FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Swiss record: 2:08.20

The 5th Zurich Marathon was held during rather cool, but clear weather
conditions and recognized a new record time: Swiss runner Viktor Röthlin
beat the previous record by 1 minute and 36 seconds and crossed the finish
line with a final time of 2:08.20. Approximately 40'000-50'000 spectators
cheered on the nearly 5'000 runners and created an enthusiastic atmosphere.

Viktor Röthlin ran the first part of the course in 64:08 and the second
part in 64:09, and it took him only 31 minutes and 54 seconds to complete
the last and most difficult quarter of the race. His average time per
kilometer was 3 minutes, 2 seconds. Four pacemakers helped to set the pace.
Kenyan runner Sammy Kurgat was the runner-up with a time of 2:11.35,
moments before his fellow-countryman Paul Lomol Lopio, who crossed the
finish line at 2:13.16. Six runners finished the race in under 2:15. The
two Russian runners Nina Podnebesnova (2:37.0) and Elena Tikhonova
(2:38.13), the winner of the previous year, dominated the women's category.
The best Swiss woman runner was Maja Neuenschwander in fourth place
(2:44.48).

The beautiful spring weather gave the Zurich marathon the feel of a public
festival. Thousands enjoyed the sun and relaxed after the race in the
finish area at Landiwiese by the lake. The day started off rather cool with
just 2° C at 8.30 am, but the sun soon helped to warm up the athletes as
they ran along the lake. Several music bands on the major plazas
entertained the masses, and Nike, the official supplier of the Zurich
Marathon, sponsored a celebration with music and great entertainment at
kilometer 35 to motivate the runners to keep going until the end. Thousands
of spectators cheered on Viktor Röthlin, who was the runner-up at the
European marathon championships in Goteborg and set a new Swiss record this
past Sunday. The new course route through downtown Zurich and the minimal
change in altitude of approx. 60 meters were certainly helpful in achieving
a new record time.

4'646 of a total of 4'860 runners reached the finish line within the 5 hour
time limit. The 95.4 % of runners who finished the Zurich Marathon
represents a very high number even when compared to large international
races. The runners represented 49 countries. The largest group of
international runners came from Germany (with 565 runners), followed by
Great Britain (63), Austria (58), Italy (37), France (36) and the USA (34).
Due to the excellent conditions there were no major incidences. A total of
13 doctors, 22 paramedics, 3 nurse anesthetists as well as 15 emergency
medics on motorcycles were on call to care for the athletes. The next
Zurich Marathon will take place on April 20th, 2008. Registration is now
open at www.zurichmarathon.ch. There will be a 20% discount for
registrations received by April 30th, 2007.

###