Running USA wire 60, July 28, 2010

25,000 runners and walkers prepare for sold-out Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon

CHICAGO - (July 28, 2010) - Chicago's hottest concert ticket this summer comes in the form of a running event. On Sunday, August 1, more than 25,000 runners, walkers and spectators will celebrate the second Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon benefiting the American Cancer Society.

Among the public figures expected to join the field will be Giuliana Rancic ("E! News"); Kelly Killoren Bensimon of "'Real Housewives of New York"; Andrea Powell ("The Gates"); Jake Pavelka, Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney ("The Bachelor"), plus Five for Fighting, who will perform at the finish line, with the event hosted by NBC's Maria Menounos of "Access Hollywood".

Local bands including Hello Dave, Party Freak, The Chicago Mob Dixieland Jazz Band, M&R Rush, Drench, Molehill, Tryst and the Windy City Rev Ups will be stationed at every mile along the course with music genres spanning from big band, soul, country and R&B.

"After witnessing the event first hand last year, we are thrilled to be playing in front of 25,000 runners on the course this year," said Marty Mardirosian, drummer for M&R Rush, who's single 'Rock 'n' Roll Chicago' was #45 as the most requested song on Chicago's WLUP radio station in 1980. "Like it says in our song 'Chicago rock n rollers are the best there are around', and there is nothing like playing in this beautiful city by the lake."

Last year, two-time USA 5000m champion and 2008 Olympian Kara Goucher won the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Chicago outright, beating all of the 14,459 other finishers in the race, including all of the men. Her time of 1:08:05 was the second fastest half-marathon ever run by an American woman, just 31 seconds slower than Deena Kastor's record 1:07:34 set in Berlin in 2006.

On Sunday, a local elite field will compete for a U.S.-only prize purse, lead by former Illinois high school star Tera Moody. Moody was Goucher's teammate at the World Championships in Berlin last year, representing the U.S. in the marathon. In January, she finished sixth overall at the USA Half-Marathon Championships in Houston. Her time of 1:12:52 was a personal best and one of the ten fastest times by an American this year.

The men's field is lead by Schaumburg, IL native Patrick Rizzo, who recently finished second at the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Half Marathon in June. The 26-year-old has set his personal bests this year over 10,000 meters and 30K. He's had success in his home state, finishing 10th overall at the 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Event weekend kicks off on Friday with a two-day Health & Fitness Expo at McCormick Place. The free expo is open to the public and will showcase the latest in running products, free samples and interactive clinics hosted by Kara Goucher and Josh Cox, who will be making his first Rock 'n' Roll appearance as part of Nissan's 'Master the Shift' program. ING New York City Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi will also be signing autographs at the SONY booth on Friday from 1:00pm - 3:00pm.

The race begins on Columbus, south of Congress at 6:30am. The course takes runners past several Chicago landmarks including Buckingham Fountain, the Chicago Theatre, Soldier Field finishing at Columbus and Balbo. The post-race party and concert begin at 10:30am on an outdoor stage inside Grant Park, at Lower Hutchinson field. The post-race festivities are free and open to the public.

For more information, go to: http://chicago.competitor.com or call (800) 311-1255.

Defending race champions, Olympic medalists, $90,000 prize purse and more at the Cape Cod summer tradition

FALMOUTH - The 38th edition of the CIGNA Falmouth Road Race is set for Sunday, August 15 with a professional field that will feature the defending champions, a pair of Olympic marathon silver medalists and, possibly, the first American men's champion in more than 20 years.

The world's best and thousands of recreational runners will once again gather for the annual Cape Cod summer tradition. The 2010 action begins at 10:00am at the drawbridge in Woods Hole when the field of 10,000 sets out on a scenic seven-mile course that ends at the ball field by the beach in Falmouth Heights.

Falmouth is one of the top non-marathon events on the international circuit and past champions have included Hall-of-Famers and Olympic gold medalists. Prize money totaling $90,300 will be at stake, with $10,000 each going to the Open division champions. There is also $29,600 for the top U.S. runners, including $5000 to the first American man and woman.

The course records are long-standing: Gilbert Okari of Kenya holds the men's mark at 31:08, set in 2004, while Lornah Kiplagat of Kenya set the women's record of 35:02 in 2000.

Defending champion Tilahun Regassa of Ethiopia headlines the men's Open division, which also includes 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes, Calif.

In the women's race, Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia returns to defend her crown against a strong lineup of challengers highlighted by Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, a four-time Falmouth and Boston Marathon champion, and two-time Olympic marathon silver medalist.

