FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2014 Cowtown Marathon Announces Elite Field
The Cowtown's new Cowtown Elite! program will bring the fastest and deepest
field of runners ever to the Cowtown Marathon. Among the athletes vying
for a share of more than $30,000 will be runners from Kenya, Ethiopia and
the USA – more than 20 of whom have run faster than the previous Cowtown
records.
The prize money is provided by The Cowtown and Marathonguide.com, America's
premier website for distance running information, and is designed to
increase visibility and participation in The Cowtown distance events.
Among the featured runners in the men's race are Kenyans Edward Tabut,
David Tuwei and Mark Chepses; Ethiopian Asfaw Getachew; and Americans Bryan
Morseman and Joseph Chirlee and Scott Wietecha. In the women's race,
Dehininet Jaraof Ethiopia will face off against Camille Herron of the
USA. All of these runners, and a number of others in the fields, are
capable of bettering the marathon records.
Many of the athletes are coming to the marathon knowing that they will be
guaranteed to win some money if they run as well as they have run in the
past. Any of the men and women who run faster than the records set on the
current course will gain a share of $25,000, and the few able to better the
event records (current and past courses) will gain a share of an additional
$5,000, and the first and second man and woman will get an additional
$2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Some of the runners will be racing their hearts out to win the big money;
while others will be taking it easy (for them) as they leave the top spots
to others and cruise in under the records for a share of the purse.
In the 50K Ultra Marathon, Michael Wardian - a four-time USATF
ultra-marathoner of the year, four-time USA 50K Champion and 2010 World
100K silver medalist, among other achievements - will run to win and break
the Cowtown 50K course record. Wardian will be competing less than two
weeks after winning the grueling Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica, a 141
mile 6-stage adventure race. The following week, he will compete at the
USA 50K Championships race.
"With this many amazing runners competing at Cowtown, we are looking
forward to one of the most exciting set of races ever," said Heidi Swartz,
Executive Director of The Cowtown. "We know that the runners are looking
forward to the competition and the spectators will enjoy watching the
quality of runners and racing on Sunday. We expect the Cowtown Elite
program to grow participation in our marathon distances, which ultimately
allows us to return more to the community through our C.A.L.F. program
(Children's Activities for Life & Fitness)."
Established in 1979, The Cowtown emphasizes the importance of good physical
fitness in the community by working with local schools and community
centers in teaching proper running, training and nutrition to area youth in
preparation for participating in The Cowtown, as well as a lifetime of
fitness. In 2014, The Cowtown has distributed monetary grants and running
shoes to over 3,300 children. The Cowtown is presented by the University
of North Texas Health Science Center, Chase, HCA North Texas, MillerCoors,
Star-Telegram, NBC 5, and RadioShack.
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