FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karen Boe
801-412-6060
ELITE FIELD ANNOUNCED FOR SECOND ANNUAL SALT LAKE CITY MARATHON
International Field Vie to Break Inaugural Course Records
Salt Lake City, Utah. - (April 13, 2005) - An international elite field of
world-class runners from around the globe will be vying to break course
records for the second annual running of the Salt Lake City Marathon, Run,
Bump & Boogie on April 23, 2005. These amazing athletes will compete for a
prize purse in excess of $125,000 with the top male and female winners
receiving $25,000 for their dramatic wins, and overwhelming support from
the thousands who line the course to cheer them on.
Course records set in 2004 were set by Gabriel Muchiri of Kenya at 2:17:21
for his first marathon win and 2:30:41 by Russian Lioudmila Kortchaguina
for the women's record. Olympians and marathon champions make up the 2005
race's diverse field from Kenya, Australia, Russia, Ethiopia, St. Lucia,
Slovenia, the Ukraine, Poland, the United States, and the Czech Republic.
This year promises to be an exciting race to the finish with a packed elite
field as well as six runners with personal records under 2:13.
Heading the mens' field, with what promises to make up a very healthy
competition to break course records, is Elly Rono from Kenya. Having
finished 1st in the 2004 Ottawa Marathon with a time of 2:11:48, Rono's
personal record for a marathon is 2:10:57 run at the 2002 Grandma's
Marathon in Duluth, MN. Fellow Kenyans running to break the men's course
record will be John Birgen who took 1st place in the 2003 Milan Marathon
and boasts a best time of 2:09:08, and Fred Ntabo Getange who ran a 2:13:37
in the Marathon de Reims in France. Gilbert Koech, also from Kenya, is
strong in the running after winning his debut marathon in Las Vegas in
January with a time of 2:13:44.
Kenyan Simon Sawe is in the running with a personal record of 2:14:23 from
the 2003 Chosun Korea Marathon. His best half marathon time is an
impressive 1:02. Also running is Philip Kibitok Metto of Kenya, who took
1st place in the 2004 Mexico City Marathon and has a personal best time of
2:15:23, run in 2002 in Mexico. Running alongside will be Kenyan Daniel
Cheruiyot. He recently took 2nd place in the 2004 Las Vegas Half Marathon
with a time of 1:06:20.
Fellow Kenyans vying to break the course record will be James Bungei from
Kenya with a personal best time of 2:10:00, David Kemboi with a record time
of 2:10:30, and Charles Njeru Kamindo from Kenya, a two-time Green Bay
Marathon winner, who has run a best time of 2:15:00.
Also vying for the prize money is Australian Sisay Bezabeh who ran a
2:11:08 at the 2003 Chicago Marathon, coming in 9th. Abraham Assefa of
Ethiopia, with a 2:14:40 personal best, will be challenged by Zepherinus
Joseph from St. Lucia, who ran a personal best of 2:16:06 in the 2004 Twin
Cities Marathon. He will be running alongside Sergey Fedotov from Russia,
with a record of 2:11:16, who was the 2002 Russian Cross Country Champ.
Also competing are Marcel Matanin from Slovienia who took 6th place in the
2004 Zurich Marathon with a record of 2:17:22, Zintu Sima from Ethiopia who
won the 2004 Greater Hartford Marathon with a time of 2:18:00 and Araya
Haregot from Ethiopia, a representative of the Ethiopian World Half
Marathon Team.
Ogden, Utah Runner Joe Wilson came in 10th overall in the inaugural Salt
Lake City Marathon - the top American runner with a time of 2:28:36. His
personal record of 2:21:30 was clocked at the 2003 Austin Motorola
Marathon. He'll be running with Sasha Pachev of Provo, Utah, who came in
13th in the 2004 Salt Lake City Marathon and has a personal record time of
2:24:47 set at the 2003 St. George Marathon. Heading up the master men's
division will be Bernie Boettcher from Silt, Colorado, having clocked a
personal best of 2:34:36 in 2002 at the Tucson Marathon.
Look for strong performances from the women's field as they vie to break
the women's course record. The international field will led by Olga
Kovpotina from the Ukraine. She set a new course record at the 2005 Las
Vegas Marathon in January of 2:31:53 and boasts a personal best time of
2:27:39. She'll be running against Dorota Gruca from Poland. Gruca came in
first in the 2004 Mazatlan Mexico Marathon for a course record run and
personal best of 2:28:49. She was the 2004 Polish National 10,000m
Champion and the 2003 Polish National Half Marathon champion. Strong in
the running for the prize money will be masters runner Irina Bogacheva from
Kyrgyzstan. Her personal record time of 2:26:27 was clocked in Boston in
2000, where she placed 2nd overall. She is a three time Olympian, taking
21st in 1996, and 14th in 2000. She has won the 2003 Twin Cities Marathon,
the 2003 Rock'n'Roll Marathon and the 2003 Country Music Marathon in
addition to many others. She won the masters division in the 2004
Inaugural Salt Lake City Marathon.
Anna Pichrtova from the Czech Republic will be hot on their heels with a
personal best of 2:32:37, set when she came in 2nd at the 2002 Grandma's
Marathon. She placed 4th in the 2004 Los Angeles Marathon and 3rd in the
2002 Los Angeles Marathon and competed in the 2004 Olympic Marathon.
Competing alongside Anna will be Jenny Gillard from Australia with a
personal record run of 2:44:45 and American Becky Sondag from Casper,
Wyoming, whose 2:50:04 best run was clocked at the Chicago Marathon.
It is expected that total participant numbers from last year top 10,000 for
the second annual running on April 23, 2005. A full weekend of
opportunities for fun and celebration abound. The Ken Garff Volvo Bike
Tour is new this year, featuring a 25-mile non-stop, leisurely morning ride
through the most scenic and spectacular parts of the Salt Lake Valley. The
tour, starting at 6:00 a.m. follows the Salt Lake City Marathon route on
race morning April 23rd.
The Salt Lake City Marathon was among 12 new favorites listed by Runner's
World in the January 2005 Marathon Guide: "Small Wonders: Big Fun, Big
Scenery, Big Rewards." January's Competitor Magazine and Rocky Mountain
Sports Magazine both tout Salt Lake City as the "Best Race at Altitude."
Online registration is available at www.saltlakecitymarathon.com.
Registration is easy and efficient at www.saltlakecitymarathon.com where
participants can download entry forms, course descriptions and entry
details. The Devine Racing offices are located at 136 E. South Temple in
Salt Lake City, Utah. For race information, call (801) 412-6060.
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