Posted: November 11, 2004

Athletics: Peterson, Johnson Win AUA National 24 Hour Titles

Steve Peterson and Rebecca Johnson earned AUA National 24 Hour crowns under near ideal conditions for the championship race in San Diego this past weekend, except for a downpour of about one inch during the 23rd hour, according to John Metz, the Race Director.

Peterson, a Boulder, Colo. resident, took the lead around 50 miles and never surrendered it to cover 143.79 miles. A very close race, however, occurred for 2nd as Danny Ripka edged out World 24 Hour Team members John Geesler and Roy Pirrung. Geesler and Pirrung were coming off strong World 24 Hour performances only two weeks ago at the World Cup in Brno, The Czech Republic.

The women's champion Johnson of Lafayette, Colo. ran an amazing debut at 24 hours, by turning in a remarkable 130.11 miles, besting Brenda Klein by close to 7 miles. Janet Runyan a close friend of Johnson's would take the bronze medal.

Interesting to note, that since the American Ultrarunning Association raised its Masters minimum age to 45, the average age of the top six U.S. men was just shy of 49 years of age. This clearly justifies the raising of the masters age group for ultrarunning, says Kevin Setnes, President of the American Ultrarunning Association.

San Diego 1 Day: AUA National Championship - San Diego, CA, Sat-Sun, Nov 6-7, 2004

MEN
1. Steve Peterson, 42, CO, 143.79 miles 
2. Danny Ripka, 47, MN, 136.79 miles 
3. John Geesler, 45, NY, 135.43 miles 
4. Roy Pirrung, 56, WI, 135.00 miles 
5. Leon Rothstein, 47, ID, 116.69 miles

WOMEN
1. Rebecca Johnson, 35, CO, 130.11 miles
2. Brenda Klein, 36, NM, 123.84 miles 
3. Akos Konya, 30, Hungary, 118.9 miles 
4. Janet Runyan, 41, CO, 115.39 miles (3rd U.S. Women)
5. Anne Langstaff, 42, CA, 110.49 miles

Full results are at: www.runraceresults.com.

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.