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Abdirahman Repeats as USA Men's 10K Champion at Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K
Race record of 31,158 entrants and more than 24,000 finishers celebrate 9th edition; Billy Weldon wins AT&T Dash for the Cash
By Jim Estes, USATF, and Sports Backers

RICHMOND, Va. - (April 5, 2008) - Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) successfully defended his 2007 title at the USA Men's 10K Championship Saturday in Richmond. Abdirahman, 31, out-ran fellow Olympian Dan Browne (Portland, Ore.), running 28 minutes, 32 seconds for his second consecutive 10K road title. This year's national championship was hosted by the Metropolitan Richmond Sports Backers in conjunction with the 9th Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K.

The field of nearly 20 U.S. men started under cloudy skies with occasional light rain. As they passed the first mile in 4:40, Abdirahman had established his place at the front of the pack with Browne, Fasil Bizuneh (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and the rest of the field in close pursuit.

The race was down to three men heading into the second mile with Abdirahman, Browne and Bizuneh 20 meters up on the field. By three miles, Bizuneh fell off the lead as Abdirahman and Browne began their race to the finish.

At four miles, Abdirahman opened a small lead on Team Running USA's Browne though the two-time Olympian wouldn't be completely clear of him until just after five miles. Over the final mile, Abdirahman would extend his lead to four seconds to take the 2008 title and his 6th U.S. road title overall.

"I like this course," said Abdirahman. "It's a flat course, very fast. I'd like to come back and race it again."

Bizuneh held on to third, running 29:03 while Josh Moen (Readlyn, Iowa) finished fourth in 29:06 and Ryan Sheehan (Rochester Hills, Mich.) rounded out the top five in 29:17.

The fourth largest 10K in the U.S. with a race record of 31,158 entrants and more than 24,000 finishers this year, Ukrop's Monument Avenue offered a national championship purse of $25,000 with Abdirahman earning $7500 as the U.S. champion.

In the Open women's race, 32-year-old Kenyan Leah Kiprono won the $2000 first prize with her 32:19. Richmonders Cheryl Anderson (34:22) and Maria Elena Calle (35:14) were second and third respectively.

Billy Weldon, of Glen Allen, Va., captured the $2500 bonus purse as winner of the AT&T Dash for the Cash. Weldon, an everyman runner who was selected at random from Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K registrants, was given a 2.8-mile head start and the opportunity to claim the cash if he bested the field. He crossed finish line almost two minutes ahead Abdirahman, who had teased him to watch out at a press conference the day before. This is only the second time in four attempts that the Dash for the Cash runner has claimed the prize.

The USA 10K Championship was also the fourth stop on the 2008 USA Running Circuit (USARC) for men. Andrew Carlson (Bloomington, Minn.) currently leads the USARC with 27 points, Bizuneh sits second with 26 and Browne third with 24 points.

The USARC, a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5K to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. For more information on the USARC, visit: USATF.org

9th Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K: USA Men's Championship
Richmond, VA, Saturday, April 5, 2008

MEN
1) Abdi Abdirahman (AZ), 28:32, $7500
2) Dan Browne (OR), 28:36, $4000
3) Fasil Bizuneh (AZ), 29:03, $3000
4) Josh Moen (IA), 29:06, $2500
5) Ryan Sheehan (MI), 29:17, $2000
6) Clint Wells (CO), 29:20, $1500
7) Fernando Cabada (CO), 29:30, $1250
8) Macharia Yuot (PA), 29:38, $1000
9) Josh Eberly (CO), 29:40, $750
10) Alan Culpepper (CO), 29:44, $500
11) Paul Jellema (MI), 29:47, $500
12) Michael Smith (AZ), 29:53, $500

WOMEN
1) Leah Kiprono (KEN), 32:19, $2000
2) Cheryl Anderson (USA / VA), 34:22, $1000
3) Maria Elena Calle (ECU), 35:14, $800
4) Atalelech Ketema (ETH), 35:15, $600
5) Jeanne Collonge (USA / VA), 38:31, $400
6) Jackie Kosakowski (USA / VA), 38:43, $200
7) Meg Letherby (US? / CO), 39:35, $100

