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U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Champions Kastor, Hall to Lead Team USA at the DICK'S Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER International Team Challenge

BOULDER, Colo. - (May 11, 2008) - At the 30th DICK'S Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER on Monday, May 26, U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials champions Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor will lead the men's and women's American teams in the International Team Challenge. Over the last six Challenges, the U.S. women have had good success with four team titles (2002, '03, '05 and '06) to their credit, while the U.S. men won their first and only team title in 2004.

Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist, has won the BolderBOULDER three times in her four attempts between 1999 and 2003. Other career highlights for the three-time Olympian include a World Record at 5K on the roads and marathon victories at the recent Olympic Trials in Boston, Chicago (2005) and London (2006) as well as two World Cross Country Championship silver medals (2002-03) and 25 national titles. In addition, Kastor, 35, has set 17 U.S. records including the marathon (2:19:36), the first American woman under 2:20.

Hall, who trains with Kastor and Team Running USA at altitude in Mammoth Lakes, will be making his BolderBOULDER debut. Although just 25-years-old, his running resume already lists three U.S. Records (including 59:43 for the half-marathon) and four national titles (including his stirring marathon trials win in Central Park last November). At the recent Flora London Marathon, the 2005 NCAA 5000 meter champion finished 5th overall in 2:06:17, the third fastest all-time U.S. performance for the 26.2 mile distance.

2008 also marks a return to the traditional BolderBOULDER point-to-point 10K course for the International Team Challenge. Since 1998, the event has been contested on a criterium-style course from Folsom Field. This change is expected to produce faster times and increase the competition of the Challenge. Overlapping start times will allow spectators to watch the finish of the men's and women's team races within 20 minutes of the end of the Memorial Day Celebration.

The complete Team USA roster, along with the rest of the international professional teams, will be announced later in May. The International Team Challenge again will offer more than $100,000 in individual and team prize money - one of the largest guaranteed non-marathon race purses.

About BolderBOULDER
The DICK'S Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER 10K, a Running USA Founding Member, is the 2nd largest running race in the USA and the 5th largest in the world. The race attracts over 50,000 runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers, and draws professional racing teams from all over the world to compete for one of the largest non-marathon prize purse in road racing. The race starts at the north end of 30th Street in Boulder near First National Bank, winds through neighborhoods with live music and entertainment at every corner, and finishes in the University of Colorado's Folsom Field. More than 150,000 spectators watch the festivities from inside the stadium and along the course. FSN Rocky Mountain will televise the Memorial Day tradition in a two-hour feature program airing after the event. The 30th BolderBOULDER will be held on Memorial Day, May 26, 2008. For more information, visit: BolderBOULDER.com

Contact: Cliff Bosley, Race Director, (303) 444-7223 x14

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Sell Defends, Higgins Wins First USA 25K Title at Fifth Third River Bank Run
Rundell, Wolski USA masters champions
From Jim Estes, USATF

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - (May 10, 2008) - Brian Sell (Rochester Hills, Mich.) defended his men's 25K national title running 1 hour, 15 minutes, 7 seconds, while Paige Higgins (Littleton, Colo.) won her first USA road title in 1:30:49 on Saturday at the USA Championships in Grand Rapids.

Sunny skies and ideal conditions of 42 degrees and calm winds met athletes for the 15th running of the national championships hosted by the 31st Fifth Third River Bank Run as Sell and 2006 U.S. champion and 25K U.S. record holder Fernando Cabada (Boulder, Colo.) led a lead pack of 11 men including Open division contenders Wellay Weldegiyorgis (ETH) and Reuben Chebii (KEN) through the first mile in 4:58.

By three mile, the field of contenders had narrowed to Sell, Cabada, Weldegiyorgis and Chebii, with each taking brief turns in the lead. At four miles, Weldegiyorgis and Chebii surged to a small lead over Sell and Cabada, but it was Weldegiyorgis who would extend the lead to nine seconds at five miles.

As Sell and Cabada continued to work together to pass Chebii before six miles, Weldegiyorgis' lead had extended to 15 seconds, but by eight miles Sell began to pull away from Cabada in an effort to close the gap. Approaching 9 miles, Cabada had fallen 15 seconds behind as Sell joined Weldegiyorgis in the lead.

Over the next two miles, Sell, 30, was clearly in control as Weldegiyorgis repeatedly looked back, apparently concerned about losing his hold on second. As the pair passed the 11th mile in 4:41 followed by a 4:51 uphill mile, Sell broke away from Weldegiyorgis and quickly opened a lead of more than 30 seconds by the time he passed the half-marathon in 1:03:29.

