Running USA wire 53, June 30, 2010

8th edition February 13-15 at Grand Hyatt San Antonio; "Celebrate Running, Celebrate Success" conference theme; register today for lowest fee and drawing entry for a free, three-night stay at host hotel

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - (June 30, 2010) - Running USA 2011: The Industry Conference will be held on February 13-15 at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio, Texas, and registration for the sport's premier and largest conference is now open. Like past gatherings, there will be inspirational keynote speakers, educational breakout sessions, networking opportunities, awards and more. This year's theme is "Celebrate Running, Celebrate Success".

"Running USA 2011 will truly be a celebration of the sport and the people who make it all happen, and like previous editions, there will be literally something for everybody. For our 8th running industry conference, we are looking forward to being in San Antonio, the Alamo City, and like Texas, we expect "big" things at our conference including another record attendance," said Susan Weeks, Running USA CEO.

Presenting sponsors of Running USA 2011 are Active.com, Ashworth Awards and Leslie Jordan, Inc. Breakout sessions will include three learning tracks: business, self-help best practices and youth.

SPECIAL EVENTS

• Opening reception sponsored by MapMyRun
• Trailblazer Luncheon and Award sponsored by Women's Running Magazine
• Cocktail reception sponsored by Leslie Jordan, Inc.
• Running USA Hall of Champions Dinner and Auction
• Allan Steinfeld Development Award
• Leadership Luncheon sponsored by Ashworth Awards
• Sponsor showcase
• Morning runs along San Antonio's beautiful Riverwalk
• Evening in San Antonio

Register today for Running USA 2011 and save plus register by Friday, July 9 and receive a drawing entry for a free, three-night conference stay at the incredible Grand Hyatt San Antonio, the host hotel. The conference rate of $559 for Running USA members / $759 non-members is available until Friday, December 31, 2010. On-line registration, hotel, travel and other information for Running USA 2011 is available at: http://runningusa.org/programs/conference

About Running USA
Running USA advances, serves, promotes and celebrates the sport of running as a clearinghouse and resource center and through its popular annual conference, Running USA wire, Running USA E-News, website, youth fitness portal RunningRocks.com, widely cited annual marathon, half-marathon and State of the Sport reports and by supporting athlete development.

Running USA's more than 250 members include road races, race services companies, running-related media companies and organizations and the athletic industry.

In March 2010, the non-profit industry organization marked more than 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

Kitwara, Chepkurui to defend Peachtree titles; Trafeh, Moran, Smyth top Americans for USA Men's 10K Championship; guaranteed prize purse exceeds $110,000 for 4th of July tradition

ATLANTA - (June 30, 2010) - Keeping with tradition, a world class men's and women's field will toe the line at the start of the 41st running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race on Sunday, July 4. For the third time in the past four years, the AJC Peachtree Road Race will also host the USA Men's 10K Championship as well as serve as the 2010 Professional Road Running Organization's (PRRO) Race of Champions. Athletes in the 2010 AJC Peachtree Road Race will be competing for a share of the $111,300 overall prize purse, which includes $30,000 for the U.S. men's national championship. In addition, three men and two women competing in the 2010 Peachtree are eligible to receive a $10,000 PRRO bonus. Eligible athletes must place first in the AJC Peachtree Road Race in order to take home the PRRO bonus*.

"Not only are we in for a very exciting race in the Open division, but with the strong field of American men competing for the USA Men's 10K Championship and five athletes in contention for the 2010 PRRO bonus, we are anticipating some strong performances on Sunday," stated Tracey Russell, Race Director for the AJC Peachtree Road Race and Executive Director of the Atlanta Track Club.

With well over 40 runners, this year's men's field is one of the deepest in the event's recent history. 2009 Peachtree champion (27:22), Sammy Kitwara (KEN), will return to Atlanta to defend his title. Kitwara, 23, is coming off of two wins this past May at the ING Bay to Breakers 12K (34:15) and Abraham Rosa International 10K (29:26). He currently boasts the sixth fastest 10K this year.

Challenging Kitwara will be the #2 seeded runner Gebre Gebremariam (ETH), who set a course record of 27:42 in his 10K road race debut at the Healthy Kidney 10K this May in New York City.

