Running USA wire 19, March 7, 2010

Coordt captures women's race record fourth victory under near perfect conditions for sold-out field

NAPA, Calif. - (March 7, 2010) - Michael Arnstein, 33, of New York, N.Y. and Mary Coordt, 40, of Elk Grove, Calif. earned wins Sunday at the 32nd Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon (NVM). The duo topped a capacity crowd of approximately 2,300 runners who enjoyed near perfect weather for marathon running during their 26.2-mile journey through the picturesque Napa Valley wine growing country. Cool, windless conditions under clear skies dotted by colorful hot air balloons helped numerous runners score personal records on the fast, rolling marathon course from Calistoga to Napa. The 2010 NVM served as the Road Runners Club of America's Western Regional Marathon Championship race.

Arnstein's winning time was 2 hours, 31 minutes, 26 seconds. Coordt crossed the finish line at Vintage High School in 2:46:07 and added a fourth NVM women's victory to her resume, the most ever by a woman at NVM. Coordt also won NVM in 1997, 2005 and 2009.

Arnstein, who owns a small, New York-based software company, improved upon a runner-up finish in this race in 2008. He has won several of the 40 marathons he has raced, including last year's New Jersey Marathon.

Kenneth Burgess, 29, of Piedmont, Calif. led for almost ten miles of the men's race as Arnstein was content to stick about 20 seconds back. Burgess, a naval engineer in the U.S. Coast Guard, was coming off a cross country season that culminated at the U.S. Armed Forces National Cross Country Championships in Spokane, Wash. last month.

"I'm coming off running pretty quick miles in cross country, so my initial 5:45 per mile pace seemed slow to me," said Burgess, "but after 13 or 14 miles I could feel the pace kind of creep up on me."

Once Arnstein took the lead, he didn't relinquish it. Although he emerged as the winner, he missed a longtime goal.

"I've been on a quest to break 2:30 in the marathon for a very long time, about ten years," Arnstein said. "I was on pace for about 23 miles. After that the wheels kind of fell off. The mind wants to go, but the body doesn't respond. I always get really close. Always, I'm pushing myself as hard as I can."

Several feet from the finish line, Arnstein kneeled to the ground and bowed his head for several seconds to reflect on his race. Burgess finished second in 2:40:15, a personal record. Donald Courter, 34, of Mountain View, Calif. was third in 2:44:18, a five-minute PR.

Arnstein went home pleased, despite narrowly missing his race goal.

"I'm extremely excited. It's been a dream of mine to win this race," Arnstein said. "The event is super high class. If you want the highest quality marathon, the most beautiful scenery, the absolute best organization, you come here. It's by far the best marathon in the United States outside of the Boston Marathon. It's the kind of race that I want to come back to every year."

In the women's race, Coordt was initially accompanied by Abigail Larson (age 30, Salt Lake City, Utah) and Meghan Arbogast (48, Corvallis, Ore.). By ten miles, the contest was between Coordt and Arbogast. Last October, Coordt qualified for her fourth U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials while running a 2:45:00 PR at the USA Women's Marathon Championships in Minneapolis / St. Paul, Minn. She plans on running the 2012 Trials in Houston. Arbogast, an accomplished ultra marathoner and a three-time Marathon Trials qualifier, was looking for a sub-2:46:00 at Napa that would also qualify her for the 2012 Trials. So, the pair worked together.

"I told Meghan 'I'll try to run 6:19 minute (per mile) pace as long as I can with you,'" said Coordt who had planned to run only 20 miles of the race because she is pointing towards the Two Oceans Ultramarathon in Cape Town, South Africa on April 3rd. "At 20 miles I felt really good, and my husband wasn't there to pick me up. So, I was getting excited about helping Meghan to a qualifier, and decided to keep going."

When Arbogast fell off Trials qualifying pace at 23 miles, Coordt jettisoned to the lead. "I was suffering a little bit more than I wanted at that point," Arbogast said. "My legs were just tired out. I knew at that point that it was going to be really tough to make the Trials qualifying standard."

Arbogast finished 34 seconds behind Coordt, in 2:46:41, as runner-up. Yiou Wang (24, Mill Valley, Calif.) ran strongly over the last several miles, and captured third place in 2:54:59, a PR. Molly Friel (42, Fresno, Calif.) and Larson, the early co-leader who is a two-time Winter Olympian in cross country skiing, followed in 2:57:49 and 3:00:41 respectively for fourth and fifth places.

Among Masters (40 years and older runners), Robert Evans (43, Pollock Pines, Calif.) garnered the men's win in 2:46:39, while Coordt, 40, was the women's Masters winner as well.

