Posted: October 18, 2004

Athletics: Kering, Sameoi Capture 25th Columbus Marathon Crowns

COLUMBUS, Ohio - (Oct. 17, 2004) - More than 6,700 marathoners, relay teams and wheelchair racers braved cold and windy conditions during the 25th running of the Columbus Marathon on Sunday. In both the male and female marathon and the male and female chair events - the champions broke out early and went unchallenged to the tape.

The men's field got off to somewhat sluggish start, with Eliud Kering (Kenya), Mike Korir (Kenya), Lakhaya Dayilla (Kenya), Titus Mutinda (Kenya), Jim Jurcevich (Columbus), Peter Vail (Canada) and Paul Aufdemberge (Michigan) all hanging together. Within the first mile, Kering decided the pace was too slow (5:30) and pulled away from the pack - never to be challenged again. He had built a comfortable 45 second lead on the chase pack when he hit mile 7 in 36:20. By mile 15, the second pack had dwindled to Columbus's own Jurcevich and Michigan's Aufdemberge - close to one minute off Kering's pace. Aufdemberge made a move on Jurcevich in mile 22 and never looked back.

Kering held on to win the 25th Columbus Marathon in 2:18:39, and Tommy Pierson's 2:11:02 course record, set in 1980, would survive another year. Aufdemberge, 39-years-old, placed 2nd in 2:20:03 and Jurcevich rounded out the top three in 2:22:30.

Emily Chepkomi Samoei (Kenya) ran her debut marathon here and did it in style by pulling away from the female pack almost immediately. She hit mile 11 at 1:05:24 and mile 17 in 1:42 - nearly 3 minutes ahead of the 2nd place female, Tatiana Belovol (Ukraine). Samoei braved the cold and blustery wind to cross the finish line in 2:38:39, with Belovol nearly 5 minutes behind in 2:43:38. The third place finisher was Melissa Rittenhouse (Wadsworth, OH) in 2:44:39.

In the men's wheelchair race, Krige Schabort (South Africa) moved out early and had a dominant victory over 2nd place finisher Adam Bleakney (Georgia - 1:37:17) and 3rd place finisher Tyler Byers (Arizona - 1:42:50). Schabort's 1:32:10 marks the third time that he has won in Columbus. Miriam Nibley (Illinois) handily won the women's open wheelchair competition in 2:02:18. Nibley's closest rival was Holly Koester (Cleveland) who finished in 3:06:22.

The 25th Columbus Marathon, presented by Nationwide, featured a field of more than 6,700 runners, 2,000 volunteers and 100,000 spectators. The Columbus Marathon is a nationally and internationally renowned marathon and is consistently ranked as one of America's top 20 marathons by Runner's World. It has also been ranked by USA Today as one of the top 10 fall marathons. For more information and results, please visit www.columbusmarathon.com or call (614) 421-RUNN.

25th Columbus Marathon - Columbus, OH, Sunday, Oct 17, 2004

MEN
1) Eliud Kering (KEN), 2:18:39
2) Paul Aufdemberge (USA/MI), 2:20:03
3) Jim Jurcevich (USA/OH), 2:22:30

WOMEN
1) Emily Chepkomi Samoei (KEN), 2:38:39
2) Tatiana Belovol (UKR), 2:43:38
3) Melissa Rittenhouse (USA/OH), 2:44:39

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.