Three runners in this year's men's field are also contenders for the PRRO Circuit payout after placing first at one of the four races on the 2009-10 PRRO Circuit. Peter Kirui (KEN) qualified after winning the 2010 Lilac Bloomsday 12K (34:28), Stephen Tum (KEN) placed first at the 2010 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile (45:43) and Ridouane Harroufi (MAR) took top honors at 2009's Utica Boilermaker 15K (43:56).

Top Americans competing for the USA Men's 10K title and the accompanying $10,000 include 2010 USA 15K champion Mohamed Trafeh who boasts a 10K personal best of 28:37, Ed Moran who placed sixth in last year's USA 10K Championship (28:50) and Patrick Smyth who made his 10K road race debut at last year's Championship (28:49). Also expected are 2008 U.S. Olympians Jorge Torres and Anthony Famiglietti, Andrew Carlson, James Carney, Fasil Bizuneh and Aaron Braun.

On the women's side, 2009 AJC Peachtree Road Race champion Lineth Chepkurui (KEN) will be the one to watch. Chepkurui, 22, brings impressive 2010 credentials with wins at Crescent City Classic 10K (30:45) and the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile (51:51) plus world records at the 12K distance at Lilac Bloomsday (38:10) and ING Bay to Breakers (38:07). Chepkurui and fourth-seeded Alice Timbilili (KEN) are also both eligible for the 2010 PRRO Circuit bonus.

Other top runners in the 2010 women's field include Ethiopians Mamitu Daska and Dire Tune who will both be making their Peachtree debut. Daska won the 2010 Bolder Boulder 10K with a personal best of 32:28 and Tune's personal best of 31:40 run at this year's World's Best 10K is the 15th fastest women's 10K time this year.

The Masters men's field (40 and over) looks to be a strong one with Nikolay Kerimov (RUS) making his first AJC Peachtree Road Race appearance. Kerimov placed first Masters at the Cooper River Bridge Run 10K (30:15) and the Crescent City Classic 10K (31:56) earlier this year. Notable contenders for the 2010 Masters women's field include Anzhelika Averkova (UKR) with a 10K personal best of 33:38 and local favorite Stephanie Herbst-Lucke who took top American and female Masters honors at the 2008 Peachtree (33:55).

The 41st running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race will take place on Sunday, July 4, 2010. The race begins at 7:30am on Peachtree Road by Lenox Square Mall and finishes on 10th Street near Piedmont Park.

The AJC Peachtree Road Race, the largest 10K running event in the world with 55,000 participants, is perhaps most famous for the coveted Peachtree t-shirt, which is handed out to all the event finishers. For more information, visit: www.atlantatrackclub.org or www.ajc.com/peachtree

*If a PRRO eligible male and female runners both win the AJC Peachtree Road Race, the $10,000 will be divided in half between the two athletes.

National championship event at legendary Hayward Field on Friday, July 2; ten event decathlon-style scoring to determine best U.S. high school track & field program

BEAVERTON, Ore. - Nike has announced the 24 clubs to qualify for the first ever Nike Track Nationals. This national championship event, to be held on Friday night July 2nd at famed Hayward Field, will name the best high school track & field program in the United States.

With the goal of crowning a true national track and field champion, Nike Track Nationals is a four-month virtual competition culminating in the national championship event where the top 12 boys and top 12 girls programs will compete for the title via decathlon-style scoring the night before the Prefontaine Classic.

"The qualifying teams at this year's Nike Track Nationals competition represent the best high school aged runners across the country," said Nike's Vice President of Running Amy White. "Moving from the on-line portion of this competition to winning the championship event at Hayward Field will depend on how these amazing athletes come together and show what it takes to be a winning team."

Qualifying Teams - Girls and Boys
NW = Kentwood TC - Covington, WA and Sam Barlow TC - Gresham, OR
SW = Chandler TC - Chandler, AZ and Brophy Prep TC - Phoenix, AZ
HL = Hopkins TC - Minnetonka, MN and Bismarck TC - Bismarck, ND
SO = Clinton TC - Clinton, MS and Spring TC - Spring, TX
MW = Lee's Summit West TC - Lees Summit, MO and Kentwood TC - Kentwood, MI
SE = Western Branch TC - Chesapeake, VA and Brookwood TC - Snellville, GA
NE = Columbia TC - Maplewood, NJ and Franklinville TC - Franklinville, NJ
CA = Long Beach Poly TC - Long Beach, CA and Vista Murrieta TC - Murrieta, CA
At-Large = Harvard-Westlake TC - North Hollywood, CA and Dana Hills TC - Dana Point, CA
At-Large = Trabuco Hills TC - Mission Viejo, CA and Wayne TC - Huber Heights, OH
At-Large = Desert Vista TC - Phoenix, AZ and Brentwood TC - Brentwood, TN
At-Large = South Brunswick TC - Monmouth Junction, NJ and Loyola TC - Los Angeles, CA