Chris Houde (50, Carmichael, Calif.) won the men's wheelchair division in 2:22:05. There were no female wheelchair participants.

In the accompanying Kiwanis 5K Fun Run, Brian Collett (25, San Lorenzo, Calif.) was the men's winner in 16:54 and Michelle Lines (28, Chicago) was first among women in 19:44.

All proceeds from the Napa Valley Marathon (a non-profit organization) are donated to local charities in the Napa Valley.

32nd Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon
Napa, CA, Sunday, March 7, 2010

MEN
1) Michael Arnstein (NY), 2:31:26
2) Kenneth Burgess (CA), 2:40:15
3) Donald Courter (CA), 2:44:18

MASTERS MEN (40+)
1) Robert Evans, 43, CA, 2:46:39

WOMEN
1) Mary Coordt, 40, CA, 2:46:07
2) Meghan Arbogast, 49, OR, 2:46:41
3) Yiou Wang (CA), 2:54:59

MASTERS WOMEN (40+)
1) Coordt, see above

Full race results at: www.napavalleymarathon.org

Live broadcast and streaming of the fifth edition will be available on Universal Sports TV and UniversalSports.com

NEW YORK - (March 4, 2010) - A lineup of some of the world's best long-distance runners, including 2006 and 2008 ING New York City Marathon champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil, two-time Olympian Alistair Cragg of Ireland and 2009 World Cross Country champion Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia have been added to the field of the first spring running of the NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, March 21, it was announced by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

The 90-minute live broadcast will start at 7:30am EDT featuring the men's and women's professional race. It will be seen on Universal Sports TV and streamed on UniversalSports.com. Veteran sports broadcaster Bruce Beck will host the show.

"The interest continues to build with the addition of World Cross Country champion Gebre Gebremariam and Ireland's best long-distance runner Alistair Cragg as they tackle the half-marathon distance," said Wittenberg. "Marilson is one of our all-time favorite ING New York City Marathon champions and we always enjoy having him race here. The broadcast of the race continues NYRR's strategy of bringing the very best in road racing to a global audience."

These athletes join a previously announced field of top Americans, including 2009 ING New York City Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi, 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor, three-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman, two-time Olympic steeplechaser Anthony Famiglietti and 2006 NCAA cross country champion Josh Rohatinsky. International stars in the field include marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, 2009 London Marathon runner-up Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain, 2008 NYC Half-Marathon runner-up Madaí Pérez of Mexico and 2009 Hokkaido Marathon champion Kiyoko Shimahara of Japan.

The first South American winner of the ING New York City Marathon, Gomes, 32, returns to New York after dropping out in the 23rd mile in last year's ING New York City Marathon. A hero in his home country, Gomes made history when he surprised a stellar field in 2006 to win the ING New York City Marathon. He repeated the victory in 2008, finishing in 2:08:43. In 2007, Gomes ran the fastest half-marathon ever by an athlete from the Western Hemisphere with his 59:33 seventh-place finish at the IAAF World Road Running Championships.

The U.S.-based Cragg, 29, will be making his half-marathon debut. A seven-time NCAA champion, Cragg is the Irish national record holder in the 3000 meters, 5000 meters indoors and 10,000 meters outdoors.

A 2004 Olympian, Gebremariam, 25, will be running in his first road race in the United States. After much success at the 5000 meter and 10,000-meter distance, Gebremariam will be participating in only his second half-marathon.

Previously announced, the NYC Half-Marathon will offer the largest half-marathon prize purse in the United States: $100,000. The men's and women's champions will each earn $20,000, the largest first-prize checks for a non-marathon race in the country.

The NYC Half-Marathon continues to attract leading professional athletes and recreational runners from around the world. In 2009, more than 19,000 people applied to run the race, and more than 10,000 finished.

On a course designed to celebrate New York City, the NYC Half-Marathon will take runners on a loop through Central Park, down Seventh Avenue through Times Square, across 42nd Street, and along the expansive West Side Highway to Chambers Street in the heart of the city's financial district.

For more information, visit: www.NYRR.org

More than 13,000 participants at signature event; women-centered weekend attracts event record 18,000 plus for second edition

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - (March 7, 2010) - In a tight race, Gina Aalgaard Kelly bested more than 13,000 runners from around the world at Disney's Princess Half Marathon on Sunday morning. Kelly, from Lisbon, N.D., and runner-up Heather Schulz of Orlando overtook Nicole Falvo, of Grand Blanc, Mich., who led most of the 13.1 mile race, as the women entered Disney's Epcot theme park. Aalgaard Kelly, 33, crossed the finish line in 1 hour, 23 minutes, 58 seconds and Schulz, 35, followed shortly in 1:24:21. Falvo, 35, crossed only 4 seconds later (1:24:25) to finish third at the second edition.

