Running USA wire 93, November 12, 2009

International elite field to lead largest marathon and half-marathon in Texas

SAN ANTONIO - (November 11, 2009) - More than 31,000 entrants from all 50 states and 23 countries will descend on south Texas to run the Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Marathon and 1/2 Marathon on Sunday, November 15. The second edition features elite men's and women's fields vying for a prize purse that will award $17,500 to the race champions. Interspersed with the international field at the start line will be some of the fastest runners in Texas, who will be competing in a statewide battle for a "Texas-only" prize purse in both the full and half-marathon.

"Building on the success of last year's Texas Showdown, we have over twice as many elite Texas runners coming to San Antonio this year," said Matt Turnbull, Elite Athlete Coordinator for the event. "Last year proved what a flat course San Antonio offers and we should see some terrific competition at this year's race."

Leading the women's field is returning "Texas Showdown" champion for the half-marathon Melisa Christian of Dallas. Christian owns a personal best of 2 hours, 42 minutes, 7 seconds from her ninth place finish at the 2007 ING New York City Marathon, which qualified her for the 2008 U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston. She recently won the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon on November 1 in 1:18:11.

"I really liked the (San Antonio) course," said Christian, who will compete in Sunday's half-marathon. "It was well laid out, and with all the participants, it was impressive how well the event was organized. My training has been going great and you never know what can happen on race day. I'm hoping we have perfect weather like last year."

The professional women's field features veteran runners who have performed well at past Rock 'n' Roll Marathons. Russia's Tatiana Pushkareva, 24, finished fourth in San Antonio last year with a PR (personal record) of 2:34:55 and won the 2009 Country Music Marathon in Nashville. Countrywoman Svetlana Ponomorenko, 40, won the 2008 Country Music Marathon. She returns to Texas as a Masters runner after winning Dallas Marathon in 2006 with a PR of 2:29:55.

Expected to join them in the lead pack is 2008 Olympian Dorota Gruca of Poland. Gruca, who trains in New Mexico, finished 30th at the Beijing Olympic Marathon in 2:33:32. She owns a marathon PR of 2:27:46 when she finished 13th at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Kenya's Evelyne Lagat has a personal marathon best of 2:42:14 from a 7th place finish at the 2009 Chevron Houston Marathon. The sister of U.S. distance great Bernard Lagat, she finished 6th at the 2009 ING Philadelphia Distance Run on September 20 in 1:12:25.

In the men's race, American Kyle O'Brien returns to San Antonio to run the marathon after finishing 4th in last year's half-marathon. O'Brien runs with the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project in Rochester Hills, Mich. and owns a marathon PR of 2:15:13 set in Chicago 2007. A 10-time Ohio Valley Conference champion in track and cross country, O'Brien represented Team USA in the marathon at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

His competition includes runners familiar to the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series. Leading the strong international field, will be New Zealand Olympian Mike Aish. Aish won the 2008 P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon, to go with his 12 NCAA Division II titles at Western State College in Colorado. Looking for his second Rock 'n' Roll Marathon victory in 2009 will be Kenyan Peter Omae, who won the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon last June.

Fellow Kenyans expected to challenge Omae, include Joseph Mutinda, Noah Talam, Sammy Kiplagat and Laban Moiben. Talam showed third at the Country Music Marathon in April and is hoping to better his PR of 2:14:54 set at that race. Muntinda, 31, finished third in the LALA Marathon in Mexico earlier this year running a PR of 2:13:19 on the way. Kiplagat won the Dallas Running Club Half Marathon in 1:05:53 earlier this month, while Moiben, the 2008 Los Angeles Marathon champion, recently won the Vulcan 10K in Birmingham AL, and has a 2:13:50 marathon PR from 2008.

Up-and-coming Ethiopian Amare Mulu rounds out the favorites in the men's field. Mulu won the 2008 Ljubljana Marathon in Slovenia with a time of 2:14:41. At only 22-years-old, Mulu will be contesting his third marathon of 2009 in San Antonio. He finished 8th in Turin, Italy in April, before placing 5th in September at the Warsaw Marathon in Poland.

Leading the half-marathon field is U.S. 50K record holder Josh Cox. Cox, who set the 50K mark in January at the 2009 P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona, is approaching the 13.1-mile race as a tune-up for the California International Marathon, to be held in Sacramento on December 6.

"I'm always hoping to win," Cox recently told Competitor Magazine. "I'd also like to run a PR. I don't want to totally go to the wall, but I really want to run a fast time, because the faster I can run in San Antonio, the easier the first half will feel at Cal International. If I can run 1:02, 1:03 in San Antonio, coming through the half in 1:05, 1:06 in Sacramento will feel really pedestrian."

Locally, Daniel Jess of San Antonio is expected to contend for the top prize in the "Texas Showdown" for the men's marathon. Jess finished 4th in the men's race at the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon in August with a time of 1:10:33.

