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Featured Stories

Preview to the Olympics: The Nike NYC Half Marathon
This weekend, the New York Road Runners will be hosting the third edition of the Nike New York City Half Marathon. As in the first two years, the event will host a number of high profiler marathoners (who also run half marathons, of course), but for 2008, the race will also serve as a final warmup for a number of runners before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In attendance will be five men and women who will be competing in the Olympic Marathon: Dathan Ritzenhein (USA), Hendrick Ramaala (RSA), Catherine Ndereba (KEN), Madai Perez (MEX) and Benita Johnson (AUS). Rounding out the field will be some of our favorite top marathoners: Felix Limo, Demesse Tefera, Lyudmila Biktasheva and Yuri Kano, as well as a host of the top American distance runners and marathoners including Adam Goucher, Fasil Bizuneh, Luke Humphrey, Fernando Cabada, Ann Alyanak, Coleen De Reuck and Zoila Gomez. And the man to watch: 23 year-old Patrick Macau, the third fastest half-marathoner in the world who has yet to step up to the marathon, but will... We'll have more about the race and the runners over the next few days...

Upcoming Marathon Registration Fee Increases
Following are some marathons that have price increases through the end of the month. If you plan to register for one of these races, you can save some money by registering now:
US Air Force Marathon + Half-Marathon, 10K, 5K (Dayton, OH - 9/20/08) Mount Desert Island Marathon (Bar Harbor, ME - 10/19/08)

Recent Press Releases...
If you aren't checking out the Press Release page on a daily basis, you're missing out. We'll do our best to highlight the most important items - but lately there have just been too many... Don't forget this page...
Press Release Page

Weekend Results
USA/Canada Results | International Results

USA and Canada Results

University of Okoboji Marathon - Jul 19 - Okoboji, IA
Matt Colbert, 30 of Edmond OK, the runner-up of the 2007 Oklahoma City Marathon, won the 2008 University of Okoboji Marathon in 2:58:35. Joe Buckentine, 45 of St. Cloud MN, finished second in 3:10:06. Heather Himler, 33 of Aurora IL, was the first female finisher and third overall in 3:10:44. Jack Fitzgibbons, 20 of Okoboji IA, finished fourth overall and was the third male finisher in 3:11:38.
Mary O'brien, 45 of Sioux City IA, the runner-up in 2000 and 2001, was the second female finisher in 3:30:35. Kay Evans, 46 of Chocowinity NC, the winner of the 2008 Shiprock Marathon and 2007 Carrollton Charity Road Races Marathon, was third in 3:31:31.
Complete Searchable Results Here!

Friendly Massey Marathon - Jul 20 - Massey, ON, Canada
2006 Champion Simon Fecteau, of Timmins ON, who was third in 2006, won the 2008 Friendly Massey Marathon in 2:52:36. Rich Power, of Rochester, who was third at the 2008 Run Charlevoix Marathon, finished second in 2:53:22. Mark Ott, of Jackson MI, the winner of the 2008 Med-City and Ocean Drive Marathons and runner-up at the 2007 A1A Marathon,was third in 2:53:22.
In the women's race, Diane Carriere, of Sudbury ON, was the winner in 3:49:38. Maureen Marshall, of Lively ON, finished second in 3:49:39. Kelly Cascone Brown, of Mississauga ON, was third in 3:50:24.
Complete Searchable Results Here!

International Results

Pattaya Queen's Cup Marathon - Jul 20 - Pattaya, Thailand
Kenyans swept the top spots of the 2008 Pattaya Queen's Cup Marathon. Nelson Kirna Rotich was the winner in 2:16:07. Loks Kipicimoichelimo finished second in 2:17:01. Christopher Kipkemboi was third in 2:19:21. In the women's field, Fridah Chepkite Lodepa, of Kenya, was the winner in 2:53:35. Sunisa Sai-Lomyen, of Thailand, finished second in 2:54:00. Magaret F. Wangui Niuguan, of Kenya, was third in 2:58:41.

