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(5-18-09) In what was likely the busiest weekend of sports in the state of Oregon thus far this year, the action was red hot in Eugene, OR at Hayward Field, which hosted this year's Pac-10 Conference Track Championships.
Oregon captured both the men's and women's titles with stellar performances and a string of podium finishes. Notably, the women's title marks the first since 1992 for the lady Ducks. Video of the meet can be found at www.runnerspace.com.
Additional coverage plus other track and field news from this weekend can be found at www.oregonlive.com.
(5-18-09) Marshall Greene, an elite cross country skier for Bend-based XC Oregon was pursued by numerous competitors, but a solid ski leg and a crushing bike provided a comfortable lead for Greene who won Saturday's U.S. Bank Pole Pedal Paddle by more than three minutes over runner up Andrew Boone. Greene covered the (downhill ski, 8k cross country ski, 22mi bike, 10k run 1mi, sprint to the finish) course the in one hour, 43 minutes and 29 seconds. Greene's win marks his fourth consecutive title and continues the tradition of PPP being dominated by cross country skiers.
On the women's side another XC Oregon skier, Sarah Max of Bend, captured the women's title for the second straight year covering the distance in 2:02:33.
Complete race results can be found at www.mbsef.org.
(5-13-09) From Press Release - Organizers of the annual Freshwater Trust Portland Triathlon (Portland, Oreg.) and Musselman Triathlon (Geneva, NY) announce the addition of a major open water swim race in downtown Portland, Oreg. slated for August 22, 2009. Four generous partners make this event possible: Aqua Zone, Pacific Power, Oregon Sports Action, and a gift from Bill and Julie Young.
The Aqua Zone Portland Mile offers a $25,000 purse to competitors. A world-class field of professionals is expected to attend, with Trent Grimsey already committed to the starting line. Mr. Grimsey is the reigning champion of the 2008 RCP Tiburon Mile, the 2008 Waikiki Roughwater Swim, the 2008 Eyeline 1000 Noosa Ocean Swim, and the 2009 Australian 5k and 10k Open Water Swimming Championships. He will represent Australia at the World Swimming Championships in Rome, Italy, in July.
The one-mile and half-mile races kick off the 2009 Freshwater Trust Portland Triathlon weekend, now in its third year. Situated in the heart of downtown Portland, both the triathlon and the swim enjoy one of the finest venues in the world for open water swimming. Beneath Portland's signature downtown bridges, in the Willamette River alongside Waterfront Park and the Eastbank Esplanade, some of the greatest professional and masters swimmers of our time will square off in what could be the fastest open water mile ever recorded. The course will begin at RiverPlace Marina and follow a rectangle beneath the spectator-friendly Hawthorne and Morrison Bridges.
In addition to the cash purse, all age group winners will take home a Renegade skinsuit from Aqua Zone. Worn by 18 NCAA Division I swimming teams, the Renegade produces 50 times less friction than human skin.
Aqua Zone, a premier swim product brand distributed to stores, swim schools, and teams throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Central America, joins three other major sponsors in providing this sizable purse:
Pacific Power (pacificpower.net) is one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, and as part of PacifiCorp provides more than 1.7 million customers with reliable, efficient energy.
Pacific Power is an active supporter of Pacific NW communities and events.
Oregon Sports Action works to attract and support Olympic sports throughout Oregon. Founded to bring a Winter Olympics bid to Oregon, OSA is led by a skilled and passionate Board of former Olympians, including Jack Elder (1972), Clem Eischen (1948), Katy Steding (1996), and Sean O'Neill (1988, 1992).
Bill and Julie Young have been passionate and active stewards of the Willamette River for many years. Through their advised fund, the Willamette River Fun(d) of the Oregon Community Foundation, Bill and Julie advocate for healthy ecosystems, public access for all, and a spirit of fun in everything they do.
