FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KAISER PERMANENTE NAPA VALLEY MARATHON DRAWS COMMITTED RACERS
Soldier in Kuwait is Among Participants for Sunday, March 1 Race
NAPA, Calif. - February 13, 2009 - When a sold-out crowd of 2,300
participants line up for the 31st Annual Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley
Marathon on Sunday, March 1, 2009, each runner will carry with them a
personal story about why they are tackling the challenging 26.2-mile
distance. Their stories are as varied as the backgrounds of the race
entrants from 40 U.S. states and 11 foreign countries.
U.S. Army Major Tim Burgess will write home about a particularly unique
marathon experience. Although he'd like to line up with his running friends
at the starting line for his second Napa Valley Marathon, Burgess has a job
that won't allow him to do that. The 37-year-old resident of Healdsburg,
Calif. is an Electronic Warfare Officer based in northern Kuwait where he's
stationed at Camp Virginia to support war operations in Iraq. So, Burgess
will run the Napa Valley Marathon "remotely" and cover 26.2 miles by
running multiple circuits of a five-mile-plus loop around his camp. When he
does it on race morning (March 1) he will be the event's first finisher in
2009. The time in Kuwait is 11 hours ahead of California's.
Last year, Burgess ran the Napa Valley Marathon -- his second marathon race
ever -- with three friends from work and finished in 4 hours, 31 minutes,
and 33 seconds. Then, he was recalled into the Army and returned to active
duty last August.
"I love the Napa Valley Marathon race and I love the route, plus I live
next door in Sonoma County, so I didn't want to miss it," Burgess said.
"Plus, I do better if I'm working towards a goal. Training for the race
helps me to structure my day and plan my routine."
Since Burgess is involved with inspecting and troubleshooting military
equipment from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, his training runs are at 6 a.m.
He also teaches spinning classes on the stationary bicycle, so he spins on
the bike over 12 hours a week.
Three Medics will support Burgess during his marathon race and provide
refreshment at aid stations, plus several soldiers will run a lap or so
with him. He hopes other soldiers will cheer him on. The morning
temperatures at Camp Virginia have hovered in the 50s and 60s, but they'll
rise to 100 degrees by mid March, On race morning, the weather should be
perfect for good running, according to Burgess, unless a sandstorm hits.
"I think I should be able to finish in 4:30," said Burgess. "I've had a
little case of Achilles tendonitis, and I haven't been able to do as many
long (training) runs as I did last year. So, I'll have to keep my pace a
little slower than I'd like."
Burgess will carefully record his finishing time and submit it to race
organizers who will include him in the official marathon race results.
Dr. Janet Cain, 57, a clinical psychologist who lives in Sonoma, Calif.
and has a professional office in Napa, will return to this year's Napa
Valley Marathon following an excellent run last year. Cain expects to
improve upon her age-group-winning time of 3:31:57, which was among the top
15 U.S. performances in the 55-59 age group in 2008 according to
active.com. Cain says that training guidance from Dick Beardsley has
enhanced her fitness and competitiveness. Beardsley, a world class
marathoner in the 1980s, holds the men's all-time Napa Valley Marathon
record (2:16:20, 1987).
"For the past year, Dick has had me doing interval (speed work) training
for the first time in my life," commented Cain, a running veteran of 33
years. "Also, I recently had a really good 24-mile training run on the
marathon course, and came in at about 3:18. So, I'm really optimistic."
Cain won a marathon in Rome, Italy in 1985, in a personal best time of
2:50:00. She will run her 50th marathon in Boston this coming April.
"But Napa is my favorite marathon," Cain commented. "It's just beautiful."
Harry Cadelago, 61, is intimately familiar with the spectacular scenery
along the marathon course, which stretches the length of the Napa Valley
past world-famous vineyards, flowering fruit trees, and colorful mustard
fields. Cadelago lives two blocks from the finish line at Vintage High
School in Napa. He has run every Napa Valley Marathon except for one since
the inaugural race in 1979, and he has completed all 29 of them.
Until 1992 Cadelago ran the race with his father, Harry Cadelago, Senior.
About two weeks before that year's marathon, Harry's dad passed away.
Although he was heartbroken, Cadelago managed to finish, but barely.
"I was emotionally spent at about mile 22," recalled Cadelago, who is the
Director of Instrumental Music at Napa High School. "I started walking, and
asked myself 'what am I doing here?' But, I felt my dad's presence."
At that point, a fellow runner, who Cadelago speculated was about his
father's age, offered him some lemon drops, The boost gave him the energy
to finish.
