FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Scott Keenan
Executive Director
Laura Wright
Public Relations Director
(218) 727-0947
Running Experts to Speak at Grandma’s Marathon
Duluth, Minn.: Grandma’s Marathon, in conjunction with Austin-Jarrow
Sports, invite runners and race fans to sit back, relax and get inspired as
they listen to the stories and advice of five running experts—Candace Karu,
Patti Catalano Dillon, Dick Beardsley, Bill Squires and Kenny Moore.
Presentations are on Friday, June 16 in the Edmund Fitzgerald Hall at the
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC). This event is free and open
to the public.
Candace Karu, editorial director Running Times Magazine, takes the stage at
1:00 p.m. Karu ran her first step at the age of 33. She has since grown to
love everything about running and the running community, and strives to
tell people about it through the articles she writes. Her position at
Running Times has afforded Candace the opportunity to travel all over the
nation as a motivational speaker. She shares a wealth of information on
topics such as health and fitness, women’s issues and physical and
spiritual wellness. Candace believes that running is what keeps her going
mentally and spiritually as well as physically.
Following Karu at 2:00 p.m. is Patti Catalano Dillon, a pioneer in women’s
running. Dillon got the marathon bug a few months into her running career.
In the process of training she learned to live a healthier lifestyle which
included quitting smoking. In her first marathon she ran a 2:53:40,
qualifying for the 1976 Boston Marathon. Patti went on to set the American
marathon record three times, and was also the first American woman to break
2:30 (2:29:34 at New York). Her marathon PR is 2:27:51, which she set at
Boston in 1981. A three-time Boston runner-up (1979–1981) and four-time
Honolulu Marathon winner (1978–1981), where she set a new course record
each time, Patti has also held American or World records at the following
distances: 5 miles, 10K, 15K, 20K, half-marathon and 30K. Patti is based in
New London, Conn., where she and her husband, Dan, have a running club for
home schooled kids, the Connecticut Home Schooled Harriers. Patti is in
training to try to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Trials Marathon.
At 3:00 p.m. Dick Beardsley and his long-time coach, Bill Squires, will
speak together about their days of being a coach/athlete team and their
experiences with the sport of running. Dick Beardsley is known around the
world as one of the best marathon runners in U.S. history. Winner of
Grandma’s Marathon in 1981 and 1982, Dick holds the course record with a
time of 2:09:37. After a series of accidents, injuries and life-altering
events, Dick is enjoying running more than ever and will participate in the
30th annual Grandma’s Marathon.
Bill Squires is regarded by many as one of the greatest coaches in U.S.
history, coaching many of the greatest distance runners of all time
including Bill Rodgers, Greg Meyer, Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley. In
2002, Bill was inducted into the National Distance Runners Hall of Fame and
was awarded the prestigious Bill Bowerman Coaching Award. He recently
published a book titled Speed With Endurance, which presents many of his
time-tested training principles.
Rounding out the guest-speaking event at 4:00 p.m. is an Olympic marathoner
and Sport Illustrated writer, Kenny Moore. Moore was a star distance runner
on Bill Bowerman’s track team at the University of Oregon. He went on to
place 14th at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Marathon. In 1969, he broke the
American marathon record with a time of 2:13:29 and improved to 2:11:36 the
next year. He finished 4th in the Munich Olympic Marathon in 1972. As a
writer, Kenny covered every Summer Olympics through 1996 and is the author
of Best Efforts, a collection of his SI pieces on runners and races. Kenny
also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1998 Warner Bros. film Without Limits,
about his college teammate and friend, Steve Prefontaine. In 2001, he was
awarded the George Sheehan Award from the National Distance Running Hall of
Fame. A diligent student of Bill Bowerman and his techniques, Kenny’s
latest project is the first comprehensive biography of the legendary coach
- Bowerman and the Men of Oregon: The Story of Oregon’s Legendary Coach and
Nike’s Cofounder.
The 2006 Grandma’s Marathon weekend begins on Thursday, June 15 with the
SMDC Health and Fitness Expo and continues on Friday, June 16 with the
Michelina’s All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner, Whipper Snapper Races for
Kids, guest speaking presentations and the William A. Irvin 5K (6:00 p.m.).
The Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and Grandma’s Marathon are on Saturday,
June 17, 2006 beginning at 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. respectively. In all,
over 17,000 runners and 50,000 race fans from across the globe are expected
to participate in Grandma’s Marathon Weekend.
For more information on the 2006 Grandma’s Marathon festivities, visit the
web site www.grandmasmarathon.com or
call (218) 727-0947.
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