Deeper results at: SportsBackers.org

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More® Magazine Marathon + Half-Marathon Draw Thousands of Women for Fitness, Goodwill, and a Dramatic Finish in the Half
From NYRR

NEW YORK - (April 6, 2008) - The More Magazine Marathon and Half-Marathon are women-only races: The marathon is the only marathon exclusively for women over 40, while in the half-marathon, each woman over 40 teams up with another woman of any age, with their times added together after the race. This cooperative element, and perhaps the absence of men's more overt competitive attitude, make these races seem unusually friendly: The finish line is more a place for smiles, hugs, and group cheers than for fist-pumps, chest-thumps and guttural roars of triumph.

However, as Caitlin Tormey said afterward, a race is a race.

On Sunday, Tormey, 24, a Manhattanite and member of the ZAP Fitness team, was running the half-marathon as a final test two weeks before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon in Boston on April 20. She planned to run the More Half-Marathon at around the pace she hopes to maintain in Boston, but she couldn't have predicted that this pace would put her about 50 yards behind the race's leaders, Jody Hawkins, 41, a four-time national track and road race champion, and Susan Loken, 44, who had won the previous three More Magazine Marathons and holds the course record at 2:45:35. Loken, too, was preparing for the Trials in Boston and had chosen to run the shorter distance this year.

Hawkins, from Frisco, TX, and Loken, from Phoenix, AZ, were running as a team, and they led the race together throughout two windy, hilly laps of Central Park's loop drive plus a final mile to the famous ING New York City Marathon finish line near Tavern on the Green. They finished strongly, dropping their pace to just under six minutes for each of the final three miles. But Tormey was moving even faster.

As the two leaders, still side-by-side, strode down the final stretch, cheered warmly by deep crowds on both sides of West Drive, Loken offered a hand to Hawkins to make a symbolic finish-line acknowledgment of their teamwork. And precisely as Hawkins grasped Loken's outstretched hand, Caitlin Tormey found a final gear and flew past both of them.

There were less than 100 yards left. Loken reacted as any long-time champion would and sprinted after Tormey. Hawkins responded a moment later. The three women threw their last reserves into the finish and Tormey edged Loken by a single second, 1:20:13 to 1:20:14.

Hawkins crossed the line a few steps later in 1:20:16. "It was bittersweet," she said as she walked through the finish chute with Loken. "We didn't know she was coming." Their team did win the team event by about six minutes over Tormey and her partner, Gordon Bakoulis, 47, who took sixth overall in 1:26:44.

Loken clearly enjoyed the race, which she, like Tormey, had run as a pre-Trials fitness gauge. Did she mind losing today after the race's rather interesting final yards? "'Interesting' is a good word for it," she said. "We never saw her, so it was a surprise."

"I was pacing off them the whole way - they were great," said Tormey, still looking fresh while surrounded by reporters with cameras and microphones. "I kept trying to figure out when to make a move, but the course is tough - there's always another hill."

Loken had an extra interest in seeing who would be her successor as More Marathon champion: She had coached Susie Meyers-Kennedy, 42, through a comeback from childbirth, and now her athlete was fighting for a top three spot. Loken's course record 2:45 ticked past...the three-hour mark neared, then slipped by...and within another minute the announcer's voice heralded the leader's arrival: "It's Stephanie Hodge of the New York Harriers!"

Hodge, clearly euphoric, crossed the line with a balletic leap in 3:01:50. In November of 2007, she'd won top female masters honors at the ING New York City Marathon, but this, pun recognized, was more. "It's the highlight of my career, definitely!" she exclaimed, looking like she could run another lap or two. "I don't mind that I was over three hours - I didn't expect an extraordinary time. I had to run strategically."

