FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OLYMPIC MARATHON CHAMPION TO APPEAR AT
2007 MOUNT DESERT ISLAND MARATHON
September 14, 2007, Mount Desert Island, ME - The Mount Desert Island
Marathon based in Bar Harbor, Maine, and hosted by Crow Athletics running
club, is pleased to announce that 1984 Olympic Marathon Champion, Joan
Benoit Samuelson, will appear at 6th edition of the popular event to be
held in October.
The annual marathon has recently been named the Runner's World magazine
'October Race of the Month' and will be contested on October 14th, 2007.
The award-winning scenic route runs between Bar Harbor and Southwest
Harbor, passing through several towns and villages on Mount Desert Island.
Joan Benoit Samuelson will speak at the annual Pre-Race Pasta Dinner to be
held at Mt. Desert Island High School on Saturday evening, October 13th.
The benefit dinner is from 5:30pm to 7:30pm with Ms. Samuelson speaking at
approximately 6:30pm. The function is a charity, fund raising event in
support of the music programs at Mt. Desert Island High School. (As of
press time, Ms. Samuelson is not scheduled to run the race.)
Tickets for the dinner are extremely limited and available only by advance
reservation. Visit the MDI Marathon website for more information or to
purchase tickets, mdimarathon.org.
Joan Benoit Samuelson, (5/16/1957) a native of Cape Elizabeth, Maine and
graduate of Bowdoin College will forever be remembered for her dominating
performance in the inaugural women's Olympic marathon at the 1984 Games,
held in Los Angeles, CA. Remarkably, Ms. Samuelson had qualified at the
U.S. Olympic trials less than 3 weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery,
winning the race.
Ms. Samuelson is a two-time Boston Marathon champion, former world and
American record holder for the marathon. She won the Sullivan Award,
honoring America's top amateur athlete in 1985. Ms. Samuelson has been
inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame, the National Distance
Running Hall of Fame, International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, The Boys
and Girls Club National Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports
Foundation Hall of Fame.
Ms. Samuelson and husband, Scott, live in Freeport, Maine, with their two
children where she continues her running career and works as a Nike
consultant. She is a frequent speaker at running, health and fitness events
around the world. She founded the popular Beach to Beacon 10k in Cape
Elizabeth Maine. She is the author of an autobiography, Running Tide
(Knopf) and Joan Samuelson's Running for Women (Rodale Press).
Joan Benoit Samuelson has qualified to compete at the United States Olympic
Marathon Trials to be held in Boston on April 20, 2008. The top 3 finishers
will earn a place on the US Olympic team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
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