The Global Telegraph - October 2006

OCTOBER 2006 - VOL. 6, N. 10 (N. 63)

Publisher: Run The Planet., Seattle (Usa/Washington). Editor: Indro Neri. Associate editor: Jennifer Walker. All correspondence and suggestions are welcome. Unsolicited articles will be considered. To advertise on "The Global Telegraph", contribute to or reproduce its content please contact us via e-mail at info@runtheplanet.com. "The Global Telegraph" is published 12 times a year. The next issue will close the last day of this month. © by Run The Planet Inc., Seattle. 

FEATURED WORLDWIDE RUNNING NEWS

• CALIFORNIA (USA) / Former employee wins the Inaugural Disneyland Half Marathon
Kevin Broady posted a time of 1:11:31 to lead the field of more than 9,700 participants en route to victory in the inaugural "Disneyland Half Marathon". Broady, a former Disneyland cast member, finished just a minute and a half over Benjamin Gomez Gutierrez (Mexico), who arrived second with 1:13:04. "I used to work at Disneyland", said Broady, "I've been to Disneyland so many times. It was so much fun to run through there. It was just a really great experience". Kim Jones (Usa/Colorado) was the women's half marathon champion with a time of 1:25:03. The women's second place finisher was Edith Martinez (Usa/California) with a time of 1:27:05. First-time half marathoners and veteran runners, including participants from 49 states, plus 15 countries, enjoyed the inaugural trek through the two Disneyland Resort theme parks and beautiful streets of Anaheim, while colorful Disney characters and festive music inspired them along the way. The runners who completed the half marathon received a special Sleeping Beauty Castle medal, the newest addition in the Disney endurance series collection. The 2007 event will be held on Labor Day Weekend (August 31). For more information and to view complete searchable race results visit www.disneylandhalfmarathon.com.

• KENYA / The Greatest Race on Earth
The Greatest Race on Earth will have a $1.5 million purse provided by the Standard Chartered Bank, and will begin with the "Nairobi Marathon" on October 29th. Each of the races in the series is testing, with the "Singapore Marathon" December 3rd, the "Mumbai Marathon" on January 12th, and "Hong Kong Marathon" March 4th. Also at stake will be the Nations Challenge $400,000 to be awarded to the four athletes from one nation with the lowest cumulative time after one athlete competes in each of the four events. Peter Njenga reports for the IAAF that Teams from Europe, Asia, Kenya, the United States of America and Canada are already confirmed entrants. Reprinted with permission from "Running Stats" (www.runningstats.com)

• ARGENTINA / A Patagonia 50-Mile Trail Race
Patagonia is the ideal venue for a 50-mile (80 kilometers) trail race to showcase and experience one of the most beautiful places in the world. That is why Quest Patagonia has organized the inaugural "Q50 Patagonia" race for all levels of runners from the United States of America, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and other countries to run in an atmosphere of friendship and competition. The race is scheduled for early summer 2007 in Patagonia to take advantage of mild temperatures and long days. To assure that a wide range of mountain marathoners and ultrarunners can participate, the "Q50 Patagonia" race is offered as a race for individual runners and for two-person relay teams where each team member runs a distance of 25 miles (40 kilometers). Runners' families and friends are encouraged to travel to Patagonia to enjoy the scenic tourist attractions for a lifetime adventure memory. More details at www.q50patagonia.com.

• WASHINGTON (USA) / Post-race online video Finish Camera
The University of Washington Medical Center Seattle Marathon 2006 is pleased to announce it will be providing a post-race online video Finish Camera for its 2006 Full and Half Marathon events. This video database will allow all runners, simply by entering their name or bib number, to access thirty seconds of streaming footage showing their very own individual race finish. The complimentary site will be made available from the race's home page within seventy-two hours following completion of the November 26th event. To our knowledge this is only the second time that such a post-race searchable video database has been provided for either a full or half marathon event anywhere in the world. The "new media" production company - Marathon Video - credited with constructing the first searchable online Finish Camera database for this year's "Chevron Houston Marathon" has agreed to craft the 2006 Seattle site.

