FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Winitz
Media Coordinator
Win-It!z Sports Public Relations
(650) 948-0618 - Direct
COOK AND SHIBUI WINNERS AT THE SAN FRANCISCO MARATHON
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - (July 26, 2009) Andrew Cook, 28, of Flower Mound,
Tex. and Japan¹s Yoko Shibui, 30, scored dominant victories at The San
Francisco Marathon(TM) today. Cook topped the men¹s field in a finishing
time of 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 32 seconds for his third win in this race.
He also won in 2006 and 2007. Shibui won the women¹s race in 2:46:34 as she
successfully tuned up for the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in
Berlin, Germany on August 23.
A record turnout of over 21,000 entrants participated in the marathon
(26.2 miles) and two accompanying half marathon (13.1 miles) races, plus a
5K run/walk. Ideal, overcast conditions, with temperatures in the low to
mid 50s greeted the throng. Runners from all 50 U.S. states and 26
countries came to the City by the Bay for its world-famous marathon.
Both Cook¹s and Shibui¹s wins were convincing. By the 8-mile point on the
hilly, city-wide loop that includes an out-and-back segment over the Golden
Gate Bridge, Cook shed co-leader Allen Wagner (Huntington Valley,
Penn.) and then proceeded alone to the finish line near the Ferry Building
on the Embarcadero.
"It¹s awesome to be a three-time winner here," said Cook, who is a history
teacher and cross country coach at Flower Mound (Tex.) High School. "But,
mentally it was hard running most of the race alone. You just want to try
and push yourself and stay mentally tough. I kind of fell apart a little
over the last 10 miles. I was very happy to come out on top today because
Allen (Wagner) is very experienced."
Wagner, whose personal best marathon of 2:18:25 is over a minute better
than Cook¹s, faded to fifth place after making several porta-pottie stops.
45-year-old Guillermo Gonzalez (Mexico/Pasadena, Calif.) captured second
place and the masters (age-40-and-over) men¹s victory in a distant 2:33:55.
Fritz Van de Kamp, 28, of Salt Lake City, Utah was third in 2:34:01. San
Francisco¹s Daniel Feldman, 26. was fourth in 2:35:15.
Japan¹s Shibui demonstrated why she is the all-time seventh fastest female
marathoner in the world, with a blazing 2:19:41 personal best on her
resume. Despite using the race as a long training run in preparation for
the World Championships Marathon in Berlin, the Japanese star¹s margin at
the finish line was 13 minutes ahead of former Santa Rosa High School and
Stanford University standout Julia Mallon (nee Stamps).
Mallon, who now resides in Miami, Fla. was second woman in 2:59:32.
Mexico¹s Ligicz Ortega, 26, finished third in 3:02:29.
Shibui and her team of coaches and trainers have made Flagstaff, Ariz.
their training base for the past two months in preparation for the IAAF
World Championships marathon race. She wanted to briefly come down from
Flagstaff¹s 7,000-foot altitude to test her fitness at sea level, but, she
found more variances in altitude than she expected in San Francisco.
"This is a very hard course," Shibui commented through an interpreter about
the up-and-down San Francisco Marathon route. "It¹s the toughest course
that I¹ve ever run. It was much more hilly than I expected, but overall it
was a very good tune-up for me. I think if I was in top condition, like I
will be in a month, I would have run with the lead man today."
Women training at altitude for the World Championships also dominated the
competitive 2nd Half Marathon, which runs over the second half of San
Francisco¹s marathon route. Tera Moody, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
topped the women in 1:13:37 followed by second-placer Fiona Docherty, 33,
of New Zealand, who spends half the year training in Boulder, Colo.
Docherty finished in 1:17:25. Both Moody and Docherty will face each other
again as members of their respective USA and New Zealand national teams in
Berlin. Jessica Minty, 24, of Blowing Rock, N.C. made a successful debut at
the half marathon distance by placing third in 1:17:48. Masters standout
Sylvia Mosqueda, 43, of Los Angeles was fourth in 1:18:20.
Abiyot Endale, 23, an Ethiopian athlete who resides in New York, topped the
2nd Half Marathon men in 1:07:36 followed by Miguel Nuci, 29, of Turlock,
Calif. in 1:07:58.
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