Gotcher (AZ), 45:35, $600
11) Matt Gabrielson (MN), 45:46, $500
*includes $5000 Equalizer Bonus

WOMEN
1) Deena Kastor (CA), 49:36, $12,000
2) Katie McGregor (MN), 50:53, $5000
3) Tara Storage (OH), 52:33, $3000
4) Mandi Zemba (MN), 52:33, $2000
5) Samia Akbar (VA), 52:35, $1000
6) Tera Moody (CO), 52:35, $900
7) Turena Johnson Lane (LA), 52:38, $800
8) Annie Bersagel (CO), 52:43, $700
9) Kara Storage (OH), 53:05, $600
10) Stephanie Herbst-Lucke, 42, GA, 53:12, $1500

Full results at: Gate-RiverRun.com

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Honolulu Marathon Economic Impact Soared Over $108 Million in 2007

HONOLULU - (March 5, 2008) - The 2007 Honolulu Marathon generated $108,890,000 in sales, according to a report by Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) - an increase of $7.3 million over the previous year.

Reasons given by HPU for the increase in spending despite a lower registration total than 2006 are the weakness of the dollar, strength of the yen and longer hotel stays by both Japanese and U.S. Mainland marathoners, according to Hawaii Pacific University professor Jerry Agrusa.

This is the third straight year that the marathon has generated more than $100 million in spending. It is the biggest economic generator among Hawaii's sporting events due to its base of high-spending Japanese runners. The Japanese tourist is known to spend nearly $100 more per day than other tourists in Hawaii.

More than 60 percent of the Honolulu Marathon field flies in from Japan.

Counting Japanese, foreigners from other nations and U.S. Mainland registrants, 85.5 percent of the marathon's field stayed in Waikiki hotels.

There were 27,827 total registrants in 2007 compared with 28,635 in 2006.

The study by a team from HPU's Travel Industry Management department used 1,643 interviews with visiting marathoners to compile the impact report. The race was held on Dec. 9 and was America's third largest marathon last year.

Japanese runners stayed an average of 5.27 days in 2007 compared with 5.23 days in 2006, according to the report. U.S. Mainland runners stayed an average of 10.04 days in 2007 compared with 9.12 days in 2006. The length of stay for runners from countries other than Japan also increased from 9.12 in 2006 to 10.24 in 2007.

The report also took into consideration spending by the 3,334 Japanese participants in the marathon's Race Day Walk.

For more information, contact Pat Bigold at (808) 927-1156 or visit: HonoluluMarathon.org

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Record Prize Purse and $10,000 Time Bonus Part of 4th Medtronic TC 1 Mile
Online-only registration opens March 13

MINNEAPOLIS - (March 6, 2008) - Registration for a shot at one of the nation's largest one-mile prize purse gets underway Thursday, March 13, as the Medtronic TC 1 Mile offers a $25,000 purse and the chance for one male and one female to walk away with a $10,000 bounty on Thursday, May 8.

"The $25,000 prize purse is the culmination of the vision to bring a highly competitive field to downtown Minneapolis, not only to showcase the beauty of the city, but to recognize the phenomenal growth and interest in this race," said Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. Race Director Brian Mastel. "In addition to first place prize money of $4000, we're excited to also offer a $10,000 bounty each to the first place male breaking four minutes and to the first place female breaking 4:28."

In its fourth year, the Medtronic TC 1 Mile is now part of the USATF MN Team Circuit / Championship Race Schedule. Click on USATFMN.org for more information on the Team Circuit Championship or to obtain 2008 USATF Membership.

On-line only registration starts at 12:01am March 13 and the first 600 to register are guaranteed an entry into the lottery-only, fall-favorite, Medtronic TC 10 Mile race. Another 400 Medtronic TC 1 Mile finishers will be randomly selected for a guaranteed entry into that race as well.

The Medtronic TC 1 Mile runs along Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis amid streets filled with spectators and the gorgeous city skyline. Race officials expect about 2,500 participants, including runners from around the country. The first wave begins at 6:50pm, Thursday, May 8. Teams can take part in the Corporate Team Challenge again this year and spectators can cheer on their favorite participant at one of the Official Cheers Zones along the route. Visit MTCMarathon.org for more details and registration information.

Contact: Kristine Smith, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, (763) 287-3888 x13

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Going Green at the 8th GO! St. Louis® Family Fitness Weekend
More than 50,000 participants and spectators are encouraged to join the green-friendly effort

ST. LOUIS - (March 5, 2008) - The GO! St. Louis Family Fitness Weekend, scheduled for April 5 & 6, 2008, is partnering with Veolia Environmental Services (Johnny on the Spot) and Aquafina to make the two-day fitness celebration green-friendly.

More than 50,000 people are expected to participate and watch the seven different weekend events, to be held in Forest Park and downtown St. Louis.

"As you can imagine with an event of this size, an incredible amount of waste is generated, so we recognize the importance of recycling and finding ways to decrease the stress on our environment," said Nancy Lieberman, GO! St. Louis president.

"I applaud the efforts of our partners that are joining us in collaborating to make our event green-friendly. GO! St. Louis' core mission is to promote healthy lifestyles through fitness and nutrition, thus anything we can do to make our planet healthy, parallels with our goals," Lieberman continued.

The green effort will include the recycling of more than 300,000 paper cups used for participant hydration at the events; an estimated 18,000 plastic water bottles at the finish line area and relay stations; thousands of pounds of cardboard from vendors; earth-friendly products used in all of the Johnny on the Spots, recycled product toilet tissue, as well as the disposal of various other plastic, paper and aluminum products.

The earth-friendly chemicals being used in the approximately 270 Johnny on the Spot facilities is an important addition to the effort. The GO! weekend marks the first large scale local event that the new earth-friendly chemicals will be used. In addition, Veolia will coordinate the distribution of the recycling bins and manage the waste collection after the event. Recyclables will be taken to QRS Recycling plants in Hazelwood and South St. Louis City for processing.

"We are excited to be spearheading this green effort with GO! St. Louis and hope it will inspire others to make recycling and protecting our environment part of their daily lives," said Brian Williams, Veolia's Facility Manager.

Aquafina understands the need for all of us to be careful stewards of our planet and its resources - that's why Aquafina has embraced the challenge to reduce their environmental impact. To that goal, as the water sponsor for the GO! St. Louis Family Fitness Weekend, Aquafina will encourage participants and spectators alike to recycle all water beverage products in specially designed Aquafina bins placed throughout the finisher's area. As the official water sponsor, Aquafina has donated 18,000 bottles of water for participants at the finish line area.

In addition to recycling, GO! is encouraging participants and spectators to utilize the Metrolink for transportation to and from the events.

GO! St. Louis, a non-profit organization, encourages individuals and families in the region to adopt a healthy lifestyle by getting fit, staying active and eating a nutritional diet year round. The organization accomplishes this through school based programming, outreach to senior / retirement centers, community collaborations and the creation of new & unique fitness opportunities. For more information, visit: GoStLouis.org

Media Contact: Jeff Trammel, (314) 727-0800

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