| Running USA Wire 55, June 24, 2003 |
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Fast Times at USA Women's USA Half-Marathon Championship DULUTH, Minn. - On Saturday, June 21 at the Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon, the 2003 USA Women's Championship, Colleen De Reuck of Boulder, Colo. not only won the U.S. road title and set a USA Championship Record with her 1:10:00, but her performance also made her the third fastest American all-time at the 13.1 mile distance behind Joan Benoit Samuelson and Cathy O'Brien as well as the fastest U.S. woman in a women's-only half-marathon. In addition, the top 8 women - De Reuck, Christine Clifton, Jen Rhines, Deeja Youngquist, Susannah Beck, Sara Wells, Rachel Sauder and Turena Johnson Lane - bettered the previous course record (1:14:11 by Laurel Park in 1995). Note: The Garry Bjorklund course is a relatively flat point-to-point course and on race day, there was a reported tailwind and thus, unless the official wind report shows otherwise, official U.S. records were not possible.
Drossin Wins Victor Award as Track and Field Athlete of the Year LAS VEGAS, Nev. - On Saturday night, June 21 at the Las Vegas Hilton, Deena Drossin of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. - fresh from her USA 10,000 meter title - won a 2003 Victor Award as female track and field athlete of the year. Tim Montgomery, 100 meter world record holder, took home the sports' male honor. Since 2002, Drossin, 30, a Team USA California athlete, has put together one of the best "runs" of any U.S. distance runner ever. In 2002, she set a world 5K road record at the Carlsbad 5000 (14:54) and U.S records at 10,000 meters (30:50.32) and 15K (48:12) and also won (and led her team to) a silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships. Thus far in 2003, the 2000 Olympian has earned another silver medal at World Cross plus new U.S. records at 15K (47:15) and the marathon (2:21:16). The seven-time national cross country champion is the first female to hold the U.S. 10,000 meter and marathon records simultaneously. In her acceptance speech, Drossin who grew up in Agoura, Calif. and was an All-American at Arkansas said that although her sport may seem like an individual one - it is not as she thanked her "team": coach Joe Vigil, fiancé Andrew Kastor and agent Ray Flynn for her success. The star-studded evening with a capacity crowd at the Hilton continued the Victor Awards' tradition as the longest running televised sports awards show. The 37th Victor Awards were broadcast nationally on Fox Sports Net on Sunday, June 22 at 6:00pm (EST). It will also be re-broadcast over the network during June and July. Considered the Academy Awards of athletics, the Victors consist of 35 awards spanning 15 sports. Honoring the country's most outstanding professional and amateur athletes and coaches, the Victor Awards consistently attract sports legends and famous presenters alike. Other 2003 award winners included Tiger Woods (golf), Mia Hamm (soccer), Tim Duncan (basketball) and Serena Williams (tennis). Special awards were also presented to Mark Spitz, LeRoy Neiman and Reggie Jackson. The National Academy of Sports Editors, comprised of a cross-section of sports editors, writers and broadcasters, vote to determine the winners of the awards. The Victor Sports Awards benefit the world-renowned City of Hope Cancer Center in Los Angeles.
New York Road Runners Create Annual Alberto Salazar Award PALO ALTO, Calif. - (June 20, 2003) - In honor of one of the greatest
New York City Marathon champions of all time, New York Road Runners
(NYRR) has created the Alberto Salazar Award. Beginning this year,
the award will be given annually to the top American male and female
finishers in the ING New York City Salazar, a three-time New York City Marathon champion and the last American male to win the event, was present with Steinfeld at a news conference held here on the second day of the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships at Stanford University. Tiffany & Co., a longtime marathon sponsor, will design a unique, permanent award that will have the winners' names engraved on it each year. The award will be displayed at NYRR's offices in Manhattan for fans to enjoy. Additionally, Tiffany will create individual awards for each year's winners that will be presented as part of the live race telecast on WNBC TV. Salazar, 44, one of the most famous American marathoners to ever lace up a pair of running shoes, was on two U.S. Olympic marathon teams and was the world's top ranked marathon runner in 1981 and 1982. He won the New York City Marathon, the world's most celebrated road race, three consecutive years (1980-1982). "It is with great pride that I announce this special award," said
Steinfeld. "Alberto is a true New York sports hero, and his achievement
of winning the race three consecutive times will forever stand the
