Running USA wire 1, January 3, 2010

Running USA Announces Its 2010 Board of Directors

Eight elected to two-year terms; new board meets at upcoming Running USA 2010 conference in Carlsbad, California

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - (January 3, 2010) - Running USA, a national non-profit organization, recently held an election for eight Board of Directors seats and its members selected the following distance running leaders for the newly constituted 17-member board that is listed below with affiliation and term.

Elected for two-year terms (8):
Dave Alberga (San Diego, CA), The Active Network
David Deigan (Petaluma, CA), AFMInc.
John Elliott (New York, NY), MarathonGuide.com / Web Marketing Associates
Chris Lambiase (New York, NY), The Runner's World Media Group
Julia Stamps Mallon* (Miami, FL), Weston Capital
Lorene Oates (Boise, ID), St. Luke's Women's Fitness Celebration
Keith Peters* (Jackson, WY), Eco-Logistics
Russ Pillar* (Los Angeles, CA), Los Angeles Marathon
*first-time board member

Continuing Board Members (terms expire 01/2011):
Anne Audain (Evansville, IN), AA Sports Marketing
Virginia Brophy Achman (Minneapolis, MN), Twin Cities in Motion
Fred Finke (Longwood, FL), USATF LDR Division Chair*
Andrew Hersam (San Diego, CA), Competitor Group
Jon Hughes (Orlando, FL), EMMI / Track Shack
Leslie Jordan (Portland, OR), Leslie Jordan, Inc.
Creigh Kelley (Englewood, CO), BKB Ltd.
Doug Logan (Indianapolis, IN), USATF CEO*
Tracey Russell (Atlanta, GA), Atlanta Track Club
*two seats appointed by USA Track & Field

Running USA Board of Directors bios are available at: http://runningusa.org/about/board

In conjunction with Running USA 2010, the new board will hold its first meeting on Sunday, January 31 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. The annual signature conference for the running industry returns to the San Diego area, Jan 31 - Feb 2, 2010.

For more information on Running USA 2010 powered by Active.com, Leslie Jordan Inc. and Ashworth Awards - including registration, hotel reservations, schedule, speakers and list of attendees, go to: http://runningusa.org/programs/conference

In March 2009, Running USA marked a decade of achievement to build and promote the sport. For more information, visit: RunningUSA.org or contact Ryan Lamppa at (805) 696-6232 or ryan@runningusa.org

Amy Palmiero-Winters Wins Run to the Future 24-Hour

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By: Dan Brannen

Below-the-knee amputee also makes able-bodied U.S. national team for 2010 Worlds

In a stunning development to open the new year and new decade, a female below-the-knee amputee was the overall winner (among men and women) in the Run to the Future 24-Hour race in Glendale, Arizona on Dec 31-Jan 1, and appears to have qualified for the U.S. national team to the 2010 World 24-Hour Run Championship.

Amy Palmiero-Winters, 37, of Hicksville, N.Y., who runs with a custom-made prosthesis, entered the race with the intention of making the Open, able-bodied U.S. national team to the World 24-Hour, which will be held in France in May 2010. Her previous longest race was the Heartland 100 Mile in Cassoday, Kansas in October, in which she finished 8th overall and first female. For that achievement, she was named USA Track & Field's "Athlete of the Week" on October 21.

Palmiero-Winters' left leg was crushed in a 1994 motorcycle accident. After 25 surgeries and a below-the-knee amputation in 1997, the former high school track and swimming star began a decade-long rehabilitation which led to triathlons, marathons and eventually ultramarathons. The mother of two set her sights on making the national women's ultra team (the 2009 team earned the silver medal at the World 24-Hour Run Championship), a goal requiring her to achieve a distance greater than 129.6 miles by the end of the qualifying period, which closed on January 1, 2010. The Run to the Future event commenced on December 31, 2009 at 9:00am, and finished exactly 24 hours later. The qualifying standard was the most demanding ever for the women's national 24-hour run squad, as the quality of American women's performances for the all-day / all-night running event was the highest in 2009 than in any previous year.

Usually the USA produces one or two women per year over the 130 mile threshold, which is commonly accepted in international ultra circles as defining "world class" among able-bodied athletes. Palmiero-Winters, who was the overall winner of the Run to the Future - almost 14 miles ahead of the first man, racked up 130.04 miles to become the fifth U.S. woman to break the world-class barrier in the past year, and the final qualifier to make the 6-woman squad which will represent the USA in France this May.

Run to the Future results at: www.arizonaroadracers.com/Results/24HR_RTTF.htm

Erkesso to Defend Women's Title at 2010 Chevron Houston Marathon

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Kenyans Mbote, Kibiwott look to challenge men's course record; $130,000 prize purse with $35,000 to each race champion

HOUSTON - (December 29, 2009) - Kenyans Jason Mbote, third at the 2008 Seoul International Marathon in 2:07:37, and Charles Kibiwott, fifth in the same race in 2:08:30, are among the top men's seeds in the 2010 Chevron Houston Marathon. The 38th edition of the country's premier winter marathon is scheduled for Sunday, January 17.

