Posted: July 28, 2007

Athletics: USATF Long Distance Running Notes

Course records set at USA 100 Mile Trail Championships FOLSOM, Calif. - July 24, 2007 - Rising ultrarunning stars Molly Zurn and USATF Pacific Association athlete Jasper Halekas conquered both the challenging course and the competition at the 2007 USA 100 Mile Trail Championships, hosted by the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 on July 21. Zurn, 36, formerly of San Francisco and currently of Reno, Nev., made history by becoming the first woman to crack the 24-hour barrier here, finishing only her third 100-miler in 23 hours, 32 minutes, 12 seconds. Kim Gimenez, 42, of Long Beach, Calif. was second among women in 24:47:59. Halekas, 30, of Oakland, Calif., shattered his own Tahoe Rim Trail 100 standard from 2006 by over two hours. He felt strong after cruising through the first 50 miles in 8:32. Then Halekas powered over the course's final challenge, a second ascent of 9,200-foot Snow Valley Peak (mile 93), when he realized he would bag the course record. He blasted downhill to do exactly that, in 18:16:01. Oakland's Mark Gilligan, 36, was second in 19:38:00. The course consisted of two tours of a 50-mile trail route mostly along a northeastern segment of the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail. Competitors traversed the crest of the Tahoe Basin between Spooner Lake and Tahoe Meadows near Mt. Rose (Nev.), at elevations ranging between 7,000 and 9,200 feet. There were 69 finishers in the 100-mile national championship event, and over 250 finishers in the companion Tahoe Rim Trail 50-mile and 50-kilometers races. The event was jointly presented by the Tahoe Mountain Milers (Lake Tahoe) and Sagebrush Stompers (Carson City) Running Clubs. For more information, visit USATF.org. Hershey's Track & Field Games introduces family 5 km run INDIANAPOLIS - Celebrating its 30th edition, the Hershey's Track & Field Games will introduce a family 5 km run/walk in 2007. The 5 km will be held at 8:00 a.m., Saturday August 4, at Founders Park in Hershey, Pa. The first annual Hershey's Track & Field Games 5 km Run/Walk will feature over $25,000 in prizes for individuals, school teams and community organizations. Each entrant will receive a t-shirt, $14 discount coupon for admission to HERSHEYPARK Entertainment Complex (valid for the entire 2007 season), and a Hershey Track & Field "Legends" poster which features National Track & Field Hall of Famers Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson, Bruce Jenner and Rafer Johnson. Teams from high schools and civic organizations can win money for their school, organization or charity and participants will have the opportunity to meet Track & Field legends Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis, Bruce Jenner and Rafer Johnson as well as USATF Elite Athletes including, Olympians Terrence Trammell, Bershawn Jackson, Jenny Adams, Hazel Clark and Monique Henderson. The Hershey's 5 km Family Fun Run/Walk is a joint effort between USATF and the Hershey Company to develop safe, family centric activities in an effort to help combat childhood and adult obesity. As part of USATF's ongoing relationship with the Hershey Company to provide competitive opportunities for America's youth, 15 winners from USATF's Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships have earned the right to compete in exhibition events at Hershey's International Competition held in conjunction with Hershey's Track & Field Games North American Finals. USATF athletes will compete against some of the best athletes from China, Canada and winners of Hershey's North American Finals For more information or to enter visit www.hersheystrackandfield.com/5k. Long Distance Running Links America's Running Routes With over 146,500 routes, America's Running Routes allows runners to search all routes in a particular city or to narrow their search to find routes on a specific type of terrain, from hotels, in parks, from trailheads or from running stores. Business travelers can find routes to run from the hotel where they are staying or from local parks. Visit www.usatf.org/routes. U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon One of the most celebrated pre-Olympic events, the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, will be hosted by two of the world's most distinguished marathon organizers. The New York Road Runners will conduct the men's Olympic Trials during the New York City Marathon weekend on November 3, 2007. The Boston Athletic Association will host the women's event on Sunday, April 20, 2008, the day before the 112th running of the Boston Marathon. For the most recent list of men's qualifiers visit OlympicTrials-Marathon-Men. For the most recent list of women's qualifiers visit OlympicTrials-Marathon-Women. The USA Distance Project The USA Distance Project is a financial, marketing and promotional partnership for the long-term development of elite USA distance athletes so that they can compete successfully in both domestic and international competitions, including major championship events. This partnership will build on the recent successes of U.S. distance running while maintaining a collective commitment towards developing athletes through the next Olympiad and beyond. The USA Distance Project is presented by the New York Road Runners and supported by Silver Sponsors, The Chevron Houston Marathon and The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. For more information visit USADistanceProject. Resources for Event Directors How to organize an event, race sanctions, course certifications, competition rules, how to submit results, championship bidding information and more. EventDirectors. USATF Calendar Search for long distance running events including national and association championships and grand prix events. Calendars. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest