FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend™ Sets Event Record
with Nearly 15,000 Registrants
Maurer, Fox marathon champions; Freudenburg, Sutton half-marathon winners
ST. LOUIS - (April 9, 2006) - The Spirit of St. Louis Marathon & Family
Fitness Weekend™ crossed the finish line of its sixth edition this weekend
with a record number of registrants and a wide variety of events for
athletes of all ages and abilities. Nearly 15,000 people registered for the
two-day fitness festival, representing a 45 percent increase from 2005.
Participants came from 47 states and 9 foreign countries.
More than 10,000 runners and walkers registered for the AT&T Spirit of St.
Louis Marathon, the National City Spirit of St. Louis Half Marathon and the
Lockton Companies' Marathon Relay held Sunday, with a course that wound
thru the cities of St. Louis, Clayton and University City. The Missouri
State Marathon and Half Marathon Championships, open to state residents
only, were held concurrently. The Honorary Co-Chairs of this year's
Marathon were St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa and St. Louis Fire Chief
Sherman George.
Saturday's Family Day in Forest Park also hit record numbers, attracting
approximately 4,500 registrants. The participants - which included
toddlers, children, adults and senior citizens - participated in Children's
Fun Runs, the Spirit of St. Louis Read, Right & Run Marathon™, the 5K
Run/Walk and the Mature Mile for older adults sponsored by the Washington
University School of Medicine Program in Physical Therapy.
The Read, Right & Run Marathon, recognized as one of the top children's
marathons in the country, nearly tripled in size this year with 2,800
students from 67 schools and organizations participating. It is the
nation's only fully integrated children's marathon, encouraging students to
read 26 books, perform 26 good deeds and run a combined total of 26.2 miles
over a period of several months. Students run their last miles on Race Day.
"This year's Marathon Weekend turned an exciting corner in terms of
participation and enthusiasm," said Nancy Lieberman, president of the
Spirit of St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend. "We were thrilled to
see a record number of St. Louisans get involved this year - from runners
and walkers, to artists, performers and volunteers. They embraced the true
spirit of this event: to get fit, to be healthy and above all, to have fun.
It's a wonderful civic event for the greater metropolitan area."
The Spirit of St. Louis Marathon Weekend reprised its highly successful
"Art & Sole" theme, integrating visual and performing arts with the art of
running. Thirty, 6' x 4', hand-painted murals served as mile markers during
the Marathon course, marking the start and finish lines and every mile in
between. Interspersed among the murals were more than 30 performing arts
groups ranging from dance troops to live music.
Men's marathon champion (and Missouri state champion) was Daniel Maurer,
23, of St. Louis in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 9 seconds, followed by Joel
Eckberg, 29, of Darien, Ill. in 2:36:45 and Joseph Porter, 22, of St. Louis
in 2:39:24. The women's winner was Kelly Fox, 33, of Mount Zion, Ill. in
3:05:28 with Stacie Kane, 36, of St. Louis second and state champion in
3:12:49 and Kerry Hanson, 26, of Shorewood, Wis. third (3:14:31).
The top three finishers in the half-marathon were Zac Freudenburg, 27, of
St. Louis in 1:08:36 (also state champion), Vincent Morogah, 25, of St.
Louis (1:11:39) and Jason Maus, 26, of Ada, Ohio (1:12:43) and for the
women, state champion Katie Sutton, 26, of Kirkwood in 1:23:00; Melissa
Bosslet, 21, of Champaign, Ill. second (1:23:19) and third Eileen Petito,
36, of Alton, Ill. in 1:24:46.
St. Louis Police Department Wins "Battle of the Badges" Bragging Rights
First-place in the "Battle of the Badges" category, a competition between
relay teams from the St. Louis Police Department and the St. Louis Fire
Department, went to the Police Department's "District Level" relay team
with a time of 3:04:12.
For race results and more information on the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon &
Family Fitness Weekend, visit www.StLouisMarathon.com. The date for the 2007
Spirit of St. Louis Marathon Weekend will be announced by April 30, 2006.
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