test of time in New York "New York and the New York City Marathon have always held a special place in my heart as well as in my career, so having this award named in my honor is a very special occasion," said Salazar. "The creation of this award is well timed, as American marathon runners are on the rise again. I know some great runners will be holding up the trophy in years to come." Currently Salazar works as a track and field promotions representative in Nike's sports marketing division. He assists in the coordination of Nike sponsorship and endorsement programs for professional track and field athletes and events worldwide. He also works with Nike athletes training for the marathon distance with the Nike-funded Oregon Project. Chad Johnson, of Portland, Ore., and a member of the Oregon Project, and Magdalena Lewy of Oakland, Calif., will contend to become the winners of the first Alberto Salazar Award. They were on hand at Friday's press conference and announced as entrants in the 34th edition of the ING New York City Marathon to be run on Sunday November 2, 2003. Johnson, 27, who finished second (22:39) in the USA Men's 8K Championships in Central Park on April 5, hosted by NYRR, will be making his marathon debut. Lewy, 29, who was born in Poland and became a U.S. citizen in 2001, finished second in this year's Pittsburgh Marathon in a personal best time of 2:31:38 and became only the fourth U.S. women to achieve the 2004 Olympic Games "A" standard (2:32:00), along with Deena Drossin, Marla Runyan and Milena Glusac. The ING New York City Marathon joins the USA Men's 8K Championships and the New York Mini 10K as the cornerstones of this year's New York Road Runners Professional Racing Series and continues NYRR's tradition of bringing the very best runners in the world to New York. Founded in 1958 with a membership of 47, New York Road Runners (NYRR) is one of the world's foremost running organizations. NYRR is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the sport of running and walking for health, recreation and competition and provides full professional services related to all aspects of racing, including course certification, computer scoring and event promotion. NYRR has a full-time staff of more than 60 employees, supplemented by a network of thousands of volunteers, serving more than 39,000 members from every U.S. state and more than 65 countries. Contact:
CONTACT: Tandy Fleming, Event Director (423) 245-8311; flemingacb@charter.net; www.crazy8s.org Indian Path Medical Center & SunTrust
Bank Crazy 8's 8K Run KINGSPORT, Tenn. - (June 23, 2003) - In 1996 Peter Githuka from Kenya shocked the world by squeezing under Alberto Salazar's long-standing 8K world record, blazing through rowdy crowds on the figure-8, late-night, candle-lit streets of Kingsport. The place... the Indian Path Medical Center & SunTrust Bank Crazy 8's 8K Run. Last year, Morocco's Asmae Leghzaoui stamped another world record on the Model City streets by smashing the women's world record in 24:28, ten seconds faster than Paula Radcliffe's previous mark. In doing so, she collected the Regional Eye Center $10,008 World Record bonus. On July 19, the best distance runners in the world will once again invade Kingsport in an all-out assault on fast times and possibly more world records. "We're proud to be the holder of both world records," says first year event director Tandy Fleming. "There are only two other road races in the world who can make that claim (the Carlsbad 5000 in Carlsbad, Calif. and the Flora London Marathon), so we're in some pretty prestigious company. We call ourselves 'The World's Fastest 8K" which is justified based on the records we've set." Even though the elite runners get most of the attention in the sports pages, Crazy 8's is much more than just a bunch of fast men and women from faraway places. "Crazy 8's is for the entire family," says Fleming. "We see dads sign up for the 8K, moms in the 3K walk and the kids in the Little 8's run. We want Crazy 8's to be world-class for everyone who shows up, no matter how fast or slow or how young or old." At 6:28pm over 700 kids will hustle around the Johnson Elementary School soccer fields in the HMG/YMCA Little 8's Youth Runs. This event has become one of the top running events for youth in Northeast Tennessee. Last year, Cardiovascular Associates designed a new 3K walk course which finishes at the same place as the 8K and about 500 walkers showed their support in the 3K Heart Walk. The Heart Walk will take off at 8:58pm, just before about 1000 runners light up the streets in the evening's 9:58pm finale, the Indian Path Medical Center & SunTrust Bank Crazy 8's 8K Run. With over 2100 participants, Crazy 8's is by far the largest road race in Northeast Tennessee. It will once again take place during Kingsport's Fun Fest, a weeklong festival of music, fun and sports related events. Fleming also announced the 2003 Crazy 8's Torch Runner - 13-year-old Blake Leeper of Church Hill. Even though Leeper was born without legs, he has run in several Little 8's events through the use of artificial legs. He will signal the start of the 8K Run by carrying the torch along Eastman Road from Ft. Henry Drive to the starting line. Fleming is stacking up the elite runners once again for Kingsport's version of the fast and the furious. 