Meyers-Kennedy had run most of the race in second place, but had been passed by two women in the later stages. She fought back, reclaimed second place, followed Hodge across the line in 3:04:33, and was immediately embraced by Loken. "This is my second race since having my baby," she said, unable to stop smiling. "I've trained for seven months. Susan's helped me so much."

Kelly Keeler-Ramacier, a pre-race favorite, had made a bid for the win but suffered from leg cramping in the final stages. She held third place (3:04:50) with a fierce effort and collapsed just past the line. "Aw, I'm okay," she drawled as she was helped through the finish area. "It's happened to me before." Her modesty didn't obscure the bravery that she'd exhibited in finishing a marathon in third place with her legs almost refusing to move.

Hodge, 42, is a native Canadian and an environmental policy analyst for the United Nations. She enjoys marathons so much that she runs what most experts would consider too many of them; between her New York race in November and this one, she'd already fit in a third place 3:14:31 at the Bermuda Marathon in January. "If you're having issues in your life, you should train for a marathon," she said. "It gives you strength and self-confidence, and when you finish, you can do anything."

Her sentiments were echoed by countless women among the more than 6,000 finishers at the fifth edition - about a thousand more than in 2007. "This is my first half-marathon," said Gabriela Piccinini, 43, of Purchase, NY, who finished in 2:05. "I was afraid I wouldn't finish, but I felt great. It was so hard but I had so much fun." Elizabeth Canale, 57, and Margie Fajardo, 44, both of Brooklyn, ran as a team. "This race is the best," said Canale." We're both over 40 and we love it. We're going to keep coming back."

5th More® Magazine Marathon & Half-Marathon
New York, NY, Sunday, April 6, 2008

1) Stephanie Hodge, 42, CAN / NY, 3:01:50
2) Susie Meyers-Kennedy, 42, AZ, 3:04:33
3) Kelly Keeler-Ramacier, 46, MN, 3:04:50

Half-Marathon
1) Caitlin Tormey (NC), 1:20:13
2) Susan Loken, 44, AZ, 1:20:14
3) Jody Hawkins, 41, TX, 1:20:16

Complete overall and team results at: NYRR.org

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Karl Gilpin Sets 2008 GO! St. Louis Marathon Course Record, Tara Keller Women's Champion
Chesang, Handel half-marathon winners; Governor Matt Blunt participates in marathon relay; Kristin Armstrong runs half-marathon; event record participation
From Jeff Trammel

ST. LOUIS - (April 6, 2008) - The 2008 GO! St. Louis Family Fitness Weekend concluded Sunday with the Marathon, Half Marathon and Marathon Relay events. More than 13,000 people participated in the eighth edition. Karl Gilpin from Russellville, MO was the overall marathon winner, establishing a new course record in the process. Gilpin, 29, completed the 26.2 scenic course in a time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, 51 seconds, breaking Daniel Maurer's 2006 record of 2:25:09. Gilpin also defended his GO! St. Louis Marathon title. On the women's side, Tara Keller, 33, from Hilliard, OH won in 3:07:26.

In the Half Marathon, presented by National City, Kenyan Mathew Chesang, 26, from Olathe, KS, also set a course record with his 1:08:20, eclipsing Zac Freudenburg's 2006 record of 1:08:36. And like Gilpin, Chesang also defended his title. The top woman in the half-marathon was Kelly Handel in 1:20:13.

"Today's race established a new participation record for the GO! St. Louis endurance events, with more than 13,000 runners and walkers crossing the finish line," said Nancy Lieberman, GO! St. Louis president. "For many of our athletes, today was a day of personal triumph and concluded a long fitness journey. Not only did we have a perfect day of weather, but new course records were established and many new friendships were made along the way," she added.

