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Featured Stories

Michael Wardian - Marathoner+++ (100K+100Miles)
It seems like Michael Wardian must be our favorite topic these days - and maybe that's true... To us, Michael represents the idea that nothing is impossible. He is fast and he just keeps on running and running and running. We already reported on Wardian's sixth place finish last week at the 100K World Championships (at a 6:40 pace for 62 miles). We neglected to mention that Wardian told us about the blisters he developed which almost stopped him from running. Most might take a break after a hard 100K, but the schedule didn't allow that and seven days after running the 100K championships, Wardian was on the starting line of one of the hardest and most storied races on the planet - the Western States 100-Miler (much at altitude, with terrible hills on a tough course). Despite the blisters (which got worse), Wardian ran for more than 19-1/2 hours, finishing 15th at the Western States 100-miler just over three hours behind the winner (Hal Koerner won in 16:24), and ahead of another 225 finishers and countless participants who did not finish. We can only guess how Wardian would have fared if he were fresh for the run - but the point is that here is an athlete who will not shy away from a challenge, will always do his best and is continuing to grow in the sport. We should all learn many lessons from Michael Wardian - doesn't a marathon sound easy now?

Recent Press Releases...
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Press Release Page

Weekend Results
USA/Canada Results | International Results

USA and Canada Results

Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon - Jun 27 - Seattle, WA
Peter Omae, of Kenya, won the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon in 2:18:17. Omae pulled away from Peter Gilmore, of San Mateo CA, after mile twenty on his way to the victory. Gilmore, a top American at the New York and Boston Marathon, went on to finish second in 2:18:52. David Kiprop Yego, of Kenya, was third in 2:19:23.
Michele Suszek, of CO, shaved over four minutes off her previous personal best time to win in 2:38:37. Suzek, an 2008 Olympic Trialist, took the lead for good after mile twenty-three. Leah Thorvilson, 30 of Little Rock AR, led for most of the race until Suszek came up on her at mile 20 and finally pulled away in the final two miles. Thorvilson, who set her PR (2:37:55) five weeks earlier as runner-up at the Green Bay Marathon and was the winner of the 2009 Little Rock Marathon in March added her third top-two finish in four months with a very strong 2:38:49. Christine Glockenmeier was third in 2:56:02.
Complete Searchable Results Here!

UCC Coffee Kona Marathon - Jun 28 - Keauhou-Kona, HI
Justin Gillette, of Buchanan MI, successfully defended his title as champion of the Kona Marathon winning in 2:42:06. Aaron Pierson, the winner in 2004/2005/2006 and runner-up in 2008, finished second again in 2:47:41. Bill Brackett, of Volcano HI, was third in 2:58:45.
Gina Slaby, of Aiea HI, was the winner in 3:16:26. 2007 champion Rani Tanimoto, of Kealakekua HI, who was third in 2008, was the runner-up in 3:26:07. Belinda Wray, of Aiea HI, was third in 3:33:25.
Complete Searchable Results Here!

Run Charlevoix Marathon - Jun 27 - Charlevoix, MI
Chuck Engle, 38 of Dublin OH, won the 2009 Run Charlevoix Marathon in 2:41:12. This was Engle's seventeenth victory and twenty-third podium appearance out of 31 marathons in 2009. Christopher Gregory, 28 of Wyoming MI, was the runner-up in 2:46:06. Alexander Chappars, 19 of Xenia OH, was third in 2:46:10.
Laura Waldo, 46 of Ludington MI, was the first female finisher in 3:12:28. Elizabeth Peterson, 24 of Haslett MI, finished second in 3:13:33. Lisa Altman, 34 of Saint Joseph MI, was third in 3:26:45.
Complete Searchable Results Here!

Pacific Crest Marathon - Jun 27 - Sunriver, OR
Brian Baker, 41 of Boise ID, the runner-up at the 2009 Idaho Great Potato Marathon and 2008 Salmon Marathon, won the 2009 Pacific Crest Marathon when he crossed the finish line in 2:58:34. Paco Gingerich, 44 of Bend OR, finished second in 2:58:59. Greg Mueller, 38 of Central Point OR, who was third at the 2007 Crater Lake Marathon, was third in 3:02:35.
Lori Buratto, 38 of Spokane Valley WA, who finished second at the 2009 windermere Marathon, was the first female finisher in 3:17:47. Karen Douglas, 38 of Bennington NE, the winner of the 2009 Estes Park Marathon, was the runner-up in 3:26:22. Natalie Nicholson, 27 of Bend OR, was third in 3:30:56.
Complete Searchable Results Here!

Running with the Devil Marathon, 1/2, & 50 mile ultra - Jun 27 - Boulder City, NV
Marco Farinazzo, 41, won the 2009 Running With The Devil Marathon in 3:29:18. Gregg Sciabica, 34 of Tucson AZ, finished second in 3:44:49. David Vanzenter, 44 of Las Vegas NV, was third in 3:55:47.
Marcie Schulenberg, 38 of Mesa AZ, won the women's race in 4:29:06. Holly Miller, 34 of Scottsdale AZ, finished second in 4:30:03. Melissa Williams, 26 of Gilbert AZ, was third in 5:20:51.
Complete Searchable Results Here!

