Posted: April 20, 2007

Athletics (RWire): Gilpin, Ensign Win Spirit of St. Louis Marathon

Chesang, Ramsey half-marathon champions; Governor Matt Blunt participates in marathon relay; record event field ST. LOUIS - (April 15, 2007) - Rising temperatures and the first sunshine in days greeted an event record of more than 10,000 runners and walkers from 46 states and five countries as they crossed the finish line at the 7th Annual Spirit of St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend® on Sunday. At the start line, event Chair J. Kim Tucci, Governor Matt Blunt, Mayor Francis G. Slay and Cindy Brinkley, president AT&T Missouri offered words of encouragement to the multitude of athletes. Both Blunt and Brinkley participated in the four person relay. Tucci and Nancy Lieberman, president Spirit of St. Louis Marathon, greeted all of the runners at the finish line in front of Soldier's Memorial. "Today's endurance events come as a culmination of goal setting, hard work and months of training by those who participated. Witnessing their sense of accomplishment is such a thrill for everyone involved. Our goal is to encourage St. Louisans to make their health a year around marathon. With activities and programs like the Read, Right & Run Marathon, training runs and new community partnerships, we intend to serve as a resource for fitness in the community," said Lieberman, president. In the marathon, Karl Gilpin of Russellville, Missouri won the men's race in 2 hours, 28 minutes, 59 seconds to edge John Aerni of St. Louis who ran 2:29:38, while Christine Ensign of Liberty, Missouri was the women's winner in 2:52:38. In the half-marathon, Serena Ramsey of nearby Chesterfield set a course record of 1:14:13 to dominant the women's race and Matthew Chesang of Kenya was the men's champion in 1:09:02. More than a dozen area business leaders participated in the organization's newest feature, the CEO WELLNESS CAMPAIGN. The focus of the project was not to determine the fastest or the fittest CEO in the metropolitan area, but rather for CEO's, individually and collectively, to lead by example and to challenge their employees and the St. Louis community to get fit. Three hundred members of the 50 States Marathon Club also enjoyed a weekend of site seeing and fun at their quarterly reunion. Members of the club have run a marathon in at least 10 states with a goal of running one in all 50 states. Today, several members added running a marathon in Missouri to their list of accomplishments. Runners and walkers enjoyed the world's longest art gallery featuring 30, 6'x 4' mile-marker murals that were created by local artists and were treated to performances by nearly 30 area entertainers and bands positioned along the course. The course traversed from downtown St. Louis, south through the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, back west through Forest Park, Clayton and University City before looping back to Soldier's Memorial. Hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers were on hand to cheer, greet athletes at the finish with medals, water, snacks and congratulations. The Spirit of St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend®, a non profit organization, was founded in 1999 with a mission to encourage people of all ages and athletic abilities to engage in fitness activities. Now in its seventh year, the three day fitness festival features seven events and has become Missouri's premier family fitness weekend. 7th Spirit of St. Louis Marathon, St. Louis, MO, Sunday, April 15, 2007 AT&T Marathon MEN 1) Karl Gilpin, MO, 2:28:59, $1000 2) John Aerni, MO 2:29:38, $500 3) Brian Whitehead, MO, 2:34:29, $350 WOMEN 1) Christine Ensign, MO 2:52:38, $1000 2) Jamie Pusateri, MO, 3:04:18, $500 3) Stephanie Hill, MO, 3:04:40, $350 National City Half Marathon MEN 1) Matthew Chesang, KEN / KS, 1:09:02, $1000 2) Tim Bradley, MO 1:10:33, $500 3) Brian Gudowski, IL 1:10:41, $350 WOMEN 1) Serena Ramsey, MO, 1:14:13*, $1000 2) Heather May, IN 1:20:19, $500 3) Katie Sutton, MO, 1:21:30, $350 *Course record Lockton Companies Marathon Relay MEN Mike Dorsey, Brian Lyons, Brian Soule and Greg Michler, 2:36:33 WOMEN Marjorie Clever, Erin Mullen, Cece Strohschein and Stephanie Sanburg, 3:15:15 Complete results at: StLouisMarathon.com. Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director (805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016 Ryan@RunningUSA.org www.RunningUSA.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest