FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Goucher, Beardsley To Speak At Grandma's Marathon
Grandma's Marathon Guest Speaker Presentations - Friday, June 18
1:00 p.m.: Valeriu (Vali) Tomescu - coach of Olympic gold medalist
Constantina Dita Valeriu Tomescu began his international coaching in 2000,
for the Romanian National/Olympic Team coaching male and female athletes in
the 5k, the 10k the half-marathon and in the marathon as well as in cross
country. Within this role he has coached and motivated athletes to reach
their greatest potential, including 2008 women's Olympic marathon gold
medalist, Constantina Dita.
2:00 p.m.: Hal Higon - author, runner and training professional Hal Higdon
has written hundreds of articles about running since the early 1960's, and
is the author of 34 books, including the best-selling Marathon: The
Ultimate Training Guide. He ran in the Olympic Trials eight times and won
four world masters championships. One of the founders of the Road Runners
Club of America (RRCA), Hal has also created some of the most extensive and
widely used training programs in the nation for runners and walkers.
3:00 p.m.: Kara Goucher - Duluth native and 2008 5K and 10K Olympian Kara
Goucher, a 1996 Duluth East High School graduate and University of Colorado
alum, is one of America's best distance runners competing today. After a
successful collegiate career, she won the bronze medal in the 2007 10K
World Championships. In 2007, Kara made her half marathon debut a memorable
one when she won the Great North Run in England in 1:06:57 - one of the
fastest times ever run by an American. Kara competed in the Olympic Games
in Beijing, China, where she placed ninth in the 5,000 meters and tenth in
the 10,000 meters. In November 2008 at the New York City Marathon, she
finished third in her debut marathon with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes and
53 seconds - the fastest debut by an American woman. She is coached by
Alberto Salazar, one of the top all-time American marathoners.
4:00 p.m.: Dick Beardsley - Grandma's Marathon Course Record Holder Dick
Beardsley is known 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. His most famous race, however, took place at the
1982 Boston Marathon where he crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 8
minutes, 53 seconds, just two seconds behind Alberto Salazar. This personal
best is still ranked the 5th fastest U.S. men's marathon time in history.
After a series of accidents, injuries and life-altering events, Dick
remains a prominent figure in the running community and travels around the
world to share his amazing story.
For more information on the 2010 schedule of events for Grandma's Marathon
weekend, visit www.GrandmasMarathon.com.
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