Sell's victory was his third USA 25K title and the Beijing bound Olympic marathoner earned a total of $8000 in Open ($4000) and national championship ($4000) prize money. Weldegiyorgis finished second overall in 1:16:06. For the U.S. men, Cabada held on as runner-up in the USA Championship division 1:17:01, while Sell's Hansons-Brooks teammates Todd Snyder and Mike Morgan (Rochester Hills, Mich.) took third and fourth in 1:17:15 and 1:17:20 respectively. Tommy Greenless (Walnut Creek, Calif.) took fifth in 1:18:25.

In the women's race, Higgins, 25, finished third overall behind Caroline Cheprkorir of Kenya and Firehiwot Tesraye of Ethiopia to claim the U.S. title. Cheprkorir was timed in 1:29:32 for the overall win, with Tesraye taking second in 1:30:12. Kristin Price (Raleigh N.C.) took fifth overall and second in the U.S. championship division in 1:32:04 and Annie Gasway (Gurnee, Ill.) was third American in 1:35:08 and Linsey Smith (Madison, Wis.) fourth in 1:35:27. Kalin Ritzenhein (Eugene, Ore.) rounded out the top five U.S. athletes in 1:35:31.

This year's event also hosted the USA Masters 25K Championships with Carl Rundell, 40, (Birmingham, Mich.) taking the overall masters title in 1:21:28 and Kathy Wolski, 42, (Knoxville, Tenn.) winning the women's title in 1:39:22. Rundell and Wolski each earned $1500 for the masters titles.

31st Fifth Third River Bank 25K: USA Championships
Grand Rapids, MI, Saturday, May 10, 2008

MEN
1) Brian Sell (MI), 1:15:07, $8000
2) Wellay Weldegiyorgis (ETH), 1:16:06, $2000
3) Reuben Chebii (KEN), 1:16:35, $1500
4) Fernando Cabada (CO), 1:17:01, $2000
5) Todd Snyder (MI), 1:17:15, $1500
6) Mike Morgan (MI), 1:17:20, $1000
7) Tommy Greenless (CA), 1:18:25, $600
8) Peter Gilmore (CA), 1:18:45, $500
9) Bret Schoolmeester (OR), 1:19:03, $400
10) Derek Kite (CO), 1:19:40, $300
11) John Lucas (OR), 1:20:14, $200
12) C Fred Joslyn (MI), 1:20:39, $100

WOMEN
1) Caroline Cheprkorir (KEN), 1:29:32, $4000
2) Firehiwot Tesraye (ETH), 1:30:12, $2000
3) Paige Higgins (CO), 1:30:49, $5500
4) Meseret Kotu (ETH), 1:31:54
5) Kristin Price (NC), 1:32:04, $2000
6) Annie Gasway (IL), 1:35:08, $1500
7) Linsey Smith (WI), 1:35:27, $1000
8) Kalin Ritzenhein (OR), 1:35:31, $600
9) Lori Stich (MI), 1:35:42, $500
10) Lauren Esposito (NY), 1:36:38, $400
11) Amber Moran (NC), 1:37:34, $300
12) Katie Nowak (MD), 1:38:02, $200
13) Natalie Stein (MI), 1:38:37
14) Alison Bryant (MI), 1:39:05, $100

USA Masters Championship (40 and older)
MEN
1) Carl Rundell, 40, MI, 1:21:28, $1500
2) Dennis Simonaitis, 45, UT, 1:22:10, $750
3) Paul Aufdemberge, 43, MI, 1:24:27, $500

WOMEN
1) Kathy Wolski, 42, TN, 1:39:22, $1500
2) Beth Moras, 49, NJ, 1:48:32, $750
3) Bonnie Sexton, 40, WI, 1:54:52, $500

Full results at: 53RiverBankRun.com

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Kithii, Kosgei Set Course Records at Medtronic TC 1 Mile
By Charlie Mahler, Running USA wire

MINNEAPOLIS - (May 8, 2008) - Kenyans Josephat Kithii and Rose Kosgei earned victories at Thursday night's Medtronic TC 1 Mile. While each gathered $4000 for the win, neither could grab the $10,000 time bonus for a sub-4:00 men's victory or a sub-4:28 women's win.

Kithi, 17, won a narrow victory over countryman Haron Lagat; both were clocked at 4 minutes, 9 seconds. Kosgei outdistanced Marina Munca of Serbia 4:37 to 4:41. Race conditions for the 4th edition were overcast and cool, but a headwind blew against the runners on the uphill course.

Both winning marks established new course records in what is now the second richest road mile in the country. Two-time event winner Luke Watson, who finished 4th on Thursday, held the men's record at 4:16, while 2007 race champion Jenelle Deatherage held the women's standard of 4:52.

Local star Emily Brown of Team USA Minnesota, who has been on a tear of late clocking fast times in the steeplechase and 5000 meters, was the top U.S. woman in the race, crossing the line in third at 4:43. Jordan Fife from Bloomington, Ind. was the top U.S. male also finished third, in 4:10.