2002 champion Patrick Nthiwa (thee wa) of Kenya will return to defend his Crazy 8's title. He will wear the prestigious bib #1. "It's always great to get your defending champion back," says Fleming. "Patrick is running great this year and should be one of the favorites." Nthiwa upset pre-race favorite and multiple world record-holder Daniel Komen last year in a thrilling race. He took the lead just past the infamous Wilcox Dr. Hill and never gave it up, crossing the line in 22:37.9, good enough for 13th on the Crazy 8's all-time list. "Crazy 8's was a big victory for Patrick," said his agent Hussein Makke. "It gave him a lot of confidence to beat Komen at a race as competitive as Crazy 8's. He's excited about coming back and possibly going for Peter's record." Unfortunately, defending women's champion and world record holder Leghzaoui will not return to Crazy 8's after testing positive for EPO (a banned endurance enhancing drug) at the 2003 World Cross Country Championships. She has been suspended from competition for two years. "We're disappointed," says Fleming. "What else can I say? We had her lined up to return, but of course she cannot compete now." Another former women's champion who will be returning is Naomi Wangui of Kenya. Wangui is a familiar face to Kingsport, this being her 4th straight trip to Crazy 8's. In 2000 she battled Martha Komu the entire race before pulling away in the final mile to win in 26:21. In 2001 she finished 6th and last year she crossed the line 4th. Kevin Odiorne is another household name to the people of Kingsport. The former Dobyns-Bennett High School standout, who now makes his home in Atlanta, is ready to challenge the international runners on his hometown course. "My training is going pretty good right now," said Odiorne. "Crazy 8's is one of my favorite races. I hope I can be competitive." Odiorne holds Tennessee state records in the mile (4:08), 5K (14:13), 8K (23:25 set at Crazy 8's), and marathon (2:19:40). "We're expecting many more commitments in the next few weeks," promises Fleming. "Everyone knows we have a fast course and we have a great reputation among the elite runners, but we take care of all the runners and walkers, even the ones who finish in the back of the pack. We think everyone is elite." For more information, visit www.crazy8s.org or register at the Fun Fest Store in the Ft. Henry Mall. Sponsors are Indian Path Medical Center, SunTrust Bank, Holston Medical Group, Cardiovascular Associates, YMCA, Regional Eye Center, Citadel Broadcasting, Culligan, Kroger, BAE Systems, Kingsport Rental, TeleOptics and Food City. Fluid station/Invited Athlete Sponsors are Mather Dentist Office, Day & Zimmermann Intl., Martin Dentistry, Mountain Region Family Medicine, Fleming's Tune-Up, Grant's Tire and Kingsport Medical Group Mgrs. Crazy 8's, a Running USA member, is managed by the State of Franklin Track Club.
Contact: Doug Thurston, Race Director, (916) 974-0786; goldmedal@accessbee.com Jimmerson Sets Course Record in the 5th Shriners 8K in Sacramento SACRAMENTO, Calif. - (June 21, 2003) - Pulling away from all challengers in the last mile, Greg Jimmerson, 28, of Los Altos ran 23:32 to set a new course record in the Shriners 8K Run Saturday in Sacramento. Jimmerson averaged 4:43 per mile for the 4.97-mile race. Peter Gilmore, 26, of Menlo Park, finished second in 23:50. Gilmore set the previous course record of 23:41 last year. Ryan Hayes, 25, of San Luis Obispo, finished third in 24:07. Kristen Koppes, 25, of Redding, captured the women's title in 27:50. Kelly Cordell, 33, of San Luis Obispo, was second in 28:24. Jennifer Derego, 23, of Arroyo Grande finished third in 28:26. Koppes finished 15 seconds off the course record. The top three men and women finishers earned $200, $100 and $50, respectively. The event offered a $2,500 prize money purse for individuals and teams and was the 8K championship of the Pacific Association of USA Track & Field Grand Prix. Danny Gonzales, 41, of Mountain View, finished 6th overall in 24:19 and lowered his own masters' course record of 24:38 set last year. Sara Freitas, 45, of Nevada City, won the women's masters' crown in 30:20. Both runners won $125 for their runs. Outstanding age group marks were run by Shirley Matson of Larkspur, who set a pending age 62 record of 32:58, and Myra Rhodes, 70, of Sacramento who ran 39:59, 42 seconds better then the current mark. The race attracted more than 840 entrants under perfect cool and sunny running conditions. The certified course began at Raley Field in West Sacramento and crossed the historic Tower Bridge over the Sacramento River before running east on scenic, tree-lined T Street to finish at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California on Stockton Blvd. More than 125 walkers participated in a two-mile fitness walk. The event was a fundraiser for the Ben Ali Shrine Temple in Sacramento. Doug Thurston of Gold Medal Event Management in Sacramento directed the event. Shriner's 8K: Pacific Association of USA Track & Field
Championship Division Awards, Male Division Awards Female
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services http://www.runningusa.org
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