The Aqua Zone Portland Mile will headline Portland's city-wide RiverFest and be covered live on the internet (Slowtwitch.com) and Twitter. Veteran open water swimming journalist, former world champion, and USA Swimming World Open Water Team coach Steven Munatones will produce the live Twitter coverage as well as conduct a comprehensive open water swim clinic during race weekend. A press conference will be held Friday afternoon, August 21.
More information about the Aqua Zone Portland Mile can be found at www.PortlandMile.com.
More information about the Freshwater Trust Portland Triathlon can be found at www.PortlandTri.com.
(5-11-09) From USATF Press Release - 2004 Olympian Dan Browne (Beaverton, Ore.) won his third U.S. 25 km title as Sally Meyerhoff (Tempe, Ariz.) won her first at the USA 25 km Championships Saturday in Grand Rapids, Mich. This marks the 16th year that the championships have been hosted by the Fifth Third River Bank Run.
In a field that also included open international athletes, Browne and Meyerhoff each finished second overall in the respective men's and women's divisions. Browne was timed in 1:15:56 and Meyerhoff ran 1:27:28. The overall titles were won by Kenya's Isaak Kimaiyo in 1:15:36 and Genoveva Kigen in 1:27:16.
Due to local flooding, race officials were forced to use an alternate course that had significantly more hills than the traditional course, which had most of the top athletes talking about a more conservative approach to the early miles. This combined with a steady rain at the start to lead to a relaxed opening mile of 5:03.
As a lead pack of nearly 20 men approached five miles, the pace dropped to 4:42, as Browne was tucked in a pack that included Kimaiyo, and his countrymen, Linus Maiyo and Emmanuel Korir along with U.S. several contenders including Ryan Sheehan (Rochester Hills, Mich.), Jason Hartmann (Boulder, Colo.), Fasil Bizuneh (Flagstaff, Ariz.), Josh Eberly (Gunnison, Colo.) and Antonio Vega (Saint Paul, Minn.).
Just after 11 miles, Kimaiyo along with Maiyo and Korir increased the tempo, running a 4:34 12th- mile to open a gap on the Browne and Sheehan. By 13, he had a ten second lead over Maiyo and Korir as Browne had pulled away from Sheehan and was closing the gap on them.
As Kimaiyo steadily increased his lead, Browne caught Maiyo and Korir. In the final 400 meters, Maiyo surged but Browne had one more gear as he kicked to the line to finish four seconds up. In the final mile, Hartmann was able to overtake Korir for fourth overall and take second in the U.S. championships, running 1:16:14 to Korir's 1:16:16. Bizuneh took the third U.S. spot, finishing sixth overall in 1:16:21.
The women's race saw Kigen jump to an early lead as Meyerhoff ran with 2008 U.S. Olympic marathoner and pre-race favorite Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.).
Just past 11 miles Meyerhoff made her move and pulled away from Boulet, who had been dealing with a side-stitch. As Meyerhoff pressed the pace, she closed on Kigen slightly but was only able to close the gap to 12 seconds at the finish. Boulet held on for third overall and second in the championships, running 1:28:14. Tera Moody (Colorado Springs, Colo.) took fourth overall to round out the top-three U.S. finishers in 1:28:41.
Masters Championships
This year's event once again served as the USA Masters 25 km Championships with Paul Aufdemberge (Redford, Mich.) winning his second masters title of 2009 in 1:21:08. Susan Empey (Mercer Island, Wash.) won the women's title in 1:35:55.
The USA 25 km Championships featured more than $45,000 in prize money with the men's and women's champions earning $4,000 each, and the men's and women's masters champions earning $1,500 each.
About the USARC
The USA 25 km Championship was the fourth stop on the 2009 USA Running Circuit (USARC). The 2009 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The 2009 USARC has ten events each for men and women. Fasil Bizuneh leads the men's standings with 25 points while Magdalena Lewy Boulet leads the women with 27 points.
The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.
The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.
