Here is a summary of event news which has crossed our desk in the past few days:
NEW ORLEANS, LA, USA: Olympic Marathon gold medallist Samuel Wanjiru will run his first-ever half-marathon in the United States at the Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon & Half-Marathon on February 28, race organizers announced. Wanjiru, 23, the half-marathon world record holder with a career best time of 58:33, was the 2008/2009 World Marathon Majors series champion. Despite the Kenyan's young age, he's already chalked up marathon victories in Fukuoka, London and Chicago in addition to his dramatic Beijing Olympic victory in 2008. "Attracting the likes of Sammy Wanjiru to New Orleans was always our goal at the Competitor Group, and it shows our commitment to attracting the biggest names in the world of running," said the event's elite athlete coordinator, Matt Turnbull, in a statement. Turnbull also said that American Ryan Hall had withdrawn from the race to focus on his preparations for the Boston Marathon. Website: http://mardi-gras.competitor.com.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA: Athletic shoe and apparel manufacturer K-Swiss has increased it's commitment to the Honda LA Marathon and will now be a presenting sponsor of the event, organizers said. It's the company's first foray into sponsoring a big marathon. "The Honda LA Marathon is a perfect fit for us," said K-Swiss Executive V.P. David Nicholas in a statement. "As a California Sports Company with a growing commitment to the running category, we are thrilled to be part of one of running's great events taking shape in our backyard." The Honda LA Marathon will take place on March 21. Website: http://www.lamarathon.com
ATLANTA, GA, USA: America's largest fully-timed road race, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, will open their online registration process on March 21, the Atlanta Track Club announced. The 41st running of the point-to-point 10-K which finishes in Piedmont Park takes place on Sunday, July 4. The first 45,000 registrants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The event's remaining 10,000 slots will be selected at random from all paper applications received by mail and postmarked by April 5, 2010. "We are excited to once again be able to offer online registration as an option for AJC Peachtree Road Race participants," explained Tracey Russell, the Atlanta Track Club's executive director via a media release. "Online registration allows event participants to instantly know that they will be a part of the AJC Peachtree Road Race." Website: http://www.ajc.com/peachtree.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN, USA: Registration for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon opens on February 2, Twin Cities in Motion announced. First-come, first-served registration commences at 12:01 a.m., and will close when the October 3rd race, dubbed by organizers as the "most beautiful urban marathon in American, sells out. The 2009 race had 8,428 finishers, not including 9,002 others in the companion 10-miler, 10-K and 5-K. This year's race will host the USA Men's Marathon Championship. Website: http://www.mtcmarathon.org.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN, USA: More prize money will be on the line when the 2010 Visa Championship Series begins with tonight's Millrose Games in New York, USA Track & Field announced. In recent years U.S. athletes posting the best performances during the indoor and outdoor Visa Championship Series events have received a $25,000 bonus from Visa, in addition to the title of Visa Champion. Beginning in 2010, Visa Champions will receive bonuses of $30,000, with the first runner-up receiving a bonus of $15,000 and the second runner-up earning $5,000. The IAAF scoring tables will be used to determine the best performers. Website: http://www.usatf.org/events/2010/VisaChampionshipSeries/standings.asp.
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