FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Winitz
Media Coordinator
Win-It!z Sports Public Relations
(650) 948-0618 - Direct
RECORD TURNOUT EXPECTED FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO MARATHON (tm)
Elite Field Includes Olympian and U.S. Record Holder
for Sunday, July 29 Race
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - (July 20, 2007) - Approximately 17,000 entrants
will line up for The San Francisco Marathon(tm) and its companion two
half marathons and 5K Run/Walk on Sunday, July 29. That impressive number
will make the 2007 race the largest marathon event ever run over the
streets of San Francisco. Participants in The San Francisco Marathon(tm)
this year hail from all 50 states and 44 countries.
The top entrants in the full marathon (26.2 miles) feature event and half
marathon staples include rising star and Fresno, Calif. native Fernando
Cabada who recently set a U.S. 25-kilometer record, and 1996 Olympian
Linda Somers Smith (Arroyo Grande, Calif.). Defending men's marathon
champion Andrew Cook (Denton, Texas) and women's champion Julia Stamps
(now Julia Mallon, Miami, Fla.) are returning for the race. Mallon, a
former Santa Rosa High School and Stanford University standout, will
compete at the half marathon distance this year.
In addition, Rod Dixon, one of the most renowned and amiable distance
runners ever, joins the event this year as a special guest. The four-time
New Zealand Olympian, who won both Bay to Breakers and the New York City
Marathon in 1983, will attend to help jump start The San Francisco
Marathon's new RunSFM(tm) Youth Running Program aimed at garnering
physical fitness among local youngsters.
West End Management, under the guidance of Peter Nantell, took over the
reigns of San Francisco's largest marathon in 2003. Since then, the event
has steadily prospered and grown. Today, The San Francisco Marathon(tm)
includes a citywide 26.2-mile marathon that features a tour of the Golden
Gate Bridge and other city landmarks, two half marathons (13.1 miles),
and a 5-kilometer run/walk. Additionally, a Progressive Marathon
encourages participants to incrementally run or walk 26.2 miles over a
period of weeks or months and complete the final part of their cumulative
marathon by participating in the 5K on race day. The event's unique Cause
to Run program has raised $2 million for over 100 local charity
organizations since 2003.
"We're thrilled by the record number of participants this year," said
Sophia Li, the marathon's Race Director. "This year we've focused on
community development by creating a youth running program, expanding our
outreach to local organizations, and partnering with Mayor Gavin Newsom's
Shape Up San Francisco Initiative for increasing opportunities for
fitness and good nutrition."
Among top runners, the greatest depth this year is in the men's Full
Marathon and women's Second Half Marathon fields. Andrew Cook, 26, won
last year's marathon in 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 46 seconds -- the
fastest winning men's time in the race since 1999.
Fernando Cabada, 25, will pose a serious challenge to Cook's title
defense. Although, as a race newcomer who is unfamiliar with the course,
Cabada holds sterling credentials in his young running career. In 2006,
the Buchanan High School (Clovis, Calif.) graduate capped his breakout
year with a spectacular debut over the marathon distance in Fukuoka,
Japan. Cabada's 2:12:27 is one of the fastest debut marathons ever by an
American. Also last year, Cabada entered the USA 25-Kilometer
Championship as a relative unknown and stole the overall win in 1:14:21,
a new American record for the distance.
Cabada's debut marathon earned him a selection for the Team USA marathon
squad for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, to be held in Osaka,
Japan August 24-September 2, 2007. After the World Championships, Cabada
will compete at the U.S Men's Olympic Trials Marathon in New York City on
November 3, 2007, competing for a slot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.
Cook has also qualified for the Trials. Although Cabada intends to run
The San Francisco Marathon(tm) as a training run for Osaka, his
credentials are by far the best among the male contenders.
Michael Wardian (Arlington, VA), 33, with a 2:21:37 best, is another SFM
entrant who has qualified for the U.S. Men's Olympic Trials Marathon.
Wardian also boasts a Guinness world record for pushing a jog stroller in
a marathon (2:42:21), which he set this year while pushing his son,
Pierce.