Last year, Regassa followed in the footsteps of countryman Tadese Tola to become the second Ethiopian man to win at Falmouth. Regassa, just 19 at the time, turned the men's race into a one-man sprint, bursting from the starting line and never looking back. He spent the final mile waving and blowing kisses to the thousands of spectators lining the course. His winning time of 31:41 was the fastest since Okari's record run and the second-fastest in 13 years.

Regassa has continued in fine form this year, running a personal best 27:52 for 10,000 meters in March and 59:19 for the half-marathon in July. In addition, he was Dick's Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER 10K runner-up in May and third at the ING Bay to Breakers 12K.

No American man has won at Falmouth since Mark Curp in 1988, but Keflezighi returns looking to improve on a pair of runner-up finishes (2007 and '08). He was fifth last year, and then went on to win the ING New York City Marathon in the fall, becoming the first American to rule in the Big Apple since Alberto Salazar in 1982. The Mammoth Track Club athlete was fifth at the Boston Marathon in April (and the second American).

Along with Keflezighi, other U.S. challengers include past top 10 Falmouth finishers James Carney and 2010 USA 10K champion Ed Moran, and newcomer Mo Trafeh, born in Morocco but raised in California. Trafeh won the USA 15K Championship earlier this year and was the first American (10th overall) at the Boilermaker 15K on July 6 in Utica, N.Y.

A new Ethiopian who has emerged this season is 20-year-old Lelisa Desisa who won the Ottawa 10K (28:08) and BolderBOULDER 10K in May and set a course record in winning the Boilermaker 15K in 42:46.

Falmouth has a rich history of Kenyan champions (16 in all). They will be well-represented again, led by Edward Muge, third last year, and Samuel Ndereba, sixth in '09 and fourth in '08. Muge led the 2008 race until succumbing to the heat, wobbling off the course and into an ice bath.

Other Kenyans to watch are Peter Cheruiyot Kirui, winner of the Lilac Bloomsday 12K and Bay to Breakers 12K and Boilermaker 15K runner-up; Shadrack Kosgei, first at the Steamboat Classic four-miler, and third at the Boilermaker 15K; Olympian, former New York and London Marathon champion Martin Lel and James Koskei, the 2002 Open division winner at Falmouth and defending Masters champion.

The women's field could be one of the deepest ever. Daska, fourth here in 2008, was dominating last year as she became the first Ethiopian woman to win at Falmouth. She pulled away from the pack in the third mile and cruised to an easy victory. Her winning time of 36:23 was a whopping 51 seconds in front of runner-up Rebecca Donaghue, a University of Massachusetts graduate from Stowe, Mass. Donaghue could be Falmouth's first U.S. woman winner since 1985.

Daska earlier this year won the BolderBOULDER 10K and was second at the Freihofer's Run for Women.

Ndereba, one of the most decorated champions in the sport, will be back on the starting line looking for her fifth Falmouth crown. In addition to a pair of Olympic medals, she is a two-time marathon gold medalist at the World Championships and the former world record holder in the marathon (2:18:47). Her victories at Falmouth span 11 years, from 1996 to 2007.

Another popular Falmouth champion, Colleen De Reuck, is also returning. A native of South Africa and now a U.S. citizen living with her family in Boulder, Colo., De Reuck has been on four Olympic teams and has one of the most impressive resumes in the race's history. She is a two-time Open division winner and has finished runner-up four times. In 12 appearances at Falmouth she has been in the top five nine times. Last year, at the age of 45, the she finished a remarkable fifth in the Open division, second among U.S. women and won another Masters crown. She collected prize money in all three classes. Earlier this year she won the Copenhagen Marathon, running 2:30:51 on a tough course, where she was beaten by only six men.

Other U.S. women who should be in the thick of things are Kate O'Neill and Molly Huddle. O'Neill, a former Massachusetts high school star from Milton and Yale graduate, was a 2004 Olympian. She was second at Falmouth in 2004 and third in 2007. Huddle, from Elmira, N.Y., is a former All-American at Notre Dame who was second earlier this summer at 5000 meters at the USA Outdoor Championships. She was also second at the USA Cross Country Championships in February. Last year Huddle won three U.S. road championships: the 10K in Boston (Tufts), 7 miles at Bix in Davenport, Iowa and 10 miles at Bobby Crim in Flint, Mich.

Other women to watch include:
* Lineth Chepkurui of Kenya, winner of the Lilac Bloomsday Run in a world record 38:10 for the 12K distance. (Daska was second in the race). Chepkurui also won the Bay to Breakers in another world record 38:07.

* Mara Dibaba of Ethiopia, who earlier this season set the Ethiopian half-marathon record of 1:07:13.

* Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, third at Falmouth last year and third in 2006. She won the Boilermaker 15K in a course record 47:57 and won the Honda Los Angeles marathon (2:25:38).

* Benita Willis, a three-time Australian Olympian (at 5000, 10,000 and marathon) and former world cross country champion.

* Azalech Woldeselasse of Ethiopia, who was fourth in the Paris Marathon in 2:25:34

Among the seniors in the race will be three of the most decorated runners in American history: Olympic gold medalists Frank Shorter and Joan Benoit Samuelson, and four-time Boston and New York marathon winner Bill Rodgers. Shorter has won Falmouth twice, Rodgers three times and Benoit Samuelson six times.

CIGNA is now in its fifth year as the title sponsor. More than 2,000 volunteers provide the support system for race weekend. Proceeds from the race support youth athletic programs in the town of Falmouth and other nonprofit community groups.

Visit falmouthroadrace.com for more information.

Top Ethiopian runners, Gebre Gebremariam and wife Worknesh Kidane, also late additions to talented field for Saturday, August 7 race

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine - (July 27, 2010) - A pair of running legends - Catherine Ndereba and Khalid Khannouchi - and an Ethiopian couple who are among the hottest road racers in the world, have joined an already talented field for the upcoming TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, race organizers have announced.

The late additions include Gebre Gebremariam, 25, of Ethiopia, who is coming off an impressive win (27:56) at the AJC Peachtree Road Race. Well-known for his sprinter's kick, in May he ran the fastest-ever 10K in Central Park (27:42) at the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K. The 2009 IAAF World Cross Country champ who also finished fourth at 5000m in the 2004 Olympics, Gebremariam is currently ranked 14th in the world by Running Times.

He will be joined at the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K by his wife, Worknesh Kidane, 28, a former World Cross Country champion and World Championship silver medalist on the track. She took third (31:18) in a strong field at the NYRR New York Mini 10K in June and won the Great Manchester Run (31:19) in England in May.

Ndereba and Khannouchi, household names in the running world, are both familiar faces marking their returns to the TD Bank Beach to Beacon after long absences.

Ndereba, 38, a Kenyan running legend and two-time Olympic Marathon silver medalist known as "Catherine the Great", is a five-time TD Bank Beach to Beacon champ and former course record holder (31:33). She last competed in the race in 2004, ending a remarkable run that included winning five of the first six, including the first four races from 1998-2001.

A four-time BAA Boston Marathon champ, two-time World Champ and former world record holder, Ndereba won silver medals in the marathon at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

"It's going to be really special to see Catherine back in the TD Bank Beach to Beacon," said Larry Barthlow, the race's elite athlete coordinator. "She started winning our race right at the point that her running career really skyrocketed. I know she enjoys coming to Maine, and she is extremely popular here."

The TD Bank Beach to Beacon also holds special meaning for Khannouchi, also 38, who won the 1999 TD Bank Beach to Beacon (27:48) as a Moroccan, then returned to Maine a year later to compete in his very first race after gaining U.S. citizenship. Like Ndereba, he last took part in the TD Bank Beach to Beacon in 2004.

A former world record holder in the marathon and four-time Chicago Marathon champ who still holds the U.S. marathon record (2:05:38), Khannouchi is on the comeback trail after a series of injuries, including foot surgeries, derailed his career. He hasn't run competitively since 2008.

He is using the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K as a third and final test to gauge his fitness toward his ultimate goal of competing in a marathon this fall, according to reports.

"We know our race holds a special place in Khalid's heart as he ran here first as an American citizen, and we're really happy to have him back as he continues his climb back into competitive racing," Barthlow said. "He is a true legend in this sport."

Barthlow also noted that Martin Lel of Kenya, who is one of the world's top marathoners with three London Marathon and two New York City Marathon titles, has confirmed that he will take part in the race.

Lel, who finished fifth in the marathon at the 2008 Olympics, won the Mardi Gras Half Marathon earlier this year but pulled out the London Marathon in April due to injury. He is now healthy, Barthlow said.

The new additions join a strong professional field that was announced in June, including both defending champs, Ed Muge, 27, who will seeking his third straight title, and Irene Limika, 30, both of Kenya.

In addition to Ndereba, Limika will face an especially star-studded field of young runners.

Kenyan Lineth Chepkurui, 22, ranked 9th in the world by Running Times, is coming off a dominating victory at the AJC Peachtree (30:51). Dubbed the "Queen of the Roads", she ran the fastest 10K (30:45) so far in 2010 at the Crescent City Classic and set a world record at 12K (38:07) at the ING Bay to Breakers.