In 2006 and 2007, Cadelago ran the marathon with his daughter, Angela
Cullinger. This year, Cullinger, an opera singer, is performing in an
upcoming opera, and won't be able to race. So, Harry is on his own again,
but he carries a photo of his dad in his cap during the marathon.
"I think I run it more for him now," said Cadelago. "I'm getting older
myself, but it's a test of whether I can still do it."
Steve Radigan, 57, of Fremont, Calif. is also still doing it. He's run all
30 Napa Valley Marathons and is entered once more.
Jo Groner, 63, of Lake Oswego, Ore. has run over 120 marathons and has a
personal best of 3:57. His son, Mark Groner, 37, of Centennial, Colo. has
run almost as many. This year's Napa Valley Marathon will be the younger
Groner's 100th. Father and son plan to run the race together.
"Neither of us has run the Napa Valley Marathon, but we'll put both of our
passions -- wine and marathoning -- together for a very special day,"
said Mark Groner.
Jean Pommier, 45, of Cupertino, Calif. is also familiar with wine and long
races. The Vice President of ILOG, a software company recently acquired by
IBM, moved to the U.S. from France in 1999. He has never run the Marathon
du Médoc, a marathon held in France's Médoc wine country, which is world
famous for its wine tasting stands along the course.
In Napa's wine country, however, the dual citizen of France and the U.S.
will contend for a specially etched bottle of Napa Valley wine. The wine
bottles are awarded to the first place overall and masters (age 40 and
over) runners to recognize the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) National
Marathon Champions. (The 2009 edition of the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley
Marathon has again been selected by the RRCA as its National Marathon
Championship, a designation it has received since 1998.)
Pommier will compete in his first Napa Valley Marathon on his 45th
birthday, an occasion he hopes to commemorate with a 2:45:00 finish.
Although he's run competitively for just ten years, and sports a fine
2:37:00 marathon personal best, for the past two years Pommier has earned a
reputation as a talented ultra-distance runner. Pommier has placed among
the top three in a number of ultrarunning events ranging from 50 kilometers
to 100 miles. In fact, recently the prolific runner received the 2008
Ultrarunner of the Year Award bestowed by the Pacific Association of USA
Track & Field.
In 2006, Alex Tilson, a standout ultrarunner who holds the U.S. 50
kilometer road record, won the Napa Valley Marathon in a winning time of
2:32:17. Pommier's aspirations, however, are more modest.
"I'm just hoping to run under 2:45," Pommier said. "I'd like to think, and
demonstrate, that (each year) I can keep running marathons under two hours
and my age in minutes. A 2:45 will also give me a good qualifying time for
the Boston and New York City marathons. But, the beginning of my season has
been disrupted by shin splints, which impacted my training. So, I'll need a
perfect race."
The 2009 Napa Valley Marathon has once again filled to its capacity of
2,300 runners.
"Amidst the difficult times and economy that we're all experiencing, the
Napa Valley Marathon is very fortunate that 2,300 dedicated runners and
their friends and families have elected to come to the Napa Valley for our
31st annual race," said Co-Race Director David Hill. "We aim to maintain
our reputation for excellence and our unofficial title as the Biggest
Little Marathon in the West."
The marathon starts on Sunday, March 1 at 7:00 a.m. sharp in Calistoga on
the Silverado Trail near the intersection of Rosedale Road. The marathon's
fast, USA Track & Field certified (for accurate distance) road course runs
the length of the beautiful Silverado Trail and finishes at Vintage High
School in Napa. Top runners are expected to reach the finish between 9:15
a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Runners will receive official times up until 1:00 p.m.
when the course closes.
Entry slots are still available for the companion Kiwanis 5K Fun Run, which
starts (8 a.m.) and finishes at Vintage High School on marathon morning.
Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon weekend includes a Sports and
Fitness Expo, Saturday, February 28 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Napa
Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa. Also on Saturday's slate is the marathon's
popular Marathon College, an innovative speaker/seminar program that
includes a "faculty" composed of respected running authorities and
celebrity runners.
Every Napa Valley Marathon participant assists important local causes.
All proceeds from the Napa Valley Marathon (a non-profit organization) are
donated to local charities and schools in the Napa Valley region. In
addition, an economic assessment conducted by the marathon in 2004
estimated that the local economic impact of the marathon is between
$593,000 and $1,465,000 annually in direct spending. The average marathon
participant brings two additional people with them for the race.
For more information about the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon,
please visit the marathon's web site at www.napavalleymarathon.org.
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