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In this edition:
Serrano, Kastor Claim Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon Titles
Ware, Dengersa Win 36th Marine Corps Marathon
Houston Marathon Committee Launches Volunteer Group Bonus Program
Active.com Schwaggle Partners with Google Offers
UPCOMING EVENTS
Join Running USA today and have your event listed here, as well as on www.RunningUSA.org
Run for Red 5K, Sparks, MD, November 5
Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Savannah Marathon & 1/2, GA, Nov 5
Run Around the Rock, Stone Mountain, GA, November 5
Lithia Loop Trail Marathon, Ashland, OR, November 5
USA Marathon Trail Championships
World Run Day, global, November 6
ING New York City Marathon, NY, November 6
World Marathon Major
Tower 10 Miler & 5K, Clermont, FL, November 6
Women's Half-Marathon, Scottsdale-Tempe, AZ, Nov 6
Santa Clarita Marathon, Santa Clarita, CA, Nov 6
Athleta Iron Girl 5K & 10K, Del Mar, CA, Nov 6
Surf City Beach Derby, Huntington Beach, CA, Nov 6
Komen San Diego Race for the Cure, CA, November 6
US Half-Marathon, San Francisco, CA, November 6
Veterans Day 5K, St. Paul, MN, November 11
Running USA 2012: The Industry Conference, Houston, TX, Jan 15-17
"Passing the Torch: Running Toward the Future"
Serrano, Kastor Claim Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon Titles
Linda Somers Smith sets pending 50+ world record; Bret Michaels rocks finish line concert at L.A. LIVE; at second edition, celebs, costumes turnout for Halloween weekend event benefiting the ASPCA
By Mario Fraioli, Competitor Group
LOS ANGELES - (October 30, 2011) - Amidst an array of colorful costumes and television personalities, 10,000 entrants from across the country lined up at L.A. LIVE for the start of the second Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon benefiting the ASPCA on Sunday morning, but in the end it was a couple of Californians who were the first runners to cross the finish line. Employing a gritty surge just past the 13-mile mark in the heart of downtown, 27-year-old Charlie Serrano (Royal HS, Simi Valley; Chico State) of Chico broke the tape in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 20 seconds - five seconds ahead of runner-up Benson Cheruiyot - to claim victory.
"I almost threw in the towel," Serrano said after the race. "I was making moves on (Cheruiyot) and he was making moves on me. He wasn't breaking me, but I wasn't breaking him and I was getting really uncomfortable. I heard the lead bike lady say something like 'yeah, they're neck-and-neck with 100 meters to go' and I just changed gears and he didn't come with me and I was like 'if I don't die I have it."
In the women's race, 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist and U.S. half-marathon record holder Deena Kastor (Agoura HS)dominated from the get-go to win in 1:11:48. It was her second Rock 'n' Roll series victory this month as the Mammoth-based Kastor also won the Dodge Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon on Oct. 2 in 1:12:23.
"I was hoping to run about a minute faster here today but I'm really happy with the effort considering the hills on the second half of this course," Kastor said afterward. "It was really awesome to go out and back in two separate locations because you got to see the masses in two different parts of the course which is really great to get that encouragement along the way."
Finishing second to Kastor in 1:15:18 was Linda Somers Smith (Cal Poly SLO), who won last year's inaugural race here. The 50-year-old from Arroyo Grande set a pending age group world record with her time on Sunday morning, a performance that bodes well as the Masters marvel prepares for her fifth Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston on January 14 of next year.
"It's really good," Somers Smith said of her finish. "I'm just trying to be really cautious so I can get (to the Trials) not injured. I really liked the course. It makes you go out a little too fast because it's so flat the first half and then it gets a little tough, and it's not very tough - just a little tough - but if I hadn't gone out too fast it would have been perfect. I'm happy."
The men's race got off to a swift start as a pack of eight cruised through the first 2 miles in 4:47 and 4:49, respectively. For much of the race Serrano and Cheruiyot were joined by U.S. 50K record holder Josh Cox, sub-4:00 miler Christian Hesch (Cuesta College; Cal Poly) of Hollywood, Robert Cheseret of Colorado Springs and Tommy Greenless (Milford HS, Michigan; Michigan) of Walnut Creek, Calif., who all took turns sharing the lead as the course turned from flat to undulating over the final 7 miles. The pace, too, proved to be just as uneven and erratic as the layout itself.
"One minute we'd be going 5:15 pace, then a few minutes later we'd be running 4:40 pace," Cox commented after the race.
Coming through 5 miles in 24:42 the lead pack was down to six, and over the next four miles that group slowly separated until Serrano, Cheruiyot, Cheseret and Hesch were the only runners remaining. Serrano threw in a significant surge with four miles to go, breaking everyone except the smooth-striding Cheruiyot of Kenya. The duo, who passed 10 miles in 49:44, ran side-by-side all the way into downtown before Serrano tightened the final screw with less than a quarter mile to go.