Joining Mbote and Kibiwott in Houston to challenge the men's course record of 2:07:52 from 2009 are countrymen Benson and David Cheruiyot (not related). Benson Cheruiyot ran a breakthrough race at the 2009 Chevron Houston Marathon by clocking a time of 2:11:33 - his best marathon effort by two and a half minutes. He also finished third at Houston in 2007. David Cheruiyot, one of only two men to win in Houston three times, won back-to-back marathons in 2005 and 2006, and took the top spot again in 2008.

Canada's Andrew Smith, fifth in the 2009 Chevron Houston Marathon in 2:16:14, is also expected to be in the lead pack.

In the women's field, Teyba Erkesso of Ethiopia is back to defend her title. Running in her first marathon in 2009, Erkesso not only won the Chevron Houston Marathon, but shaved 22 seconds off of the course record previously held by countrywoman Dire Tune. Erkesso's time of 2:24:18 not only set the Texas state record, but was also the fastest women's marathon in the U.S. for 2009.

Paige Higgins (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Erin Moeller (Mt. Vernon, Iowa) are the top Americans entered in the Chevron Houston Marathon. Higgins brings a 2:33:06 personal record into the race. She qualified for the 2009 World Track & Field Championships in the marathon and finished 30th in 2:37:11. Moeller was 10th at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in 2:36:51. In the nine marathons Moeller has completed, she has netted six top-10 finishes.

Tara Quinn-Smith of Canada, with a marathon best of 2:33:58, and Kenya's Lydia Kurgat, who ran 2:31:26 at Eindhoven in 2009, also have committed to the Chevron Houston Marathon.

Professional runners in both men's and women's marathons will be vying for $130,000 in prize money, with a $35,000 first place award in both races.

Registration for the 2010 Chevron Houston Marathon and accompanying Aramco Houston Half Marathon closed in record time earlier in 2009. Both races sold out in less than 60 hours. A combined field of 22,000 runners is set for Chevron Houston Marathon Weekend 2010.

The Chevron Houston Marathon, a Running USA Founding Member, is the nation's premier winter marathon, annually attracting participants from all 50 U.S. states and more than 20 foreign countries. In 2009, more than 26,000 runners participated in four marathon weekend events (marathon, half-marathon, 5K run and children's run). The Houston Marathon has been ranked among the top five in the nation by Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd support. More than 5,000 volunteers organize the race, which is Houston's largest single-day sporting event.

More information is available at: www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com or (713) 957-3453.

Smyth, Donohue Take 31st Emerald Nuts Midnight Run

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More than 4,400 welcome 2010 in Central Park celebration

NEW YORK - (December 31, 2009) - Under wintery conditions, Patrick Smyth (left, PhotoRun) and Erin Donohue rang in the New Year with resounding victories at the 31st Emerald Nuts Midnight Run in Central Park.

Smyth, 23, a Team USA Minnesota member, ran 18 minutes, 35 seconds to beat 2008 Olympian Ian Dobson over the 4 mile course. Dobson clocked 18:53.

"It was definitely a bit slippery as wet snow had fallen and was falling," said Smyth, who graduated from Notre Dame last year. "But we really only had to be mindful on the turns of which there were only a few. The atmosphere was exhilarating. The fireworks lasted the entire 18 minutes and 35 seconds that I was running. It was a great way to usher in the New Year and definitely something I'd do again if the opportunity presents itself."

For the women, Donohue, 26, a 2008 Olympian at 1500 meters, beat Leonora Joy-Petrina of New Zealand, by 20 seconds, 21:22 to 21:42.

More than 4,400 hearty souls "ran" in the New Year at the traditional event hosted by the New York Road Runners. The celebration began with a dance party and laser light show at the bandshell in Central Park.

31st Emerald Nuts Midnight Run
New York, NY, Thursday, December 31, 2009

MEN
1) Patrick Smyth (USA / MN), 18:35, $600
2) Ian Dobson (USA / OR), 18:53, $400
3) Bado Worku Merdessa (ETH / NY), 19:08, $200
4) Sean Brosnan (USA / CA), 19:16
5) Harbert Okuti (UGA / NY), 19:22

WOMEN
1) Erin Donohue (USA / NJ), 21:22, $600
2) Leonora Joy-Petrina (NZL / NY), 21:42, $400
3) Toni Salucci (USA / NC), 21:47, $300
4) Tanya Zeferjahn (USA / NC), 21:48
5) Alissa McKaig (USA / NC), 21:50

For more including race videos, go to: www.NYRR.org