Running USA wire 79, September 27, 2009

At 29th edition, more than 3,700 runners race down famed New York City thoroughfare

NEW YORK - (September 26, 2009) - Britain's Andy Baddeley and Shannon Rowbury of the United States won the men's and women's titles at the 29th Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile (photo left, NYRR) on a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon.

U.S. Olympian and double 2007 World champion Bernard Lagat for the second consecutive year was unable to win this title, finishing fourth (3:52.7) in his last race of the season.

"I am not going to stop until I win this race," said Lagat of Tucson, Ariz. "This will be part of my hunger for next year."

In the women's race, Rowbury, 24, followed the fast early pace of American and fellow 2008 Olympian Erin Donahue. Most of the pack closely followed, including defending champion Britain's Lisa Dobriskey. Silver and bronze medalists at the recent IAAF World Championships 1500 meters in Berlin, Dobriskey and Rowbury were able to pull away from the field in the final meters. Rowbury, a San Francisco resident, just got to the line slightly ahead of Dobriskey, winning in 4:23.3. Places second, third and fourth were determined by a photo finish with Dobriskey edging 2006 race champion Sara Hall and Christin Wurth-Thomas, with the trio timed in 4:23.9.

"I felt good throughout the race," said Rowbury. "With 100 (meters) to go, I just tried to leave it all out there and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I'm fortunate that today was my day."

In the men's race, it was two-time Olympic 1500m medalist Lagat, 34, who took out the early pace, along with Kenya's Boaz Lalang with the pack in tow. In the final meters, Baddeley and Lalang were the two who came to the finish line side-by-side. Baddeley, 27, earned the win in 3:51.8 - the first Britain champion here since Matthew Yates in 1991 - with Lalang a close runner-up in 3:52.0. American Leo Manzano, making his road racing debut, finished third in 3:52.2

"Lagat put himself in front early on and I think we all were watching him," said Baddeley. "I was waiting until the last 50 meters to go."

More than 3,700 runners competed in various heats, and more than $30,000 in prize money was awarded. Race champions Rowbury and Baddeley earned $5000 each, and the top 15 men broke 4 minutes.

29th Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile
New York, NY, Saturday, September 26, 2009

MEN
1) Andy Baddeley (GBR), 3:51.8, $5000
2) Boaz Lalang (KEN), 3:52.0, $3500
3) Leonel Manzano (USA / TX), 3:52.2, $2500
4) Bernard Lagat (USA / AZ), 3:52.7, $1500
5) Haron Lagat (KEN), 3:53.8, $1000
6) Collis Birmingham (GBR), 3:53.9, $750
7) Matt Tegenkamp (USA / OR), 3:54.2, $500
8) Chris Solinsky (USA / OR), 3:54.5, $250
9) Daniel Huling (USA / OH), 3:55.0
10) David Torrence (USA / CA), 3:56.1

WOMEN
1) Shannon Rowbury (USA / CA), 4:23.3, $5000
2) Lisa Dobriskey (GBR), 4:23.9, $3500
3) Sara Hall (USA / CA), 4:23.9, $2500
4) Christin Wurth-Thomas (USA / AR), 4:23.9, $1500
5) Hannah England (GBR), 4:25.4, $1000
6) Erin Donahue (USA / NJ), 4:27.0, $750
7) Mestawot Tadesse (ETH), 4:27.7, $500
8) Amy Mortimer (USA / KS), 4:29.6, $250
9) Barbara Parker (USA / CA), 4:35.2
10) Sara Vaughn (USA / CO), 4:37.1

Complete race results, photos, videos and more at: www.NYRR.org

National Championships are part of 28th Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, Sunday, October 4; total prize purse exceeds $225,000

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - (September 21, 2009)- With three USA Marathon Championships on the line Sunday, October 4, the fields at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota will be packed with the nation's top competitors. The national championship events are part of the 28th Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon that starts in downtown Minneapolis and finishes in front of the State Capitol in St. Paul.

36th USA Women's Marathon Championship
With a shot at both the women's Open and women's Masters crown, four-time Olympian Colleen De Reuck, 45, stands to take her place again on the podium. Her strong finish at the 2008 Chicago Marathon puts her atop the 2-year marathon PRs in the entire women's field. Also at the start of the USA Women's Marathon Championship, Robyn Friedman is poised for a re-match against Mary Akor, after finishing third behind Akor's first place time of 2:36:51 at Grandma's Marathon this past June. The three will also toe the line against Sally Meyerhoff, who prepped for the U.S. marathon championship with her 2009 USA 25K road title.