• HAWAII (USA) / Fans get inside scoop on their cellphones
ES Interactive announced that it has teamed up with WiggleWireless to offer fans the Kona Buzz, a "fly on the wall" view of what really happens before, during and after the biggest race on the planet - the "Ford Ironman World Championship" in Kona, Hawaii. Triathlon insiders, Paul Huddle and Wendy Ingraham, will be joined by Michael Lovato, Desiree Ficker and a host of others to give fans the inside skinny on the place, the players and the unique character of the granddaddy of all races. Effective immediately, fans can go to www.esinteractive.net or www.wigglewireless.com to sign up for the Kona Buzz. Text messages are delivered to the fans October 12 through October 23 through WiggleWireless' Mobile Media Portal. The service is free to fans, but standard text messaging wireless carrier fees may apply. "Frequency and relevancy is what makes mobile marketing so effective" said Jeff Pokonosky, CEO of WiggleWireless, "The Kona Buzz is an example of the kind of self-selected information people love to get on their mobile phones wherever they are, whatever they're doing". "The concept of the Kona Buzz came from my desire to make endurance sports like triathlon more spectator friendly". said ES Interactive CEO, Carri Bennet, "I've been lucky enough to have competed in Kona myself; the atmosphere is charged, there's this unique karma. I wanted to find a way to share that with the people who love this sport". Source: www.transitiontimes.com

• POLAND / Flora Warsaw Marathon results
On September 17 in Poland, the Flora Warsaw Marathon had 1996 Olympic champion Josiah Thugwane (South African Republic) and defending champion Grzegorz Gajdus among a pack of eleven. However, by 37K, it was down to three, with Vitalyi Shafar (Ukraina) eventually putting five seconds on Jonah Kemboi (Kenya), during a 2:12:29 win. Kemboi in 2:12:34 and William Kipchumba (Kenya) in 2:13:51 were also under the old course record, while Thugwane crossed fourth in 2:17:11. Gajdus did not finish. Nina Podnebesnova (Russia) captured the women's title in 2:42:43, with Malgorzata Jamroz second in 2:43:56. Reprinted with permission from "Running Stats" (www.runningstats.com)

• NEW MEXICO (USA) / Thinking pink in support of breast cancer awareness
SnowPack Chillin' Ice Packs are in the pink with their specially designed SnowPack Pink Ribbon Kit in support of breast cancer awareness. Created for ice therapy-on-the-go, the kit features the international Pink Ribbon symbol along with the slogan "Be Well". A portion from the sale of each Pink Ribbon Kit will be donated to a selected organization in hopes to further their mission of breast cancer awareness, research or education. Louise Roach, project director for the SnowPack Pink Ribbon Kit, explains, "Our company was looking for a way to give back to the community. Donating to a breast cancer nonprofit was a natural fit as we share the same philosophy of promoting health and wellness. SnowPack is committed to offering personal service and individual attention to our customers. We want to work with a group that has the same dedication and personal touch". The first donation from Pink Ribbon Kit sales was made in October of 2005 to The Women's Information Network Against Breast Cancer. A new organization will be selected this year to receive the next donation in October of 2006 (National Breast Cancer Awareness Month). The SnowPack Pink Ribbon Kit helps women with drug-free, nontoxic relief of pain and inflammation. Ice therapy is particularly suited to treating sports and overuse injuries, back pain, inflammatory arthritis and migraine headaches. Offering handy ice-therapy-on-the-go, the Pink Ribbon Kit is the perfect way to show support at a local breast cancer awareness run/walk event. Each Pink Ribbon Kit contains two long-life SnowPacks, one all-body-fit SportCover, an enameled Pink Ribbon Pin, the SnowPack Breast Cancer Resource Directory, and directions on how to use ice therapy. Designed with women in mind, the pink and white insulated tote keeps SnowPack Chillin' Ice Packs handy and icy-cold for up to seven hours. SnowPack is helping women be prepared, be well and be supported through breast cancer education and funding. The SnowPack Pink Ribbon Kit is available exclusively online at www.snowpackusa.com.