Press Release - The Perth City to Surf Marathon - 3/20/09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

          Perth City to Surf sponsors prize in Canberra Marathon

The Perth City to Surf has sponsored a prize in the 2009 Canberra Marathon. 
An expenses paid trip to Perth to participate in the inaugural Perth City 
to Surf Marathon for the second place male and second place female runners 
has been added to the prize pool for The Canberra Marathon, run on April 
19th.

The City to Surf marathon is being run for the first time in 2009 as a new 
addition to the hugely popular Perth running carnival.

The Canberra Marathon and the Perth City to Surf are well spaced on the 
Australian road running calendar which allows optimum recovery time for 
athletes participating in both.

The longest established Australian city marathon event, the Canberra 
Marathon, has always produced fast times and in 2009 second placed male 
(David Criniti) ran the third fastest time by an Australian on home soil to 
achieve the placing. Second placed female (Tina Major) was the fifth 
fastest to the same measure.

The Canberra marathon awards its first male and female runners a trip to a 
major Japan Marathon, thanks to Asics, and this new agreement with the 
Perth City to Surf adds further depth to the event's prize pool. The Japan 
trip can not be won by an athlete who has taken the trip in a previous 
year, so should a past winner take line honours in 2009 they will be 
awarded the Perth trip rather than the Japan trip.

For the Perth City to Surf Marathon the agreement adds depth to the elite 
field lining up on August 30th. These athletes are the first confirmed in a 
field expected to be one of the strongest in Australia this year. The prize 
money offered for the inaugural event is far greater that that ever offered 
previously in any Australian marathon, and establishes the race, in its 
inaugural year, as Australia's richest road race. This is certain to entice 
a quality field.

Event manager Laura McKelvey said "We're offering travel support to elite 
runners for the Perth City to Surf Marathon already in 2009, so the prize 
sponsorship of the Canberra Marathon is really an extension of that. It's 
also nice for us as new marathon event in Australia to be linked to one 
that is so well established".

The 2009 Perth City to Surf Marathon will be run on Sunday August 30th.
The 2009 Canberra Marathon will be run on Sunday April 19th.
 
Web: www.perthcitytosurf.com.

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