"Rock 'n' Roll Chicago was great, my goal was to run under 1:11:00," said Jess, who ran track and cross country at Indiana University. "I've slowed my training down from 120 miles and have had a couple 100 mile weeks over the latter half of October. My goal is to break 2:25, and eventually 2:19 to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials."

The winning time for last year's showdown marathon was 2:26:28. Jess recently returned to running and triathlon after recovering from a cornea transplant a couple of years ago. His sub-1:11 half-marathon qualified him for the top 100 at October's Chicago Marathon, but the cold weather forced him to drop out after 18 miles.

"I felt I was in really good shape for Chicago and was on pace for 15 miles, but I could never get warm," he said, referring to the chilly start line temperature of 33 degrees. "I knew San Antonio was coming up and so I decided to look at it as an 18 mile tempo run. I'm looking forward to challenging for the Texas Showdown prize."

The "Texas Showdown" is open to all Texas runners and features a guaranteed purse of $11,500 for Texas athletes. The top male and female from Texas will receive $2000 for the marathon and $1000 for the half-marathon. In addition, a $350 time bonus will be awarded to any Texas participant who runs the marathon under 2:31 male / 2:56 female or the half-marathon under 1:08:30 male / 1:17 female, but does not win any prize money. To qualify for the Showdown's prize purse, runners must have been a permanent resident in the state of Texas as of November 15, 2008.

The professional field will be introduced at the event press conference on Friday, November 13 at 11:30am on the 4th floor of the Alamodome. Limited race registration will be available at the event's two-day Health & Fitness Expo, which begins Friday at 11:00am in the Alamodome. A wheelchair race will be the first competition of Sunday's marathon, which begins at 7:25 m on Broadway adjacent to Lion's Field. The marathon and half-marathon runners will start at 7:30am. Live bands and cheerleaders entertain participants along every mile of the scenic course that winds more than 26 miles past the historic Alamo, Mission San José and other San Antonio landmarks before ending at the Alamodome.

The event will conclude with an evening headliner concert featuring Los Lonely Boys and Grand Funk Railroad at the Alamodome. All participants receive a free concert ticket with their race entry. For more information, visit http://san-antonio.competitor.com or call (800) 311-1255.

Dodger Stadium, Sunset Strip, Rodeo Drive among famous LA landmarks; new route for 25th edition expected to be fast

LOS ANGELES - (November 9, 2009) - Los Angeles Marathon officials have unveiled the detailed 2010 route that, for the first time, takes runners from Los Angeles downtown area all the way to the scenic coastline. The new Stadium to the Sea course, starting at Dodger Stadium, will wind its way through Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica on the way to a picturesque finish in front of the Pacific Ocean.

Along the way, runners will pass signature sites, including El Pueblo de Los Angeles (the city's birthplace), Los Angeles City Hall, the Capitol Records Building, the Kodak Theater (home of the Oscars®), the Sunset Strip, historic Route 66, Rodeo Drive and the Santa Monica Pier.

The course, which trends downhill and loses roughly 400 feet start to finish, is expected to be among the fastest courses in LA Marathon history.

"We are thrilled to see such a great response to the Stadium to the Sea route," said LA Marathon President Russ Pillar. "We designed this iconic course with runners in mind, and expect it will quickly make the Los Angeles Marathon a 'must run' among the world's major marathons. We encourage runners to register early to get under the cap and ensure they're part of this very special event."

Already, runners are signing up at unprecedented levels, and organizers intend to cap the number of participants at 25,000. Even before the course announcement, registration was running more than 75 percent ahead of the 2007 pace, the Marathon's biggest year to-date with more than 24,000 participants. As course details circulate, organizers anticipate another wave of sign-ups. Marathon officials encourage runners who have not yet signed up to do so online at: www.lamarathon.com

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa saluted marathon organizers and the neighboring cities for collaborating on the new route. "Since taking over the marathon, Frank McCourt and his team have led a successful effort to deliver a route that highlights what makes Los Angeles the premier city in the world. With the collaboration of our friends in West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and the Veterans' Administration, we are truly excited to host an event that showcases the best Los Angeles has to offer."

Race organizers worked hard to find a runner-friendly route that would be unique among the world's leading marathons. It is also a route that ties together the four cities and many communities along the way. Hundreds of thousands of spectators are anticipated for this grand event - the 25th running of the Los Angeles Marathon.

"With 131 days to race day, it's not too late to start training," said LA Marathon Director of Training Rod Dixon. Dixon is a former New York City Marathon winner and 1972 Olympic medalist. "As a runner, this will be one of the most exciting courses in the world. There is still ample time to train and participate in the 2010 marathon, and the time to sign up is now. For both veteran runners and first-timers, this is the year to run the LA Marathon."