Older News

Dreaming of California? New California Dreamin' Marathon/Half-Marathon Series...
Three top California Marathons/Half-Marathons have joined forces to create a running series and to share some marketing. The San Francisco Marathon/Half-Marathon, Surf City USA Marathon/Half-Marathon and Long Beach International City Marathon/Half-Marathon have created the California Dreamin' Racing Series. Runners who complete the three marathons/half-marathons in the group in a two-year period will receive a special commemorative medal and jacket for their achievement. Not to mention an opportunity to "conquer the bridge and cruise the beach..."
Read the Press Release

Devine Racing Dismantles - Sells 2 Properties
Los Angeles Marathon and Chicago Half Marathon Sold To Pay Debts
In 2005/2006, Devine Racing was hailed as the most progressive entity in the running industry who would help to propel the sport. Devine created the Salt Lake City Marathon and then followed that up by purchasing the Los Angeles Marathon, Las Vegas Marathon, Chicago Half Marathon and the Chicago Big 10K. A marketing and possible future sales agreement with the Toronto Marathon gave the company a foothold in Canada and dozens of other marathons in North America had provided financials to the company in the hope that they might be acquired and join the high-flying company. 2005 saw Devine hire some of the most well-known names in the industry, pledge tens of thousands of dollars to running organizations and invest a reported half million dollars in a website community.

But how quickly the great can fall... By 2007, reports were surfacing that Devine was not paying its vendors or prize money to athletes. The company dismantled its central sales office and top executives began "resigning" for personal and other reasons. Reports in the Las Vegas Review-Journal stated that the city of Las Vegas was giving Devine a June 15th deadline to make good on its financial obligations to that city and local vendors. Last week it was announced that Devine had sold the Chicago Half Marathon to US Road Sports & Entertainment Group - the company that purchased the ING Miami and ING Georgia Marathons. Rumors have swirled for weeks that the Los Angeles Marathon was up for sale - with the list of suitors including Elite Racing, the New York Road Runners and US Road Sports. According to a June 4th article in the Las Vegas Review Journal and June 14th articles in the Los Angeles Times and Las Vegas Review Journal, Devine has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Marathon to an investor group led by David Kingsdale and Russ Pilar. According to the Los Angeles Times, Devine technically owns the "operating rights" for the marathon and any sale will have to be approved by the City which technically owns the race. Chris Devine, the founder of Devine Racing, was quoted as saying: "To own the L.A. Marathon and screw it up is a monumental failure."

Branson/Virgin Sign a £17M (=$33M USD) Five Year Deal as London Marathon Title Sponsor
The London Marathon has announced that beginning in 2010, Virgin - and specifically Virgin Money, the financial services division of Virgin Group - will be the new title sponsor of the London Marathon through 2014. The five-year deal, valued at £17Million - which is the equivalent of over $33Million at current exchange rates - is a record for the industry. Flora, the current sponsor, had chosen not to renew its sponsorship after its latest five year arrangement comes to an end in 2009. At the same time, Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson has stated that he plans to run in the 2010 Virgin London Marathon. In what confuses us and must be a slap in the face to current sponsor Flora, the London Marathon has already supported the creation of a website for the new sponsor and press-releases and the current website encourage visitors to surf to www.VirginLondonMarathon.com for more information. We would normally expect an event to honor the final year of its sponsorship agreement by supporting that sponsor and not promoting other arrangements. While the new arrangement is certainly beneficial for the London Marathon - Virgin is an amazing company and the funds are substantial - we are disappointed that the London Marathon is, in our estimation, not standing up to what would be a commonly expected standard of treatment for an existing title sponsor.
Read the Press Release

New Feature: Best/Biggest Boston Marathon Qualifying Races
This IS NOT a list of the fastest marathons - but at some level it could be interpreted to be an approximation of that list. We're always asked which are the best Boston qualifying marathons - and while different runners will have varying degrees of success on various courses, there are some courses that just seem to do better than others (and/or do they just attract faster runners?). Here, for the first time is a year-by-year list of the marathons that provide the highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifying times and those that create the most Boston Marathon qualifying times. Statistics are interesing as always...
The Best/Biggest Boston Qualifying Races

2007 USA Marathoning - Growth Across the Sport, Despite the Weather
The Numbers are Here!
Highlights:
- The weather is the big story of the year...
- Total USA marathoning grows by 2.3% to nearly 407,000 finishers from over 397,000 in 2006.
- Percentage of women participants declines again. This is turning into a trend.
- Average Age of male participants decreases, meaning more young men are entering the sport.
Read it all: 2007 USA Marathon Annual Report

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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