For more information and video highlights from the 2009 USA 25 km Championships visit www.usatf.org.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
(5-7-09) From AA Sports Press Release - The 13th Annual Pacific Crest Weekend Sports Festival presented by Sunriver Vacations, provides a unique opportunity for athletes to compete and raise funds towards their personal causes. Each year, organizations & individuals from all 50 states and internationally, participate in one of the 10 different races, ranging from a Long Course Triathlon to an Olympic Distance triathlon, a Marathon to a 5k Run/Walk.
Over the past two years, Team Defeat MS (www.pacificcrestdefeatms.com) has raised $85,000 through Pacific Crest and hopes to bring in another $20,000 in 2009. Also Team Risky Business (www.teamriskybusiness.com), in conjunction with the Lance Armstrong Foundation (www.laf.org), is joining with the Children's Tumor Foundation to bring in $20,000 this year for their respective causes. And in 2009, Team In Training will bring chapters from eight different states to compete at Pacific Crest. With over 300 athletes, they are estimating to raise over $500,000 to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society www.teamintraining.org.
Another special opportunity the Pacific Crest Weekend Sports Festival offers is the chance for athletes who have overcome personal challenges to compete in a gorgeous and unique destination race. Athletes like Jim Browder, who after being diagnosed with Dystonia (a neurological movement disorder) a few years ago, continues to run marathons. "With me it (Dystonia) has affected my left leg and foot. In my case, any type of exercise causes it to 'kick in' with walking and running the most pronounced problems. Basically my brain tells my legs to go forward but my body does not respond in the normal way causing my gait to be awkward and difficult. This makes running any distance a real challenge. Though my marathon time has gone from under three and a half hours to over six hours, I set a goal of finishing all 50 states. The marathon in Sunriver in June will be my 51st marathon (one in each state plus DC). I have not repeated a state. I am very excited in choosing Sunriver for my final marathon in the quest for my goal and look forward to spending a wonderful weekend in such an incredible place."
The 2009 Pacific Crest Weekend Sports Festival will take place June 26-28,
2009 in gorgeous Sunriver, Oregon. For more information on this event or its beneficiaries, please visit, www.racecenter.com/pacificcrest.
(5-7-09) From Press Release - A field of 51,258 signed up for this year's Bloomsday Run, an increase of nearly 4,000 over last year. Runners were greeted with chilly conditions for the race start, with the temperature at 45 degrees and a slight breeze out of the southwest, but it didn't take long for Chepkurui to heat things up. A pack of nearly 20 stayed with her through the first mile-and-a-half, but then the pack began to thin as the runners headed up the first hill. By the third mile Chepkurui had begun to gap most of the talented pack except for Ethiopian Teyba Erkesso, who hung on gamely to the bottom of Doomsday Hill, the final ascent on the course.
Going up the hill to the five-mile mark, the Kenyan-Ethiopian matchup began to unravel, as Chepkurui poured it on. Chepkurui crested the hill in the lead, and from there to the finish she continued to build on her margin, finishing in 38:37. It was the fastest women's time ever recorded at Bloomsday except for Delillah Asiago's 1995 time of 38:31, a time adjusted to reflect what proved to be a short course. Erkesso finished 40 seconds behind in 39:17, and the next four women all broke 40 minutes. It was the first time in Bloomsday history that six women finished under the 40-minute mark. Sally Meyerhoff of Temp, AZ, was the first American with a tenth place finish.
In the men's race, a pack of more than 20 runners stayed together through miles one (4:41) and two (4:35), but then a group of eight began to separate from the field, led by Yuda, Robert Letting of Kenya and Karim Elmabchour of Morocco. Just past four miles Yuda and Letting began to pull away, and those two surged up Doomsday Hill together.
