Posted: December 6, 2004

Athletics: OC Marathon A Big Success

The 2004 OC Marathon Presented by Pacificare - One of the most successful inaugural marathons in history

Newport Beach, CA – (December 5th, 2004) In its inaugural year, The OC Marathon presented by Pacificare of California (NYSE: PHS) has raised close to $300,000 for ten Orange County Children's Charities. Despite the less than favorable weather conditions, 9,900 runners from 10 countries, 42 states and over 600 cities accompanied 15,000 spectators to set the high mark for one of the most successful inaugural marathons in history with many dramatic story lines and only sixty runners that did not complete the race.

Kenyans dominate men's field

The elite male athletes helped round out the competitive filed with Andrew Masuva, 40 (Bib #1) leading the pack of three Kenyan runners to take first place in The OC Marathon with a winning time of 2:23:23. Second place went to Kandie Solomon, 26 (Bib #4) with a time of 2:24:14 and Simon Sielei, 36 (Bib #2) placed third with a time of 2:28:32. Only two minutes behind Kenyan leaders was American runner David Kloz, 29 (Bib #13) from Carlsbad, California who placed fourth with a time of 2:30:01. (Photo Two - Elite Runners)

Orange County Runner Cheryl Smith leads Women's Field

Over 50 % of the runners in The Inaugural OC Marathon were female with Cheryl Smith of Aliso Viejo, California (Bib #89) leading the women's race with a winning time of 2:50:39. Amputee runner and crowd favorite, Amy Dodson, 42, (Bib #72) finished the marathon with an impressive 4:01:43. Laura Knight, 35 (Bib #3004) of Costa Mesa, California won the women's half marathon with a time of 1:25:05. (Photo Two - Amy Dodson)

Running legend bill Rodgers inspires runners of all ages

Four-time winner of The New York and Boston Marathons, Bill Rodgers, 56 (Bib #10) participated in the half marathon course and enjoyed talking to runners along the way. “No question this was a wonderful course with a lot of natural beauty and variety,” states Rodgers. “In all the years I've been running I have never seen so many young people run so well in a road race and actually make it their own.” “That says a lot about the organizers and the charities that The OC Marathon supports,” he adds.

  
Top Ten Male Marathon Finishers
1   2:23:23   5:28     Andrew Masuva   Newport Beach CA  
2   2:24:14   5:30     Kandie Solomon   Albuquerque NM  
3   2:28:32   5:40     Simon Sielei   Newport Beach CA  
4   2:30:01   5:43     David Kloz   Carlsbad CA     
5   2:34:26   5:53     James Maynard   Norwalk CA  
6   2:39:31   6:05     Chris Clark   Salem OR   
7   2:49:43   6:28     Brian Kim   Glendale CA   
8   2:50:33   6:30     Kyle Fraser   Milwaukee WI   
9   2:50:38   6:30     Tyrone Black   Los Angeles CA  
10   2:51:52   6:33     David Easa   Vista CA 

Top Ten Female Marathon Finishers
1   2:50:39   6:31     Cheryl Smith   Aliso Viejo CA    
2   3:00:25   6:53     Edith Martinez   South El Monte CA  
3   3:03:13   6:59     Melissa Marsted   Santa Barbara CA  
4   3:08:52   7:12     Mara Caples   Placentia CA  
5   3:12:06   7:20     Andrea Holsten   Carlsbad CA   
6   3:12:54   7:21     Kathy Kobrine   Irvine CA 6   
7   3:18:15   7:34     Jill Angevine Simmons   Calgary AB  
8   3:18:36   7:34     Jennifer Macduff   Huntington Beach CA   
9   3:21:34   7:41     Kelly Park   Santa Barbara CA     
10   3:21:56   7:42     Polly Crawford   Riverside CA  

The Main Reason We're Running Is For The Children

This year's inaugural OC Marathon established a unique relationship between runners, volunteers and race spectators with ten Orange County Children's Charities. In fact, The Inaugural OC Marathon generated close to $300,000 for the local children's charities listed below. To reach this goal, we inspired each runner, event team, volunteer and spectator with a special motivation that goes far beyond simply the love of competition, exercise, fun or community service. To that end, we encourage everyone to plan on participating next year in our extraordinary event to "Adopt-A-Children's-Charity”. The OC Marathon benefits the community-based organization ROCK (Run for Orange County Kids) with proceeds distributed to the following ten Orange County Children's Charities:

Benefactors

The OC Marathon benefits the community-based organization ROCK (Run for Orange County Kids) with proceeds distributed to the following Orange County Children's Charities:

§         Boys & Girls Club of Santa Ana
§         Cal State University, Fullerton Special Games/Kathleen Faley Memorial 
§         Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Southern California Chapter 
§         Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Orange County Chapter 
§         Olive Crest Orange County
§         Orange County Ronald McDonald House
§         Shortstop
§         The Brain Injury Foundation
§         THINK Together
§         United Cerebral Palsy Association of Orange County