NTN Background:
From March 1 - June 13 all track & field clubs were invited to compete in the virtual competition at www.NikeTrackNationals.com by inputting times and records set at USATF meets. Coaches updated marks weekly to see how their squad ranked against state, regional and national competition. Upon completion of the virtual competition on June 13, the top club in each of eight regions automatically qualified for the Nike Track Nationals competition in Eugene, Oregon on July 2. The next four highest scoring clubs from any region rounded out the twelve team field.

Clubs will compete in ten track & field events including: 100m, 110/100m Hurdles, 400m, 800m, Mile, Long Jump, High Jump, Pole Vault, Shot Put, Discus Throw. Each team is allowed to enter their top mark for each event, with a two-event maximum per individual athlete. Those marks will then be scored in decathlon fashion with performance marks awarded a point score. Although competition consists of ten events, the lowest scoring event will be dropped, making the total score the sum of their best nine events. The highest score takes homes the national crown.

In addition to commentary and highlights from the Nike Sportsdesk, the Nike Spike Bus will be on hand for athletes to customize their spikes. In addition, ten Nike elite athletes and Olympians will be on hand throughout the meet to provide color and interact with competitors including Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards and Bernard Lagat.

For more information, go to: www.NikeTrackNationals.com

The award-winning youth fitness program, JUST RUN®, wraps up another successful year with 6,000 fitter kids in a record 17 states

CARMEL, Calif. - As the 2010 school year has ended across the nation, the JUST RUN youth fitness program has tallied its numbers for the 2009-10 academic year. Nearly 6,000 children, representing 79 schools in 17 states, logged over 200,000 miles. Nineteen classes were awarded Certificates of Congratulations for completing their 3,200 mile virtual runs across the USA, tracked on the program's website, and 14,000 acts of good citizenship, or "Just Deeds", were recorded.

Nationally recognized as a successful, easy to implement and fun program for both students and leaders, JUST RUN experienced significant growth throughout the United States during the 2009-10 school year. Geographic expansion of the program included the adoption of JUST RUN by four new independently operating satellite programs located in Green Bay, WI; Long Beach, CA; Albany, NY and Miami Lakes, FL.

Designed by the Big Sur International Marathon to promote physical activity and combat the epidemic of childhood obesity, JUST RUN targets children ages 7-12.

Susan Love, Program Administrator of JUST RUN states, "This is an important time to introduce healthy habits such as exercise and nutrition. The kids love the program and get so excited about participating on a regular basis. They experience pride in accomplishment in a safe and non-competitive environment. Our program has definitely made a positive impact on the lives of these students."

JUST RUN has earned "extra credit" this year for continuing to upgrade and supplement its program. Three professionally produced videos - Just Run Overview, Getting Started, and Relays and Drills - were added to the website to make it easier for any leader in any locale to implement the program. Also in production is a manual for leaders to use as they work with the children on-site.

In addition to the ongoing program, JUST RUN encourages schools to implement "goal races" for the children and/or to encourage them to participate in local, kid-friendly distance events. In Monterey County, CA, home of JUST RUN, two 3K races are held in conjunction with the Big Sur Marathon's events - a half-marathon in the fall and the renowned Big Sur International Marathon in the spring.

The FREE, website-based program provides a wealth of information for students and leaders on nutrition and exercise, student login screens for good deeds and mileage tracking, local race information and much more.

"What sets JUST RUN apart is the fact that it is a year-round program," said Love. "We want to instill the importance of exercise on a daily basis, as part of a healthy lifestyle." She added, "JUST RUN is easy to implement and is available to anyone who would like to have a positive impact on our children and youth. It simply requires an enthusiastic leader, a group of kids, a computer and a place to run."

JUST RUN program developer Mike Dove further remarked, "We're pleased that Michelle Obama's new Let's Move program advocates what we have been doing for the past five years."

For more information, visit www.justrun.org or contact Susan Love at (831) 625-6226 or susanwlove@sbcglobal.net