2004 Olympian and local favorite Carrie Tollefson, racing for the first time since a bronchial infection kept her out of the Drake Relays and Stanford's Cardinal Invitational in recent weeks finished 4th in 4:46.

Kithii won the men's race after surging away from the lead pack at 600 meters.

"It was nice from the start," Kithii, who anchored a Kenyan team to victory in the Penn Relays distance medley relay two weeks ago with a 3:58.95 split, said. "I feel I had a lot of energy but the finishing was also okay. The finishing, I was waiting for someone to come and push me so I could break the time."

Women's winner Kosgei took the lead early and ran alone to the finish for her win.

"I knew that this race is short," she explained, "so must go quick because it is short. A mile is short."

Kosgei, 26, had a busy five days leading up to the TC 1 Mile. She won the Union-Tribune Race for Literacy 8K in San Diego on the morning of May 4 and paced part of Shalane Flanagan's U.S. 10,000 meter record in Palo Alto, California that evening.

Kosgei won last summer's Boston Scientific Heart of the Summer 10K in Minneapolis with her kick and prefers longer distance races, she said. Reminded that TC 1 Mile race organizers host a marathon in the fall, she laughed at that possibility, at least for now.

"Not yet a marathon," she said through a smile, "maybe in five years to come."

Overall, 1,895 runners crossed the finish line Thursday night, including runners from 15 corporate teams.

4th Medtronic TC 1 Mile
Minneapolis, MN, Thursday, May 8, 2008

MEN
1) Josephat Kithii (KEN) 4:09*, $4000
2) Haron Lagat (KEN) 4:09, $2500
3) Jordan Fife (IN) 4:10, $1000
4) Luke Watson (IN) 4:11, $750
5) Brad Lowery (MN) 4:13, $500
6) Aucencio Martinez (CO) 4:14, $250
7) Steve Sherer (MI) 4:14, $125
8) Sean McCabe (OK) 4:17, $100
9) Benson Chesang (KEN) 4:20, $75
10 Scott Fiksdal (MN) 4:23, $50
*course record (previous record, 4:16, Luke Watson, 2006)

WOMEN
1) Rose Kosgei (KEN) 4:37*, $4000
2) Marina Muncan (SRB) 4:41, $2500
3) Emily Brown (MN) 4:43, $1000
4) Carrie Tollefson (MN) 4:46, $750
5) Rasa Troup (MN) 4:48, $500
6) Margaret Chirchir (KEN) 4:57, $250
7) Alisa Harvey, 42, VA, 5:15, $875
8) Zofia Wieciorkowska, 45, POL / CT, 5:19, $600
9) Kim Magee (MN) 5:22, $75
10) Rebekah Mayer (MN) 5:24, $50
*course record (previous record, 4:52, Jenelle Deatherage, 2007)

Complete race results at: MTCMarathon.org

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Injury Forces Defending Champion Ritzenhein Out of Healthy Kidney 10K

NEW YORK - (May 8, 2008) - Defending champion and course record holder Dathan Ritzenhein has withdrawn from the Healthy Kidney 10K, a New York Road Runners race scheduled for Saturday, May 17, in Central Park. He is suffering from a lingering foot injury that has sidelined him for the past 13 weeks.

Ritzenhein, 25, of Eugene, OR, told race organizers that the injury to the third metatarsal of his left foot, which he sustained at the USA Cross Country Championships in February, has persisted; Ritzenhein won that race, and has not competed since. In November 2007, Ritzenhein qualified to represent the United States in the men's marathon at the Olympic Games in Beijing on August 24.

"We're very disappointed not to be able to return to New York for the Healthy Kidney 10K," Ritzenhein said on a conference call. "With a whole array of ailments, it hasn't come together in time for me to take on the great field that's been assembled for the race. Knowing that it might set back my preparation [for Beijing], it was with regret that we made the decision to withdraw."

Ritzenhein said he will use the next three weeks to build up to full training volume and intensity. He then plans to begin a 12-week marathon training regimen. Although he will run the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field in Eugene on July 4, he said he definitely will run the marathon at the Olympic Games.

"Dathan is a mega-talent and he deserves the chance to maximize his opportunity to get himself in the best possible shape for Beijing," said Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of New York Road Runners. "We are in full support of his decision."

The Healthy Kidney 10K field features ING New York City Marathon 2006 champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil, 2007 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships silver medalist Patrick Makau of Kenya and Americans Andrew Carlson of Bloomington, MN, Jason Hartmann of Eugene, OR and Josh Moen of Readlyn, IA.

Race sponsor Embassy of the United Arab Emirates has established a prize-money purse of $23,500 - including $7 500 for the champion - plus a $20,000 bonus for breaking the Central Park 10K record of 28 minutes, 8 seconds, which Ritzenhein set at last year's race.

For more race information, visit: NYRR.org

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