Posted: September 23, 2004

Athletics: USA, Canadian Teams Set for North American Marathon Relay Championship

From: Jennifer Zajac, Highland Public Relations, (330) 996-4140; jz@HighlandPR.com.

AKRON, Ohio - (Sept. 20, 2004) - The United States and Canada, which placed second and third respectively last year behind winner Mexico in the North American Men's Marathon Relay Championship, have put together teams made up of some of their country's best middle and long distance runners in an effort to claim the $25,000 first place prize money and continental bragging rights.

Mexico won the event last year during the inaugural running of the Road Runner Akron Marathon with a time of 2:05:30. Team USA was second at 2:07:13, followed by Canada with a time of 2:09:54.

Recent Olympian Dan Browne, 29, has been selected to the U.S. relay team competing at the Akron Marathon. Browne, a Portland, Ore. resident, has personal records of 27:42.19 for 10,000 meters and 2:11:35 for the marathon. The West Point graduate dedicated his 3rd place finish in the 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials held this summer in Sacramento to his fellow soldiers who are serving in Iraq and to those who have given their lives there. In Athens, Browne competed in the 10,000 and marathon. He will be joined on the U.S. relay team by Ryan Shay, 25, who took 2nd at the USA 5K Championship earlier this month in Providence, R.I.

Shay from East Jordan, Mich. earned USA Marathon and Half-Marathon titles in 2003 and the 2001 NCAA 10,000 meter crown. The Team Running USA athlete who has a personal record in the 10,000 of 28:26.91 has also won 2004 U.S. road titles at 20K and the half-marathon.

Other U.S. relay team members include Chris Graff (Palo Alto, Calif.), Josh Eberly (Rochester Hills, Mich.), Ahman Dirks (Portland, Ore.) and Jason Hubbard (Alamosa, Colo.).

Graff, 30, placed 2nd at the USA 20K Championships in New Haven, Conn. earlier this month and he also placed 2nd at the 2004 Papa John's USA 10 Mile Championships in Louisville. Graff's personal best in the 10,000 meters is 28:08.

Eberly, 23, a 9-time All-American, was the 2003 NCAA Division II 10,000m champion and the runner-up in the 5000 meters. The Hansons-Brooks Team USA Michigan athlete has a personal best of 29:01 in the 10,000 meters.

Dirks, 30, who placed 10th in the 5000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials and 4th at the recent USA 5K Championship, has a personal best in the 5K of 14:05.

Hubbard, 29, was 20th at the 2004 Olympic Trials 10,000 meters and placed 9th in the USA 5K Championship. He has a personal best of 13:37 in the 5000 meters.

Three U.S. team members, Ryan Shay, Dan Browne, and Chris Graff, are ranked 1st, 3rd and 4th respectively in the 2004 USA Running Circuit Standings. Shay is the defending USARC Grand Prix champion.

The Canadian team includes Andrew Smith, 25, a Conference USA Cross Country Runner of the Year in 2002 while attending the University of South Florida. Smith placed 3rd in the 10,000 meters and 6th in the 5000 meters at the Canadian Track & Field Championships in June. He set his personal best in the 10,000 meters with a time of 29:45. His teammates include Ryan McKenzie, Matt Johnston, Calvin Staples, David Milne and Paul Morrison.

McKenzie, 27, was the top Canadian University Male Athlete in 2003 and has a personal best in the 5000 meters of 13:36. Johnston, 26, captured the BC Championships in the 5000 meters this year with a time of 14:04. His personal best in the 5000 meters is 13:47.98 which he set earlier this year. Staples, 27, has a personal best of 14:18 in the 5000 meters and 30:44 in the 10,000 meters. Milne, 25, has a personal best of 8:18.89 in the 3000 meters and Morrison, 24, a second place finisher in the 5000 meters at the Canadian Championships, has a personal best of 13:26.57.

The Mexican team, the defending champions, was announced earlier: Alejandro Suarez, Armando Torres, Teodoro Vega, David Galvin, Rafael Sanchez and Juan Luis Barrios.

The race will be run in an Ekiden format that includes legs of 10K, 5K, 10K, 5K and the balance of approximately 12.2K.

For additional information on this competition and the Road Runner Akron Marathon, visit the race website at: www.akronmarathon.org.

The Road Runner Akron Marathon is made possible by support of these generous sponsors:
Road Runner High Speed Online/Time Warner Cable; Marks/Ewing Family Foundation; City of Akron; Bank One; Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com; FirstEnergy; Rubber City Radio; Summa Health System/SummaCare Health Plan; WKYC/PAX 23; Brouse McDowell; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; Lockheed Martin; Bridgestone/Firestone Trust Fund; Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP; Highland PR; Roetzel & Andress and SS&G Financial Services.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.