International Results

Rio Marathon - Jun 30 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Marcos Antonio Pereira won the 2009 Rio Marathon in 2:17:11. Willy Kongogo Kimutai finished second in 2:17:24. Marcos Alexandre Elias was third in 2:18:26.
In the women's field, Luiza Viera was the winner in 4:59:23. Natalia De Alemeida Rodrigues finished second in 5:02:17. Maria Carolina Golin Abrao was third in 5:06:08

Maratón Internacional Día de la Bandera - Jun 28 - Rosario, Argentina
José Ramón Romero won the 2009 Maratón Internacional Día de la Bandera in 2:23:46. Ishmael Lang' At finished second in 2:26:36. Christian Mohamed was third in 2:32:08.

Mont Blanc Marathon - Jun 28 - Chamonix, France
Christophe Assailly won the 2009 Marathon du Mont-Blanc in 4:03:23. Gilles Segris finished second in 4:03:24. Pascal Giguet was third in 4:05:09.
Maud Giraud was the first female finisher in 4:52:02. Christiane Lacaombe finished second in 5:17:43. Michelle Leservoishier was third in 5:25:09.

North Sea Beach Marathon - Jun 28 - Hvide Sande, Denmark
Julius Mutai, of Kenya, won the 2009 North Sea Beach Marathon in 2:39:00. Henrik Simonsen, of Denmark, finished second in 3:08:42. Frank Bjerregard, of Denmark, was third in 3:15:30.
Joanna Chmiel, of Poland, was the first female finisher in 3:13:37. Marianne Nors, of Denmark, was the runner-up in 3:41:19. Stine Rex was third in 3:45:36.

Older News

HAWI Management Signs Yared Asmeron
Merhawi Keflezighi - agent for 2004 Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist Meb Keflezighi and others - announced that Yared Asmeron, the 8th finisher at the 2008 Olympics and 4th finisher at the 2007 World Championships Marathon has chosen HAWI Management to be his manager and agent effective immediately. Yared Asmeron, 29 of Eritrea, holds a marathon PR of 2:08:34 and Half Marathon PR of 60:28. With the exception of Meb Keflezighi who was born in Eritrea before immigrating to the USA at a young age, Eritrea had not been known for its running prowess until the last few years with the emergence of talent such as Asmeron and Zersenay Tadesse. For those in need of a geography lesson, Eritrea is a country of approximately 5 million, in the Northeast corner of Africa bounded by Sudan on the West and North, Ethiopia (from which it gained independence in 1993), and Djibouti on the Southeast.
Read the Press Release

100K World Championships - Wardian Sixth, Women First
One of our favorite marathoners (who also happens to be USA 50K, 50 Mile and 100K National Champion), Michael Wardian, finished 6th at the 100K World Championships in Torhout Belgium. Wardian, who was ninth at the 2008 World Championships improved his overall position and set a new PR completing the multi-loop course in 6:53:17. For those who want the math, that is an average mile of 6:40 for 62 miles, or the equivalent of 2.4 back-to-back 2:54 marathons... The American women won the team competition led by Kami Semick who ran away from the women's field to win in 7:37:23. Devon Crobsy-Helms was second American and fourth overall in 7:59:17 and Meghan Arbogast finished fifth in 8:04:28) to complete the scoring for the American women's team victory.

Deena Kastor to run 2009 BofA Chicago Marathon - Plans to run sub 2:18:00
Deena Kastor - the American marathon record holder (London 2006 - 2:19:36) and 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist - has announced that she will be running the 32nd Annual Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 11th. In a press conference, Kastor stated that she hopes to run sub-2:18:00 and that Chicago is the place to do that. Later she stated that anything can happen in a marathon and that her goal might not be reached - but that she will be in shape to do that. En route to Chicago, Deena said she will be running the New York City Half Marathon in August - but is training for the marathon. Kastor set an American Marathon record in London in 2003 (2:21:16); came to Chicago to try to break 2:20 in 2005, settling for the win in 2:21:25. Kastor broke 2:20 for the only time and set the current American record of 2:19:36 winning the 2006 London Marathon. The 2009 Chicago Marathon capped their registration at 45,000 registrants and will expect 34,000 to 37,000 starters.
Read the Press Release

ING New York City Marathon Selects Lottery, Poised for Largest Field Ever
The New York City Marathon has announced their lottery results and with that the largest field ever - the event will be accepting 58,000 registrants in the expectation of having 42,000 runners make it to the starting line. Event with those big numbers, the probability of getting in through the lottery has been declining over the years. For 2009, the odds were roughly one in five - approximately 10,000 runners accepted out of nearly 50,000 lottery applicants. Charities have been allocated 6,800 guaranteed spots for which runners will be required to raise at least $2,500. Another couple of thousand spaces are reserved for VIPs, sponsors and other "special" cases; 17,000 spaces are set aside for international runners - making the NYC marathon one of the most cosmopolitan of races; and 20,000 slots were given to thsoe meeting one of the criteria for guaranteed entry. That's a lot of runners who will run - but today we've mostly been hearing from many of the 36,000 who were turned down in the lottery. To them we say: "there are lots of other great Fall marathons out there - find one!"

Other Items

Our Favorite Running Products
From time to time, people ask us for recommendations on products or books, so we've gathered together some of our favorites in a new section. Everything from The Stick (which will make your muscles feel great) to a Watch/Speedometer to measure your speed and distance to lotion and scrub for your skin to books galore.
Check out our favorites in MarathonGuide.com's Recommended Products

Great Magazine:
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