"The plan going into it was to conserve as much as possible and maybe turn what's normally a 13-mile race into maybe a 4-mile race toward the end," Serrano said. "Coming in I didn't really want to run this fast but with money on the line I've got to do what it takes to win."
Kastor's road to the finish line was less contested as the 38-year-old was clear of the rest of the women's field by the 2-mile mark, which she reached in 10:47. She came through 5 miles uncontested in 27:01, and passed 10 miles in 54:53. A final 5K of 16:55 brought her to L.A. Live amongst the cheers of thousands of fans.
"It was a lot of fun," Kastor said of her L.A. experience.
The Bachelorette's Ashley Hebert completed the half-marathon with a time of 2:08:29, while Maria Menounos (Extra), Melissa Rycroft (Dancing with the Stars), Vanessa & Angela Simmons (MTV's Run's House), all participated in the 3.5-mile mini-marathon.
2nd Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles 1/2 Marathon
Los Angeles, CA, Sunday, October 30, 2011
MEN
1) Charlie Serrano, 27, Chico, CA, 1:04:20, $1000
2) Benson Cheruiyot, 28, Kenya, 1:04:25, $500
3) Robert Cheseret, 28, Colorado Springs, CO, 1:05:31, $250
WOMEN
1) Deena Kastor, 38, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 1:11:48, $1000
2) Linda Somers Smith, 50, Arroyo Grande, CA, 1:15:18*, $500
3) Cheryl Smith, 31, Laguna Beach, CA, 1:17:13, $1250#
*pending World Record F50-54 Age Group (previous record, 1:16:07, Tatiana Pozdniakova (UKR), More Half-Marathon, New York, NY, 03/26/06)
#Includes Southern California-only prize money
Complete results, photos and more at: www.competitor.com
Ware, Dengersa Win 36th Marine Corps Marathon
Nearly 21,000 finishers on chilly, sunny day; The Price is Right's and Marine Drew Carey debuts
By Steve Nearman, Running USA wire
ARLINGTON, Va. - (October 30, 2011) - At age 27, Charles "Chad" Ware has been running marathons for the past 10 years. He even won one, the 2007 Sunburst Marathon in South Bend, IN, with nearly 1,000 participants.
But he came to Sunday's 36th chilly but sunny edition of the Marine Corps Marathon - the fifth largest U.S. marathon and the ninth largest in the world with its sold-out 30,000 entrants - with no visions of grandeur. He wasn't planning on winning and he wasn't planning on that elusive goal of his of running a U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier.
"It's been my goal for the last three to four years," said Ware, an Army Reservist who recently announced he is going active duty in military intelligence in January. "Absolutely it was not my game plan. I was not even going to run a fall marathon because I've been suffering from stomach problems during the long races. I signed up for Marine Corps to run for the All-Army team."
Ware created some drama today by missing the Olympic Trials qualifier by just 16 seconds in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 16 seconds. But in doing so, he ran a huge personal best over his 2009 Bank of America Chicago Marathon time of 2:20:47 and recorded the fastest winning time at Marine Corps since 1997.
As Ware struggled up the last hill to the Iwo Jima Memorial, the even-paced Tezata Denergsa was breaking open the women's race. Dengersa, who was born in Ethiopia, competed for her new homeland of Turkey in the 2004 Olympics and now resides and trains in Washington, DC, ran solo over the last three miles to win in 2:45:28.
The 30-year-old said she was tired after a long month of racing - winning the Army Ten-Miler on October 9, running a personal best 2:37 at the Under Armour Baltimore Marathon on October 15 and back on familiar Washington ground Sunday.
"I stayed with [training partner Getachew Shiferaw] for 23 miles," the 30-year-old Dengersa said, "and after that I was alone." Runner-up Emily Shertzer hung with the two nearly the entire race, ending in 2:45:55. Shiferaw said she was slowed in the last three miles by a nagging sciatic nerve problem.
Ware broke free much earlier. He was a player in a four-pack which cruised around Arlington and over the Key Bridge into Northwest Washington. By nine miles, the pack shed local Arlington favorite and mega-distance racer Michael Wardian, then Ware, leaving just two elite marathoners fresh in from Ethiopia - 2:12 Emiru Mekonnen and 2:16 Temesgen Ilanso - at the helm.
The duo passed the midway mark in East Potomac Park just shy of Hains Point some eight seconds ahead of Ware. When Ware saw his time of 1:09:36, he got inspired and decided to go for the qualifier. He caught back up to the Ethiopians by 14 miles and dropped them both by 19 miles, just after passing the U.S. Capitol Building.
"After the half, I knew I had a chance," Ware said, somewhat familiar with the course as he ran the Army Ten-Miler for the winning All-Army Team three weeks prior.
Behind him, Wardian was slowly picking off the fading, chilled Ethiopians, and was firmly in second at 21 miles going into Crystal City section of Arlington. He suspected Ware would come back to him, paying the price for the fast pace, but Ware was too strong and proved Wardian wrong.
"I was running 2:21 pace," said a very disappointed Wardian, who ran 2:17 at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN, in June to Ware's 2:31. "That's faster than anybody's run here in 14 years."