The battled continued as they crested the hill and passed the five-mile mark, but a half-mile later Yuda began to inch into the lead. The Tanzanian, who was Bloomsday runnerup in 2007 and sixth last year, built his lead steadily from there to the finish, becoming the first non-Kenyan to win since Arturo Barrios in 1993. Though his win was convincing, Letting and a string of other top runners were never far behind, including top American Dan Browne, who moved up to take the fifth spot and the US citizen prize of $5,000. Pre-race favorite Charles Munyeki slipped well off the leaders to finish fourteenth.
In Masters competition, Simon Sawe of Santa Fe, New Mexico, won the men's title, while Russian Albina Gallyamova captured first place for the women.
In wheelchair competition, a pack that included 2008 winner Aaron Gordian and ten-time Bloomsday champion Saul Mendoza battled in the early miles with former South African racer Krige Schabort, who lost a battle with Mendoza in Bloomsday '07 by a scant six inches. This time it was Schabort's turn, as he broke open the field at 3 miles and continued to add to his margin to the finish, winning by nearly a minute over Gordian, with Mendoza, Joshua George and Scott Parson close behind Gordian.
In the women's wheelchair race, Amanda McGrory of the University of Illinois broke away at the top of the first hill and never looked back, notching her third straight Bloomsday victory, as she finished ahead of past champions Shirley Reilly and Ariadne Hernandez.
The Master's wheelchair race was won by Bloomsday rookie Juan Rios from Houston, TX in 34:29; Scott Stokes won the T-1 Quad division in 1:15:21; and Spaniard Santiago Sanz-Quinto scored his 5th consecutive win in the T-2 Quad division in 32:46. Bloomsday's Collegiate Challenge Trophy went to the University of Illinois.
Nearly $100,000 was awarded in open, masters, US citizen and Washington state resident divisions in this year's Bloomsday Run. Along with spirited elite competition in all divisions, over 45,000 finishers enjoyed performances from nearly 30 bands, vocalists and performing troupes along the course, eventually reaching the finish and claiming this year's finisher T-shirt. Next year's Lilac Bloomsday Run, the 34th, will be on Sunday, May 2nd, 2010.
(5-4-09) Matt Hooley of Madison, WI won Sunday's Eugene Marathon covering the 26.2-mile distance in a course-record 2 hours, 18 minutes, 38 seconds. Runners in the marathon and half marathon were greeted by drizzly conditions for the 3rd annual event. Chad Worthen of Sacramento, CA placed second with a time of 2:26:36, followed by 2008 Portland Marathon winner John Ngigi of Glide, OR in third with a 2:31:02.
On the women's side Emily Enstice, a former distance runner for Georgetown, won with a time of 2 hours, 58 minutes, 36 seconds. Elizabeth Broadbent, a schoolteacher from Eugene, placed second in 2:59:37 with Emily Mah-Nakanishi of Sacramento, CA rounding out the top three in 3:01:25.
For complete race results, CLICK HERE. Check out runnerspace.com/eugenemarathon for video of the 2009 Eugene Marathon.
Marathon Overall Results - Male
1. Matt Hooley - 2:18:38
2. Chad Worthen - 2:26:36
3. John Ngigi - 2:31:02
4. Ian Nurse - 2:31:25
5. Tim Rieger - 2:31:49
Marathon Overall Results - Female
1. Emily Enstice - 2:58:36
2. Elizabeth Broadbent - 2:59:37
3. Emily Mah-Nakanishi - 3:01:25
4. Heather Daniel - 3:07:54
5. Kristy Aalberg - 3:08:27
Half Marathon Overall Results - Male
1. Ian Fraser - 1:10:01
2. Jason Pyles - 1:11:48
3. Derek Vinge - 1:13:26
4. Brett Spond - 1:13:38
5. Stefan Jakobsen - 1:13:46
Half Marathon Overall Results - Female
1. Danielle Quatrochi - 1:17:41
2. Christy Lacey Macoll - 1:18:09
3. Marian Pyles - 1:21:57
4. Sally Bergesen - 1:23:26
5. Nikki Rafie - 1:24:33
