Contact: Melvin Jackson, II
Communications Coordinator
USA Track & Field
(317) 261-0500 x322
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.usatf.org
USATF News & Notes
Volume 3, Number 105 November 1, 2002
Runyan, Keflezighi to debut at NYC Marathon
U.S. Olympians Marla Runyan and Meb Keflezighi will make their highly
anticipated marathon debuts at the 33rd edition of the New York City
Marathon on Sunday, November 3.
Runyan enters the New York City Marathon after achieving international
stardom in 2000 by becoming the first-ever Paralympian to compete in an
Olympic Games. A five-time Paralympic gold medalist, Runyan stunned the
world by making the Olympic final in the women’s 1,500 meters and finishing
eighth in 4:08.30, despite being legally blind as a result of Stargardt’s
disease, a degenerative disorder which causes blindness. She will run the
New York Marathon route with a bicycle escort provided by race officials.
Last year Runyan predicted an American record in the women’s indoor 5,000
meters, and she delivered with her 15:07.33 performance at New York’s Armory
on February 18. In 2002 Runyan has set personal bests at 1,500 (4:02.95)
and 3,000 meters (8:39.36).
Runyan, who married her coach Matt Lonergan in August, owns a master’s
degree in the education of deaf and blind children from San Diego State
University.
The winner of four NCAA titles as a collegian at UCLA, Keflezighi set the
U.S. men’s 10,000m record with his time of 27 minutes, 13.98 seconds on May
4, 2001 at the Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. Keflezighi’s
performance, a personal best by nearly 40 seconds, bettered Mark Nenow’s
previous standard of 27:20.56 set in 1986. The 12th place finisher in the
10,000 meters at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Keflezighi is a two-time
U.S. 10,000m champion, and the two-time defending U.S. men’s 12K cross
country champion.
Milena Glusac, Keflezighi's Team USA California teammate, returns to New
York after debuting there last year in 2:34:46 (good for 13th overall and
national championship runner-up).
With five bridges, five boroughs and 2.5 million spectators, the New York
City Marathon is a race like no other, and this year's race is particularly
special because the elite women will have their own separate start at 10:35
a.m., while the elite men/mass start goes off at 11:07a.m.
The New York City Marathon will be televised live from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00
p.m., on
local WNBC, channel 4. A national one-hour recap show on NBC will be shown
at
3:00 p.m. on race day.
Inaugurated in 1970 with 127 entrants, the New York City Marathon now
features 30,000 participants and a guaranteed prize purse of more than
$475,000. Broadcast across the nation and in 125 countries worldwide, the
26.2-mile footrace is the United States' most watched one-day sporting
event. The New York City Marathon takes place the first Sunday in November
each year and is the premier event of the New York Road Runners.
For more information visit www.nycmarathon.org.
Three Team USA Minnesota Women to Compete in Charity Run 10K
Katie McGregor, Kristen Nicolini and Sara Wells – all members of Team USA
Minnesota - will compete in the Food World Senior Bowl Charity Run 10K in
Mobile, Ala., on November 2. The race, which has over 5,000 participants,
features $43,000 in prize money, with $3,500 for the first place female
winner.
McGregor, who joined Team USA Minnesota in May 2001, was the bronze medalist
in the USA 10,000m Championships last June with a 32:17 personal record.
Most recently, she was the fifth American at the Tuft's 10K for Women in
October with a time of 33:06. In September, McGregor set a Minnesota state
record with a time of 55:49 in the Twin Cities Marathon 10-Mile event and in
July placed 2nd in the USA 7-Mile Championships with a time of 38:25.
Nicolini joined Team USA Minnesota in May 2001 and has been specializing in
the 5000m. She set a best of 16:15 in the 5000m last summer at the Maine
Distance Festival. On the roads, she won the Hennepin-Lake Classic 5K in
Minneapolis in August with a time of 16:20, and was second at the Albank 5K
held in Chicago in October with a time of 16:33.
Wells, who joined Team USA Minnesota in September 2002, has a 10K best of
33:46, and she finished 10th at the USATF Cross Country Nationals 8K last
February. In 2001 she was a member of the U.S. Ekiden team in Japan and
participated in the USA 10,000m Championships, where she set her personal
record .
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