Also in the field is Edna Kiplagat, 30, of Kenya, who set a course record (47:57), earlier this month to win the Utica Boilermaker 15K and also won the 2010 Honda Los Angeles marathon (2:25:38).

Barthlow also confirmed Tuesday that Wude Ayalew Yimer, 23, of Ethiopia, is returning to the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K for the first time since 2007, when she came in as a race favorite but got tangled with another runner early in the race, never recovered and finished a disappointing fourth. She has improved since, taking home the bronze medal at 10,000m at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, and setting a new course record (31:58) to win the 2010 World 10K Run in India.

Top American runners Rebecca Donaghue and Ilsa Paulson also are in the field.

The TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K, set for Saturday, August 7 in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, was founded by Olympic champion Joan Benoit Samuelson, a Cape Elizabeth, Maine native and running icon.

Prize money for the men's and women's champions is $10,000. In all, nearly $60,000 in prize money will be awarded to the top finishers and place winners in the various categories for men and women. A $2500 bonus also is available for any runner who breaks an Open course record.

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank ®, is the title sponsor of the race. The race director is Dave McGillivray, president of DMSE, Inc., a national sports event management company. McGillivray also serves as the race director of the BAA Boston Marathon and many other top events in the U.S. and around the globe.

3 award winning shoes featured in the September issue on newsstands Tuesday, August 3

NEW YORK - (July 27, 2010) - Runner's World magazine, the worldwide authority on running information, highlights and reviews 24 of the best new running shoes on the market in its annual Fall Shoe Guide special, on sale on Tuesday, August 3, 2010.

Three of the 24 shoes showcased - all of which were put through rigorous testing by Runner's World editors, 350 real runners and the one-of-a-kind Runner's World Shoe Lab - were cited as best in class in the following three categories: Editor's Choice, Best Update and Best Buy. Criteria guidelines for awards in each category and winners in those categories for 2010 Fall Shoe Guide are as follows:

EDITOR'S CHOICE: Represents an outstanding shoe that successfully combines the highest-quality design and technology. Our Editor's Choice Winner received the highest marks from the RW Shoe Lab, the wear-testers and the editors.
* Brooks Ghost 3 - Although the original Ghost was a performance trainer, each update has moved the shoe more firmly into the neutral-cushioned category. The Brooks Ghost 3 is still light and zippy while being supportive enough to protect your legs on long runs. The heel is now segmented to isolate impact forces and ease the foot through toe-off. This update is built on the same last as the Adrenaline GTS, and testers enjoyed the snug fit through the heel and midfoot. Recommended it for runners with a relatively efficient stride looking for plenty of arch support.

BEST UPDATE: Recognizes a significant improvement made to an existing model.
* Mizuno WAVE Alchemy 10 - With its soft, steady ride, the Alchemy is remarkably lightweight and flexible. Mizuno tricked out this update with a layer of foam cushioning about the plastic Wave plate in the midsole. The plate still does a first-rate job of guiding and supporting the foot, and the extra layer of foam keeps it from feeling too firm and rigid. Testers overwhelmingly liked the fit and feel, but a few noted problems securing the laces tightly. Recommended as a stable everyday trainer and long-run shoe.

BEST BUY: Acknowledges a shoe that offers the best fit and function for its price.
* Nike Air Pegasus+ 27 - The Pegasus delivers a terrific balance of value and comfort. Nike tinkered with the cushioning a bit with this update, but otherwise left it alone. The forefoot has been retrofitted with a springier foam compound, and the heel now features a Zoom Air cushioning unit. Both changes deliver a soft resilient ride, according to Shoe Lab tests. Testers loved the shoe's bounce, and several really liked how snugly the upper wrapped their arches and ankles. Recommended for normal- to high-arched runners as a marathon-training shoe.

Every shoe reviewed by Runner's World is first bench-tested at the Runner's World Shoe Lab-an independent testing facility in Portland, Oregon. All shoes are flexed, pounded and prodded to see how well they perform. Shoes are then matched to one of 350 "wear-testers" in one of our three wear-test centers across the country based on their individual biomechanical needs and the shoe's performance characteristics.

Testers, who must log a minimum of 25 miles per week, run in the shoes for about a month before submitting their evaluations, noting their total mileage run in each shoe and rating it for qualities including weight, traction, cushioning, support, lacing system and upper material comfort, among other categories.

Runner's World is the only magazine in the world to independently test running shoes in this way, in order to give its editors the most objective means necessary to determine which shoes are most deserving of award status. Because Runner's World only tests and reviews the best products available, shoes that have been tested may use the "Tested by the Runner's World Shoe Lab" label.