In the Masters division (40 and older), Mary Pardi (Falmouth, Maine), 40, won in 1:25:10 (4th woman overall), while Tricia Brookover-Braun, 42, from Palm Harbor, Fla. clocked a 1:27:51 to claim second place.

Disney's Princess Half Marathon, with more than 11,300 finishers, was the signature moment in a weekend full of events that saw more than 18,000 runners compete in various races that included Disney's Princess and The Frog Royal Family 5K and Disney's Kids' Races, making the event one of the largest endurance race weekends geared towards women. While the weekend is designed for women, more than 400 men participated on behalf of the princesses in their lives.

The weekend also involved Disney's Fit for a Princess Expo that was open to the general public. The expo, geared toward women's health and wellness, featured celebrity runner appearances, Disney characters and seminars on training, racing and nutrition, along with the opportunity to experience the latest in running and fitness equipment.

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend is part of the Endurance Series at Walt Disney World Resort, which gives recreational athletes of all ages and abilities the chance to walk, jog, run, bike and swim their way "around the world". From marathons to road races to triathlons, athletes from across the country and around the world compete to stay in shape, achieve personal best times and raise donations for charitable causes. Popular Endurance Series events are Expedition Everest Challenge (June 12, 2010), Inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend (Oct. 1-2, 2010), Walt Disney World Marathon and Half Marathon (Jan. 6-9, 2011) and Champion 5K at ESPN the Weekend (February 2011).

Disney's 2nd Princess Half Marathon
Orlando, FL, Sunday, March 7, 2010

1) Gina Aalgaard Kelly (ND), 1:23:58
2) Heather Schulz (FL), 1:24:21
3) Nicole Falvo (MI), 1:24:25

MASTERS (40+)
1) Mary Pardi, 40, ME, 1:25:10
2) Tricia Brookover-Braun, 42, FL, 1:27:51

Complete results at: www.disneyprincesshalfmarathon.com

Exceeds $45,000, one of largest among spring marathons nationwide; 16,000 runner cap for 2010 race

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - (February 27, 2010) - With a purse of more than $45,000, Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon is committed to attracting elite and up-and-coming runners to the Sunday, May 2, 2010 event. Winning male and female marathon runners will be awarded $6500 for the Marathon, and $2500 for the UPMC Health Plan Pittsburgh Half Marathon, and cash prizes are also offered for Masters, Pennsylvania residents and Hand Crank Wheelchair. Those prizes are among the highest for spring marathons nationally.

This is the race's second year back with the support of title sponsor Dick's Sporting Goods, a Pittsburgh-based, nationwide sports retailer. In 2009, the race sold out with over 10,500 finishers; the 2010 race will be significantly larger, with a cap of 16,000 runners.

According to Race Director Patrice Matamoros, the prize money is part of the newly-revived race's growth strategy, and will help solidify the race's identity among a growing number of marathons being hosted nationwide.

"Our city is known as the City of Champions, and was declared the #1 Sports Town in America last year," said Matamoros. "The race should reflect both our city and our sponsors, which means we need to establish Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon as a top destination for all athletes, including the world's finest long distance runners."

The USATF-sanctioned event features an exciting course with a surprisingly moderate incline for a city that is known for its hills. Runners will see various highlights of the City of Bridges, including the Strip District - a wholesale market located in the city - and Carson Street on Pittsburgh's South Side, a zone packed with spectators and lined with restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, and more. The major hill on the course is a gradual 200 ft. climb up Forbes Avenue into Oakland, a hub for Pittsburgh's culture, academics, and healthcare. Runners will go through the University of Pittsburgh's campus and pass its famous Cathedral of Learning, and into Shadyside, Homewood, Highland Park, and then downhill through Pittsburgh's own Little Italy, Bloomfield.

Because the race is friendly to competitors at every level, it offers a wide-range of non-monetary prizes for age group winners, a dynamic three-day GNC Live Well Health & Wellness Expo, a Finish Line Festival, a Kids Marathon 1-Mile Fun Run, and much more. In addition, the entire community is encouraged to participate either as a volunteer, a "cheerathoner," through music-by-the mile, as a charity, or by attending any one of the events as a spectator or participant.

For more information, including elite runner registration and the prize purse breakdown, go to: www.pittsburghmarathon.com