The top female entrant in the marathon is Michigan's 30-year-old Yolanda
Flamino who recorded a 2:45:19 in her marathon debut last October on the
fast Chicago Marathon course. Flamino is a member of the Hansons-Brooks
Distance Project team based in Rochester Hills, Mich. which supports a
number of elite and emerging elite U.S. distance runners. Flamino has
qualified for next April's U.S. Women's Olympic Trials Marathon in Boston
In the Second Half Marathon both Julia (Stamps) Mallon and Linda Somers
Smith are tuning up for the Chicago Marathon in October where they hope
to earn qualifying times for the Women's Olympic Trials Marathon. Mallon,
28, set a marathon personal best of 2:46:17 at the 2003 Chicago Marathon,
qualifying for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon.
Somers Smith, however, at age 46, is hoping to qualify for her sixth U.S.
Olympic Trials Marathon, adding to her impressive string of excellence.
Somers Smith's personal best of 2:30:06 was set at the 1996 U.S. Olympic
Trials Marathon, where she was runner-up, earning a spot on the U.S.
Olympic squad. Subsequently, Somers Smith placed 31st at the Olympic
Games marathon in Atlanta. The San Luis Obispo-area attorney was also the
women's USA Marathon Champion in 1993 and 1994, and placed 7th at the
1995 IAAF World Championships Marathon. Her best half marathon time is a
swift 1:11:01.
"I'm excited about running in San Francisco again in preparation for
Chicago, where my goal is to quality a sixth time for the Olympic Trials
with a (sub-2:39:00) 'A' standard qualifier," Somers Smith said. "I've
enjoyed running and racing in San Francisco for the last 24 years. The
1983 San Francisco Marathon was my marathon debut. It was the first time
I qualified for what was the first ever Olympic Trials Marathon for women
(in 1984)."
Other top female entrants in the Second Half Marathon (which is
designated the "elite" half marathon) include San Francisco residents
Lisbet Sunshine (age 43, who has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon
Trials with a sub-2:47:00 'B' standard), Caroline Annis, 26, Magdalena
Visser, 38, and Shaluinn Fullove, 29, of Palo Alto, Calif. All four women
have run times of 1 hour, 21 minutes or better for the 13.1-mile half
marathon distance.
The San Francisco Marathon's inaugural RunSFM(tm) Youth Running Program
allows San Francisco's underprivileged youth, ages 7 to 17, to train for,
and participate in, the marathon's signature Progressive Marathon race
without cost. Participation in the eight-week youth training program and
the Progressive Marathon is free for local youth and their San
Francisco-based youth clubs.
Rod Dixon, the flamboyant New Zealand runner who for four years in the
early 1980s was the number one runner on the American road racing
circuit, joins SFM this year as the 5K Run/Walk's emcee and starter.
Dixon, 57, is well known to longtime San Francisco Bay Area running
enthusiasts as the men's winner of the 1982 and 1983 Bay to Breakers
race. He won a bronze medal for 1,500 meters at the 1972 Olympic Games,
and finished 4th at 5,000 meters in the 1976 Olympics. Recently, Dixon
founded and kicked off KiDSMARATHON, a program that partners with major
marathons around the world and introduces children to running, fitness,
and good nutrition. The San Francisco Marathon(tm) will explore the
incorporation of KiDSMARATHON into its RunSFM(tm) Youth Running Program
for next year.
"The alarm bell is sounding relating to child obesity in this country and
around the world," Dixon said. "So, I'm really looking forward to working
with The San Francisco Marathon team on the continued development of a
participation program for children. My involvement with the various
activities around this year's marathon will be special for me."
Race participants, the general public, and members of the media can meet
Dixon on race morning, or at the RunSFM Expo, Friday and Saturday, July
27-28 at Justin Herman Plaza (corner of Market Street and Steuart
Street). The Expo will include a RunSFM seminar series at the adjacent
Hyatt Regency hotel on Saturday, which is free for the general public.
The marathon starts and finishes on the Embarcadero at Mission Street,
near Justin Herman Plaza and the Ferry Building. The official starting
time is 5:30 a.m. Top runners are expected to reach the finish line at
Embarcadero and Folsom at approximately 7:50 a.m.
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