Posted: May 27, 2004

Athletics: 2004 Bolder Boulder International Team Challenge Announces Entries

BOULDER, Colo. - (May 26, 2004) - The 2004 Bolder Boulder International Team Challenge is gearing up for its annual Memorial Day event. With the Summer Games in Athens fast approaching, every team is looking fit and ready to race. So far, 22 teams have signed up to take on the challenge of running the 26th Celestial Seasonings Bolder Boulder.

On the men's side, the twelve teams include: Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Great Britain, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, USA and Venezuela. On the women's side, the ten teams include: Colombia, Ecuador, Great Britain, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Russia and USA.

The International Team Challenge runs in the afternoon, after the citizen's race finishes and after the Memorial Day Tribute. Team introductions in Folsom Field on the University of Colorado campus precede the professional races. The women's race starts at 11:26am and the men's race starts at 12:15pm. Teams compete on a 10K five-lap criterium course along Folsom Street with one lap through Folsom Field. Spectators can watch both races along Folsom Street or from inside the stadium on the BuffVision big screen TV. The Bolder Boulder will also be telecast live on the Denver CBS affiliate, KCNC-TV channel 4 from 9am - 1:30pm on race day. The post-race press conference (media only) will be at 1:30pm in the Dal Ward Center.

Several key runners have already arrived in Boulder to train, including John Henwood (New Zealand), James Koskei (Kenya) and Benjamin Maiyo (Kenya). Like past editions, the Kenyan men again will be tough to beat, but the Team USA men - Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi and Abdi Abdirahman - could dethrone the defending team champions. For the women, the Kenyan, Romanian and Russian teams should contend for the team title.

The International Team Challenge, started in 1998, is the largest international road racing team competition held annually in the United States. International teams are made up of three runners per gender. The teams compete for the largest non-marathon prize purse in the world. Monies are awarded in the team and individual categories. Teams are scored cross-country style with points awarded on the basis of finishing place. The team with the lowest score for all three runners is the winner. Ties are broken by the position of the third-place finishers.

About Bolder Boulder
The Celestial Seasonings Bolder Boulder 10K, a Running USA Founding Member, is the 3rd largest timed road race in the country and the 5th largest in the world. The race attracts up to 50,000 runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers, and draws professional racing teams from all over the world to compete for the largest non-marathon prize purse in road racing. The race starts at the north end of 30th Street in Boulder near the First National Bank of Colorado, winds through neighborhoods with live music and entertainment at every corner, and finishes in the University of Colorado's Folsom Field. More than 100,000 spectators watch the festivities from inside the stadium and along the course. Every year, the race makes donations to local charities that provide volunteers to help stage the race. Over the years, beneficiaries have included the Boulder Humane Society, Attention Homes, Younglife, Boulder Optimists, local schools, and church youth groups. The Bolder Boulder is proud to be partnered with the following primary sponsors: Celestial Seasonings, Frontier Airlines, Millennium Hotel, New Balance, Seagate Technology and CarFind USA.

The 26th Bolder Boulder will be held on Memorial Day, May 31, 2004. Visit the race website at: http://www.bolderboulder.com

Bolder Boulder Int'l Team Challenge Entries with Bib #s As of May 26, 2004

MEN
Australia (AUS)
39 Brett Cartwright
38 Martin Dent
37 Kim Gillard

Colombia (COL)
36 Alirio Carrasco
35 Javier Guarin
34 William Naranjo

Costa Rica (CRC)
33 Javier Gomez
32 Jefrey Perez
31 Eric Quiroz

Ecuador (ECU)
30 Cesar Gualotuna
29 Vladimir Guerra
28 Franklin Tenorio

Ethiopia (ETH)
27 Abraham Assefa
26 Tekeste Kebede
25 Gudisa Shentama

Great Britain (GBR)
24 Andy Jones
23 Andrew Norman
22 Jason Ward

Kenya (KEN)
21 Benjamin Maiyo
20 Paul Koech
19 James Koskei

Korea (KOR)
18 Yoo Sunghoe
17 Ji Youngjun
16 You Youngjin

Mexico (MEX)
15 Francisco Bautista
14 Jose Augusto Acierno
13 Gabino Apolonia

New Zealand (NZL)
9 Michael Aish
8 John Henwood
7 Jonathan Wyatt

Venezuela (VEN)
6 Alejandro Bolivar
5 Pedro Mora
4 Larryn Sanchez

United States (USA)
3 Abdi Abdirahman
2 Alan Culpepper
1 Meb Keflezighi

WOMEN
Colombia (COL)
33 Lina Arias
32 Iglandini Gonzalez
31 Bertha Sanchez

Ecuador (ECU)
30 Wilma Guerra
29 Martha Tenorio
28 Sandra Ruales

Japan (JPN)
27 Chika Horie
26 Eri Okubo
25 Kaori Oyama

Great Britain (GBR)
24 Bev Jenkins
23 Helen Lawrence
22 Mara Rosalind Yamauchi

Kenya (KEN)
21 Anastasia Ndereba
20 Emily Samoei
19 Gladys Asiba

Mexico (MEX)
18 America Mateos
17 Angelica Sanchez
16 Madai Perez

Poland (POL)
15 Dorota Gruca
14 Edyta Lewandowska
13 Monika Trybulska

Romania (ROM)
12 Aurica Buia
11 Constantina Tomescu-Dita
10 Iulia Olteanu

Russia (RUS)
7 Ramilya Burangulova
8 Victoria Klimina
9 Elena Orlova

United States (USA)
3 Katie Blackett
2 Nicole Hunt
1 Nikole Johns