FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kiplagat, Boulet Win OC Marathon
High Mark Set for Successful Second Year
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - (January 8, 2006) - In its second year, the OC
Marathon presented by PacifiCare of California has raised close to $500,000
in combined fundraising efforts for eleven Orange County Children's
Charities. Approximately 11,000 runners from (14) countries, (41) states
and over (600) cities accompanied some 40,000 spectators on Sunday to set a
high mark for one of the most successful new marathons in the world with
many dramatic story lines.
"We are proud to be back for a second year," said presenting sponsor
PacifiCare Chief Executive Officer, James Frey. "It's a great event to be
associated with."
In an exciting men's race, Albert Kiplagat, 34, led the pack of five
Kenyans with an OC Marathon winning time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, 22
seconds. Shadrack Muge finished second just two seconds back in 2:24:24 and
Joseph Mutinda placed third with a time of 2:24:44. The top Orange County
runner was Michael Conners, 38, from San Clemente, who placed ninth in
2:45:49.
Close to 50% of the runners in the OC Marathon were female with Magdalena
Boulet, 32, from Oakland, Calif. the race champion in 2:50:41. Mary Akor
was runner-up with her 2:53:57 and third place went to Katerina Stetsenko
(2:55:33). Local runner Kathy Kobrine, 39, of nearby Irvine won the women's
half-marathon with a time of 1:23:16.
Four-time winner of the New York and Boston Marathons, Bill Rodgers
participated in the half-marathon and enjoyed talking to runners along the
way. "No question this was a wonderful course with a lot of natural beauty
and variety," commented Rodgers. "In all the years I've been running, I
have never seen so many young people run so well in a road race and
actually make it their own. That says a lot about the organizers and the
charities that the OC Marathon supports."
Television and film star Autumn Reeser from the hit show "The OC" joined
The Mayor of Newport Beach Don Webb and presenting sponsor representative
Kate Kane from PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. to officially start The
Second Annual OC Marathon on Sunday, January 8 benefiting ROCK - Run for
Orange County Kids. Reeser, who plays Taylor Townsend on the hit Fox teen
drama, "The OC" also participated in The OC Marathon Mayor's Walk & 5K Run
post race festivities and supported the ROCK charities after the race as
part of the official finish line celebration.
The OC Marathon is proud to announce KOCE-TV will premier a 30 minute recap
of the OC Marathon with race coverage, runner profiles, kids run and ROCK
charity story highlights. The show will run on Wednesday, January 11 at
7:30pm & 12 midnight and Thursday, January 12 at 10:30pm in Los Angeles and
Orange County. KOCE TV is Broadcast Channel 50. KOCE TV is also on
satellite TV or check with your local cable company to find your local
station. DVD's will be available for purchase by contacting Peter Murphy
from KOCE TV at (714) 895-0880.
The OC Marathon and Run for Orange County Kids (ROCK) cares about our
community, the children in the community and their future health. With
close to 4,000 participants under the age of eighteen participating in this
year's event, the OC Marathon encouraged kids to help kids through exercise
and fundraising. The youngest runners to complete the 1.2 mile OC Marathon
Kid's Run were five years old with the oldest marathon runner being Sid
Jones, 82, from Laguna Hills who finished the marathon in 6:59:21. Emelio
Melilli, 85, from Palm Springs was the oldest half-marathon finisher with a
time of 3:14:25.
This year's second annual OC Marathon established a unique relationship
between runners, volunteers and race spectators with eleven Orange County
Children's Charities. In fact, the OC Marathon generated close to $500,000
in combined fundraising efforts for the local children's charities.
2nd Orange County Marathon
Newport Beach, CA, Sunday, January 8, 2006
MEN
1) Albert Kiplagat, Kenya, 2:24:22, $2000
2) Shadrack Muge, Kenya, 2:24:24, $1250
3) Joseph Mutinda, Kenya, 2:24:44, $850
WOMEN
1) Magdalena Boulet, USA/CA, 2:50:41, $2000
2) Mary Akor, USA/CA, 2:53:57, $1250
3) Katerina Stetsenko, Ukraine, 2:55:33, $850
Half-Marathon
MEN
1) Carlos Carballo, USA/CA, 1:07:31
2) Kalen Abbott, USA/OR, 1:10:09
3) Nick Arciniaga, USA/CA, 1:10:15
WOMEN
1) Kathy Kobrine, USA/CA, 1:23:16
2) Emily Mitchell, USA/CA, 1:26:25
3) Homes Petrossi, USA/CA, 1:26:58
For complete race results, go to: www.OCMarathon.com
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