"He beat me pretty good," added the 37-year-old Wardian, just seven days after winning the USA 50 Mile title and earning USA Track & Field's Athlete of the Week.
"You kicked my butt in Duluth," Ware countered.
Some 20,895 finishers of a sold-out 30,000 entrants covered the 26.2-mile course in temperatures that began near freezing. Some were humbled, including comedian Drew Carey in his debut marathon.
"This was my worst run in my life," Carey said, describing it as a "nightmare." He said he cramped in the quads after mile 15 and suffered in from there, stopping three to four times.
With "The Price is Right" theme playing at the finish line, the former Marine crossed in 4:37:10, way off his hopeful time of four hours. Carey, who has significantly reduced his former physique, said he was glad he did not quit, then he humbly accepted congratulations from his new fellow marathoners.
36th Marine Corps Marathon
Arlington, VA, Sunday, October 30, 2011
MEN
1) Charles "Chad" Ware (IL), 2:19:16
2) Michael Wardian (VA), 2:23:46
3) Patrick Fernandez (VA), 2:26:37
WOMEN
1) Tezata Dengersa (TUR), 2:45:28
2) Emily Shertzer (PA), 2:45:55
3) Getachew Shiferaw (ETH), 2:47:30
Deeper results and more at: www.marinemarathon.com
Houston Marathon Committee Launches Volunteer Group Bonus Program
New volunteer initiative supports local nonprofits and offers an alternative way for organizations to raise funds
HOUSTON - (Oct. 25, 2011) - The Houston Marathon Committee has announced the launch of its Volunteer Group Bonus Program, a new initiative created to encourage local nonprofit participation in the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Houston Half Marathon and El Paso Corporation 5K while offering an alternative way for organizations to raise funds.
Through the Volunteer Group Bonus Program, the Houston Marathon Committee will make a direct donation to participating volunteer groups based on the number of volunteers for the organization and the number of hours worked.
"Our race would not be possible without the commitment and hard work of our dedicated volunteers," said Executive Director Wade Morehead. "This new program makes it easy for local nonprofits to earn volunteer hours and be a part of Houston's largest single-day sporting event, all while raising money for their organization."
The success of the Chevron Houston Marathon race weekend relies on thousands of volunteers, who work behind the scenes staffing a variety of positions from "refueling" water stations and course road guards to the start line and green team. More than 9,000 volunteer positions are available for the January event, totaling over 3,500 combined hours during race weekend. Race Crew volunteers must be age 16 or older.
The 40th anniversary Chevron Houston Marathon and companion Aramco Houston Half Marathon and El Paso Corporation 5K will take place on Sunday, January 15, 2012, with the Houston Marathon Committee's hosting of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon on January 14, one day prior to race day.
To learn more about the Volunteer Group Bonus Program and how to apply, visit houstonmarathon.com.
Established in 1972, the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. (HMC), a Running USA Founding Member, annually organizes the nation's premier winter marathon, half-marathon, 5K and kids' fun run. In 2011, more than 30,000 runners participated in four race weekend events organized by 7,500 volunteers, creating Houston's largest single-day sporting event. In addition to hosting numerous world-renowned road races, including the USA Men's and Women's Half Marathon Championships since 2005 and 2007, respectively, and the 1992 U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials, HMC will host the 2012 U.S. Men's and Women's Olympic Team Trials - Marathon on January 14, 2012.
For more information, visit houstonmarathon.com or call (713) 957-3453.
Active.com Schwaggle Partners with Google Offers
Successful daily deals program to deliver high-quality endurance and golf promotions to expanded consumer audience
SAN DIEGO - (October 27, 2011) - Active.com®, a media property of Active Network, Inc. and the leading online community that connects people with the activities they love to do, has announced that its daily deals program for active consumers,
Schwaggle™, has partnered with Google Offers. Schwaggle will provide discounted promotions on high-end endurance sports and fitness gear, race registrations and golf tee times to Google Offers customers.
"Schwaggle was chosen by Google Offers due to its success in delivering high-quality, relevant deals to a very targeted, consumer audience," said Brian Enge, vice president, strategic projects at Active Network. "Schwaggle is a perfect complement to Google Offers and this alliance supports our company's business strategy to reach more potential consumers and help drive more participants to our organizers' events."
Google Offers, the company's deal of the day service, is currently available in 17 cities across the U.S. Google Offers provides people with great local deals that help them to discover new experiences as well as places to eat, shop and play.
"We're excited to partner with Active.com to bring Schwaggle deals to Google Offers customers," said Eric Rosenblum, director of product management, Google Offers. "Schwaggle's established reputation for quality products and offers for sports enthusiasts is a great addition to the collection of targeted deals already on Google Offers."
Schwaggle is currently available in 19 major U.S. cities and has plans to expand to 25 cities by the end of this year. To learn more about Schwaggle, visit: http://schwaggle.active.com
Contact Information
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director, ryan@runningusa.org, (805) 696-6232
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