The Global Telegraph - October 2002
brought to you by Run The Planet / October 2002 edition / 15
The Global Telegraph is published 12 times a year
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Indro Neri
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Jennifer Walker
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Luis E. Arribas
Franco Civai
Hélio A. Fontes
O. Atakan Tekin
Tero Töyrylä
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featured nation This month we feature running news from: Austria, Brazil, California (Usa), Hungary, Malta, and... the South Pole!
• BRAZIL / Marilson Gomes dos Santos wins the Garoto 10 miles
The month of September started in a great fashion in Brazil with the "Garoto 10 miles" in Vitória. This race, one of the runners' favorites, did not occurr last year but returned in great shape with 2,400 participants. The peculiar thing about this 10 mile race is the crossing of the high "Terceira Ponte" (third bridge). The winners were Marilson Gomes dos Santos (47.41) and Márcia Narloch (55.10). Source: www.copacabanarunners.net
• CALIFORNIA (USA) / Western Hemisphere Marathon offers new event
This December, the annual "Western Hemisphere Marathon", the longest consecutively run marathon in the Western United States, will sponsor some exciting new features. In addition to the marathon, half-marathon and 5k run/walk categories, there will be for the first time ever, the Ekiden relay marathon. The Ekiden category will be categorized as a Southern California Championship Ekiden Marathon by Usa Track & Field. Cheryl Anker, the marathon's producer/director in collaboration with world-record holder Jacqueline Hansen, is enthusiastic about this year's events and has expectations of high participation. Anker says "This year we are expecting to have more than 5000 participants. I am excited about the addition of the Ekiden relay to our list of races and hope that corporations, associations and charitable organizations will see it as I do - as an opportunity to get involved in the marathon and to support their community". Another new and significant feature of this year is that this is the first time in the marathon's 55-year history that runners will be outfitted with chip timing devices in order to obtain precision race results. "This year I decided to use chip timing for the events" - explains Anker - "because we have three races that will be starting simultaneously: the full marathon, the half marathon and the Ekiden. The chips will enable us to keep track of everybody and to record accurate times". This marathon offers a strategic opportunity for runners interested in qualifying for other marathons as it is being held on a flat terrain and consists of a series of four loops. The event will be held at 8:00 am, Sunday, December 1, 2002 in Culver City. Participants can register online or by contacting Cheryl Anker at the "Western Hemisphere Marathon" office for an entry form (1129 Cardiff Avenue, Usa - Los Angeles, California 90035, phone: 310.246.1418).
• BRAZIL / Double participants at the Santa Catarina Marathon
The "Maratona de Santa Catarina", in the beautiful Florianópolis city, had 600 runners on its second edition, double of the previous year. The course was changed to make it faster and less hilly. Anyway, the runners had a challenger marathon since it was very windy. Among the men, Everton de Moraes shaved 4 minutes from the previous winner's time and won in 2:14.27. In the female race, Hilda dos Santos won in 2:38.58, that was almost 7 minutes better than the last winner's time. Source: www.copacabanarunners.net
• ANTARCTICA / World's toughest marathon at the South Pole
Marathoners with a sense of adventure are being assembled to compete in the second annual Adventure Network International marathon at the South Pole. The race has been scheduled for December 16, 2002 and will follow a newly designed loop course bringing runners to the southernmost point on the globe, the geographical South Pole. Competitors in last year's inaugural race agreed that the course was extraordinarily challenging and has no match anywhere else. "If you want to run the most extreme marathon in the world, this is it" says Anne Kershaw, managing director of Adventure Network International. According to second place finisher Dean Karnazes "This is unequivocally the toughest marathon on Earth". This year's race will be no different however; the course has been altered to offer competitors a more enjoyable experience and the runners will complete four six-mile loops with a final 2.2 mile stretch to reach the finishing banner at the Pole. As marathon co-ordinator Doug Stoup explains, "The change in course allows our support staff as well as spectators to cheer the runner's accomplishments as the complete each milestone lap. It also gives the runners a designated area for gear adjustments, in such an extreme climate we felt this was a necessary enhancement". Registration is limited to the first 75 athletes and the organizers ask that entrants have competed in at least four marathons and have a background in mountain running and high-altitude, cold-temperature endurance events. The entry fee is $25,000 and those accepted will undergo assessments of their health and running ability. This intense contest will be an adventure for those seeking a thrill of a new kind and a bona fide challenge for those who thought they had tried every extreme sport in the book. Adventure Network International has been bringing private travelers to the interior of Antarctica and the South Pole more than 15 years. Organization will be thorough and careful, with runners' safety and comfort the most crucial focus of the event. More details at www.adventure-network.com.