The Los Angeles Marathon inspires athletes and connects communities. With thousands of volunteers, tens of thousands of participants and hundreds of thousands of spectators along the route, the Los Angeles Marathon, a Running USA Founding Member, is one of the largest organized road races in the country. For more information including the new course map, visit: www.lamarathon.com

"24-hour running party" for 201 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean

The Ragnar Relay Series presented by NordicTrack makes its grand return to Central Florida on November 20-21, 2009. After a wildly successful debut in Florida last year, Ragnar Relay is prepared to make this year's over 200-mile relay across the state bigger, bolder and better.

The Ragnar Relay Series has quite a reputation these days: In just five short years, the premiere long-distance relay series has grown to nearly twenty times its original size and continues grow and improve.

This year's Ragnar Relay Florida starts in Clearwater and leapfrogs down to Daytona Beach, where participants will cross the finish line 201 miles away from where they began.

It all started with an intense 175-mile relay race from Logan to Park City, Utah. The Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back began with only 22 teams and 260 participants in 2004. Last year, it drew 578 teams and this year on June 19 and 20, 733 teams competed. That's 8,796 runners - making it the second largest relay in the nation.

Why the impressive growth? "The word is out about the '24-hour running party,'" said race director Dan Hill. "Our participants are telling their friends about the vans they decorated and the costumes they wore and how they partied all night long. What that comes down to is teamwork, and for many, the very idea is irresistible."

Stretching the length of over seven marathons, the Ragnar Relay Florida traverses shoreline towns and horse country alike, taking participants from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. Though the race is physically demanding, it allows for a wide range of participants, from serious athletes to casual recreational runners to walkers who enjoy the company of friends and the beauty of the outdoors.

Of course, it's a lot of ground to cover. Teams of 12 runners run each race day and night, competing for more than 24 straight hours. Each team member runs three legs that vary in length from three to eight miles per leg.

Former Novell software engineer Verdon Walker has run the race three times with the corporate team "2 Slow 2 Win 2 Dumb 2 Quit." Riding in vans with giant inflatable turtles on top, Walker and several other Novell teams are out to prove a point: "We've got runners from all ages and abilities, but this just brings everyone together," he said. "It doesn't matter what your abilities are. It's just a great team-building experience."

Of course, the race would not be nearly as successful without the efforts of the race's charity partner, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County, which is raising money through onsite and online donations for the charity. Hundreds of race volunteers also work day and night to make the race a raging success.

The starting gun will fire at Howard County Park in Clearwater, FL on Friday, November 20. More information about the Ragnar Relay Florida is available at www.ragnarrelay.com or on the Ragnar Relay Series Facebook page.

April 2010 event - the largest global water initiative in history to help solve the world water crisis

ATLANTA - (November 10, 2009) - Live Earth has announced that Atlanta has been added to the list of cities hosting the largest worldwide water initiative on record to help combat the global water crisis. The Dow Live Earth Run for Water - to take place Sunday, April 18, 2010 - will consist of a series of 6K run / walks (the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water) taking place over the course of 24 hours in countries around the world, featuring concerts and water education activities aimed at igniting a tipping point to help solve the water crisis. Jessica Biel, Alexandra Cousteau, Pete Wentz, Angelique Kidjo and Jenny Fletcher will lend their names and their time in support of this important cause.

Atlanta's Dow Live Earth Run for Water event will take place in downtown Atlanta with the start / finish at the Water Village area located at Pemberton Place, adjacent to the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. The 6K course will take participants through nearby neighborhoods.

"With the recent drought situation and the questionable future of Lake Lanier as a significant water source for the region, the water crisis is something that really hits home for millions of Atlantans," stated race director Tracey Russell. "The Atlanta Track Club is proud to be partnering with Live Earth in support of the Dow Live Earth Run for Water to help drive awareness of both the global and regional water crisis."

Water scarcity is an issue affecting countries, communities and families all over the world. One in eight people don't have access to safe, clean drinking water. Eighty-eight percent of diarrhea cases worldwide are linked to inadequate and unsafe water. These cases result in 1.5 million deaths each year, mostly among children under five. In these areas, women and children are forced to walk 6K (3.7 miles) each day to secure water that is likely unsuitable for drinking. The water crisis can be felt in metropolitan Atlanta as well, with the recent ruling from a federal judge that Lake Lanier was not constructed for water supply among the biggest and most imminent economic threats to the region.

The Dow Live Earth Run for Water run / walk registration is now open via The Active Network at http://liveearth.org/run. All participants will receive a free online ActiveTrainer plan to help them prepare for the event. Ten percent of all registration fees for Atlanta will go directly to Global Water Challenge, the NGO beneficiary of all funds raised in the United States.

Other international cities hosting the event include Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Chicago, Hong Kong, Jimbaran, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, Mexico City, Milan, Minneapolis, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Singapore City, Stockholm, Toronto and Washington, D.C.

For more information about the Dow Live Earth Run for Water, visit: http://liveearth.org