8th GO! St. Louis Marathon
St. Louis, MO, Sunday, April 6, 2008

MEN
1) Karl Gilpin (MO), 2:24:51*
2) Matt Flaherty (IN), 2:26:19
3) Mike Cole (IN), 2:31:05
*course record (previous record, 2:25:09, Daniel Maurer, 2006)

WOMEN
1) Tara Keller (OH), 3:07:26
2) Ashley Hansen (CA), 3:08:28
3) Megan Earney (KS), 3:10:48

Half-Marathon
MEN
1) Mathew Chesang (KEN), 1:08:20*
2) Emisael Favela (US? /IL), 1:09:11
3) Simo Wannas (US? / DC), 1:09:35
*course record (previous record, 1:08:36, Zac Freudenburg, 2006)

WOMEN
1) Kelly Handel (TX), 1:20:13
2) Jill Czarnik (IL), 1:24:15
3) Judy Dorpinghaus (MO), 1:25:12

Lockton Companies Marathon Relay
First place overall was AMDG in the Family and Friends Division in 2:47:24, and finishing second overall and first in the corporate male division was Ameren 1 with a 3:01:42.

For a complete list of results, go to: GoStLouis.org

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Running Pioneer Kathrine Switzer Will Headline "Women on the Move" Conference August 13-15, 2008 in Spearfish, South Dakota

Women's running pioneer Kathrine Switzer headlines an all-star staff for the Women on the Move Conference & Retreat planned for August 13-15, 2008 in Spearfish, South Dakota. The inaugural event, to be held at the historic Spearfish Canyon Lodge, is planned in conjunction with the premier all-woman Leading Ladies' Marathon www.leadingladiesmarathon.com and Half-Marathon scheduled for Sunday, August 17 in Spearfish.

"The Women on the Move Retreat grew out of the amazing spirit of sisterhood of the Leading Ladies' Marathon," says Switzer, best known as the woman who challenged the all-male tradition of the Boston Marathon. "I can't think of a better race or place for the conference. The soaring beauty of the canyons, the bounding deer, the cascading waterfalls, and the fragrant pine forests will take your breath away."

In 1967, Switzer became the first woman to "officially" enter and run the Boston Marathon, and her entry created an uproar and worldwide notoriety when a race official tried to forcibly remove her from the race. Four decades later, Kathrine is still dedicated to creating opportunities and equal sport status for women. Her career has included creating programs in 27 countries for over 1 million women that led to the inclusion of the women's marathon as an official event in the Olympic Games.

The Women on the Move Conference begins on Wednesday, August 13 with an opening run, dinner, and keynote address by Switzer. Thursday and Friday will feature invigorating, informative and inspiring roundtable discussions and seminars, delicious meals at the Latchstring Restaurant, fellowship with other women athletes, a private tour of the Leading Ladies' Marathon course, conference goodies and much more.

Leading Ladies' Marathon director Elaine Doll-Dunn says, "This quiet retreat epitomizes the essence of our woman's event - a time to relax, reflect and renew in the sacred Black Hills of Dakota. Kathrine Switzer is coming back to grace the course of a fledgling event she stamped with her imprimatur…'It's just wacky enough to work; I'll be there!'"

Joining Switzer on the Conference staff is a group of women who also have dedicated themselves to helping women achieve their goals:
* Lori Buksar, nurse and walking coach
* Chris Childers, doctor and marathon coach
* Mary Coordt, nutrition professor and three-time Olympic Marathon trialist
* Elaine Doll-Dunn, EdD, Leading Ladies' Marathon race director and superwoman
* Rhonda Provost, ultrarunner and spiritual guru
* Jan Seeley, retreat director and publisher of Marathon & Beyond magazine
* Jenny Stinson, graphic designer and marathon coach

For more information about the Women on the Move Conference & Retreat, call Jan Seeley at (877) 972-4230 or visit www.WOMconference.com

Learn more about the Conference by joining a FREE LIVE Teleseminar with Kathrine Switzer on Tuesday, April 29 at 8:00pm ET. Sign-up for the Teleseminar at: www.WOMconference.com

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