Of interest:
* 30 women from the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials are included in the field
* Top seed Robyn Friedman, Lambs Grove, Iowa, was a top 10 finisher from the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
* Mary Akor has won Grandma's Marathon three consecutive years (2007-09)
* Debut marathoners include Team USA Minnesota athlete Kristin Nicolini who ran 1:12:41 at the 2009 USA Half Marathon Championship as well as Kara & Tara Storage, from Beavercreek, Ohio.
* This race will be the first and only day in 2009 for women to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with a 2:46:00 or faster.
* Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon last hosted the USA Women's Marathon Championship in 2006, when Marla Runyan claimed the national crown in 2:32:17, and this will be the race's sixth USA Women's Marathon Championship hosting.
* The women's course record for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon was tied, when Irina Permitina of Russia seconded the 2:26:51 time in 2004. Zinaida Semenova of Russia set that record first in 2001.
* Total prize purse for the USA Women's Championship and men's Open marathon races is $145,000, with an additional $4000 for the women's Open race in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

Men's Marathon (non-championship event)
Stillwater native Luke Watson is making his debut. Watson has already qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials by running a 1:03:51 half-marathon in Houston this past January. Five runners from Coon Rapids, Minn. based Duma Runners Club are seeded in the top 20. The Duma Runners are a group of Kenyan elite runners managed by William Kosgei. The men's course record was set in 1985 by Phil Coppess, who ran 2:10:05.

USA Women's Masters Marathon Championship
Defending women's masters title holder Susan Empey, who picked up the 2008 win on this course, returns as do 2008 runner-up Meghan Arbogast and 2002 third place Open woman Susannah Beck.

USA Men's Masters Marathon Championship
Dennis Simonaitis is back to defend his 2008 USA Masters crown. Paul Aufdemberge (2009 USA Masters Half-Marathon and 25K champion) and Carl Rundell (2:24, Boston 2009) will provide stiff competition in that race. Challenging for the Open masters title is Reuben Chesang (Kenya), coming off a 4th place 2:19:54 at Grandma's Marathon in June.

Last year's rainy race didn't slow some of the oldest Masters male runners. Jerry Johncock, who set a new U.S. men's 80-84 age group record at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon last year, will return.

The USA Masters Championships prize purse totals $43,000. The USA Masters Marathon Championships have been held at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon for the last 19 consecutive years.

Wheelers
This year's wheeler race brings some of the nation's greatest push-rimmers to the Twin Cities. Saul Mendoza, who set the Twin Cities Marathon course record in 1997 (1:35:03), will compete against the largest wheeler field assembled on this course, including Tony Iniguez, Tony Nogueira and Jeff Muralt. Dawna Callahan and Sandra Rush comprise the women's field. Total men's and women's wheelers prize purse is $5000.

About Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend
The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America® is recognized as one of the top marathons and great road races of our time and the tradition continues October 2-4. The three-day weekend celebration of fitness includes the inaugural TC 10K, a 5K run / walk, children's fun runs, pasta dinner, health and fitness expo and Medtronic TC 10 Mile, in addition to the marathon. Medtronic is the title sponsor of marathon race weekend events. Visit mtcmarathon.org for more information or to register.

AArrow Advertising sign spinners and original designs by The Art Institute of Washington make mile markers a must-see

QUANTICO, Va. - The Marine Corps Marathon has partnered with AArrow Advertising Northern Virginia to add an exciting, "spinteractive" element to mile markers along the 26.2 mile course on Sunday, October 25, 2009. Traditional static mile markers will be replaced in nine locations with sign spinners, who will be performing with the nearly six-foot long arrow-shaped signs, bringing color, energy and movement to the mile markers.

"The MCM knows how important it is to runners that the mile markers stand out," said Rick Nealis, Director. "The AArrow Sign Spinners can't be missed and are sure to become a must see along the course!"

Each AArrow Sign Spinner undergoes extensive training prior to showcasing their skills. After an initial training "boot camp" of two weeks, sign spinners practice for three hours a day, three days a week, learning new techniques and more than 400 tricks that will entertain runners and make each mile marker memorable.

"Our AArrow Sign Spinners can't wait to be a part of the MCM," said AArrow Advertising Northern Virginia President Michael Patterson. "So many of our young employees wanted to be involved to support this viable cause that we had to host a spin-off to choose the most exciting, best qualified individuals."

In addition to the sign spinners, the MCM also partnered with the Graphic Design Department of The Art Institute of Washington to develop fresh creative solutions for the mile markers. Teams of graphic design students produced nearly a dozen concepts to represent the marathon. Two original designs were chosen and will be represented at six mile markers.

"This was a personal project for me," observed student Tarell Tonev. "I washed out of Marine Boot Camp due to an injury. Now that my focus is a career in graphic design this was a great opportunity to capture the spirit of 'The People's Marathon' in our nation's capital - the people's city."

Voted "Best Marathon for Families", the Marine Corps Marathon continues a combined tradition of dedication, sportsmanship and patriotism. Runners from all walks of life have participated in the world's largest marathon to not offer prize money, deservingly earning the nickname "The People's Marathon." The 34th Marine Corps Marathon to be held on Sunday, October 25, 2009 is presented by USAA, Brooks Sports, Inc. and Arlington County. Visit: www.marinemarathon.com