• BRAZIL / Pão de Açúcar Marathon Relay welcomed 21,000 runners
On September 23, the huge "Pão de Açúcar Marathon Relay" closed the month in great style. More than 21,000 athletes ran on the streets of São Paulo in teams of two, four and eight members. The first male team to complete the marathon was Cruzeiro in 2:03.10 and the first female team was Pão de Açúcar BM&F in 2:26.34, the new race record. Source: www.copacabanarunners.net
• HUNGARY / Beáta Rakoczai claimed the Budapest Half Marathon
On September 1st in Hungary, the "Nike Budapest Half Marathon" had William Kipsang (Kenia) first in 1:02.59 at the front of a field of 3,385 finishers, with Luka Keitany (Kenia) second in 1:03.25, Matthew Birir (Kenia) third in 1:03.28, Christopher Toroitich (Uganda) fourth in 1:03.39, and Rezessy Gergely fifth in 1:04.53. Beáta Rakoczai claimed the women's title in 1:13.39, with Judit Nagy Földingné second in 1:15.37 and Ida Kovács third in 1:16.19. Reprinted with permission from "Running Stats" (www.runningstats.com)
• MALTA / Running through the picturesque village roads of Malta
On November 10th, 2002 the "Zurrieq Half Marathon" will be held. This is a small, yet well organized race which takes the participants through the picturesque village roads of the south of Malta, offering superb land and seascapes. Even though the event cannot boast of having a participation field that runs in the thousands, the organizers can proudly say that runners will find it hard to find a race like this one. The organization committee, also made up of runners, has worked hard to combine the most important elements that make an enjoyable run. Apart from the friendly atmosphere, runners should expect excellent facilities that are intended for the well being of the participants. More details on the Internet at www.halfmarathon.org
• AUSTRIA / Ukrainian winner for the Wachau Marathon
On September 22nd in Austria, the "Wachau Marathon" had Ukrainian and Wachau Marathon Club teammates Rudyk Mykola and Andrej Rubalchenko finishing first and second. Mykola got the win in 2:18.31, with Rubalchenko runner-up in 2:19.50, Laszlo Nagy (Hungary) third in 2:20.34, and Gideon Koech (Kenia) fourth in 2:21.49. Although together at the half (1:16.09), last year's "Marathon de la Liberté" titlist and defending champion Karina Szymanska (Poland) beat Tatyana Gladyr (Ukraina/Wachau Marathon Club) by 1.07 at the finish, with Szymanska improving 9.01 over her 2001 time during for the 2:33.33 win. Placing third and fourth were Larissa Malikova (Russia) in 2:35.24 and Ida Kovacs (Hungary) in 2:36.53, with Natalia Yakimovych (Ukraina) fifth in 2:40.23. Reprinted with permission from "Running Stats" (www.runningstats.com)
• Local runners connected for charity November 10th
"World Run Day", a "virtual running event" to benefit local charity, will be held November 10, 2002 in over 200 cities worldwide. On-line event registration at active.com and includes a free multi-colored event T-shirt. Runners will be "connected" from city-to-city and nation-to-nation on event day when they represent their cities and make donations to their own local charities. The Global Fitness and Charity Challenge is already sponsored by local media in dozens of cities in exchange for their logo on the event T-shirt - now prized by runners worldwide. One-hundred percent of all runner donations go directly to their charity of choice. How? They simply run their own course, mail donations directly to their charity, and post their run-for-charity results on runday.com. "That's how these runners like it" - explains "World Run Day" Event Coordinator Bill McDermott - "It is an opportunity to connect with the global running community, be creative, and also know exactly where their donation is going. It certainly makes them feel good inside and out". In addition to creating hundreds of event registration websites at active.com, McDermott is pacing himself and others to set up registration websites in scores of European cities (with activeeurope.com) by early October, and many Australian and New Zealand cities as well. Translators are also working to put sites in China and Japan as well. In breaking stride from the traditional run-for-charity model, "World Run Day" appears to have uncovered something much more dramatic looming over the horizon: an International Day of Charity activated by the running community worldwide. "It's hard to believe, in over 2000 years of civilization we've never had an international day devoted strictly to either charity or running... now we have both" states McDermott. "Now that's simply something you can run with" he says. For additional information about "World Run Day" visit www.runday.com or call +1 (917) 626-9623.
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