FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Indoor Marathon Returns To The Pettit For More Laps
MILWAUKEE--- January 10, 2012 --- Runners from 21 states and the United
Kingdom will be converging on the Pettit National Ice Center Jan. 20-22 for
the 4th annual Icebreaker Indoor Marathon. The weekend festivities include
a 5k race on Friday night, a half marathon and a marathon relay on Saturday
and a full marathon on Sunday.
All of the events this year are once again sold out with over 800 runners
expected to take to the Pettit Center's running track. This year's field
includes a select group of 40 runners who will be competing for the
Slendertone Gold Medal Challenge (GMC). The Slendertone GMC is for runners
who compete in the half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on
Sunday.
"This year will be our biggest yet event," said race director Chris
Ponteri, who founded the event in 2009. "We added spots to the 5k race, due
to high demand, and those additional runners will put us ahead of 2011 in
terms of total runners through the weekend."
The Revolution Natural Running 5k will start at 7 pm on Friday and will
feature a field of more than 75 runners. The Performance Running
Outfitters Half Marathon on Saturday morning will have two heats with 130
runners in each. The first will start at 7am and the second at 9:30am and
Sunday's full marathon will feature 130 runners with the starting gun
firing at 8am.
The men's defending marathon champion, Albertus Rohling of West Allis, Wis.
has pulled out of the race for medical reasons leaving Matt Jeromin of
Roselle, Ill. and Stephen Tietz of Fond du Lac, Wis. as the top returning
runners. Tietz, who was the winner of the GMC the past two years, was
second in the marathon last year clocking in with a time of 2:52:35.
Jeromin was third in the marathon last year with a finish of 2:55:18.
First-time Icebreaker Mac McCulley of Volo, Ill. is a strong contender for
the GMC title and is also a favorite to win both the half marathon and
marathon.
On the female side, defending marathon champion Mary Flaws of Waukesha,
Wis. is back to defend her title and will also be looking to keep her GMC
title for a third consecutive year. Flaws' winning marathon time last year
was 3:15:56, which was her fastest marathon time of 2011.
In the half marathon, three of last year's top five finishers will be back
again: Marek Kotrly of Brookfield, Wis. (second in 2011), Tietz (third) and
Roman Pyasta of Wauwatosa, Wis. (fifth). For the women, last year's
third-place finisher Heather Haviland of Waukesha, Wis. returns. One of
Haviland's training partners Monica Schoeneck of Muskego, Wis. is also
expected to be among the top finishers.
The track at the Pettit National Ice Center is 443 meters. Runners will
need to complete 95.4 laps for the marathon and 47.7 for the half marathon.
The 5k is about 11 laps.
Perhaps the most unique event of the weekend is the marathon relay. Teams
of 2-4 runners must combine to finish 95.4 laps. Runners can be exchanged
at any time; this "tag-team format" makes for a fun and exciting
atmosphere. This year over 105 teams will be participating, ranging from
professional runners to self-described couch-potatoes. Prizes are given to
the top finishing teams in three divisions: men's, women's and mixed. The
marathon relay has quickly become a favorite event of many runners making
for a fun, lively and contagious atmosphere on the Pettit's track.
For more information on the Icebreaker Indoor Marathon or any of this
weekend's events, please contact Race Director Chris Ponteri by phone at
262.758.9226 or by email at .
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