Posted: February 24, 2005

Athletics: Napa Valley Marathon - Participants Prepare For Personal Quests

NAPA, Calif. - February 23, 2005 - When 2,300 runners line up for the 27th Annual Napa Valley Marathon on Sunday, March 6, 2005, they will cover 26.2 miles on foot for as many different reasons as the mind can conjure. The sport of long distance running has changed since the 1970s and '80s when a large majority of participants entered races as competitors, intent on beating their rivals or scoring a personal record.

Today's participants in U.S. road races come in all sizes, are just as likely to be female as male, and their average age is 36.8 years old, according to data released by USA Track & Field's Road Running Information Center in 2004. The estimated number of finishers in U.S. road races jumped from 4.8 million in 1993 to 7.7 million in 2003. Many of today's runners, however, are inclined to tackle the marathon distance as a social endeavor, to raise money for charitable causes, for general fitness, or simply to complete the challenge, rather than record a fast time.

The Napa Valley Marathon asked this year's entrants to submit stories describing their reasons for entering the race.

Connie Marion, 41, of Acampo, CA, an elementary school teacher, is running the NVM to inspire her students. She has the kids running a mile or two a day until they each complete a total of 26 miles.

Lee Moncton, 51, of Cupertino, CA says he has survived both lymphoma and prostate cancer.

Juan Escobedo, 35, of Sebastopol, CA is running with his 60-year-old mother, Mercedes, who is hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Kathleen Herrera, 36, of Angwin, CA will line up at the start in memory of her recently deceased mother who ran over 40 marathons, including ultramarathons. "Her spirit lives on in me," Herrera said.

Mark Smith, 49, of Napa, ran his last marathon 20 years ago at the NVM in a respectable 2:59:18. He's returning to marathon running at this year's race.

Michael Griffin, 32, of Santa Rosa, CA started training for the race after his 8-year-old daughter unexpectedly died last year. "Training for this marathon has helped me release some of the pain," he said.

Cecilia Joyce, 48, a San Francisco resident, started participating in marathons and triathlons after a double mastectomy due to breast cancer in 2000.

Lindsay Carl, 26, of Lompoc, CA grew up in Napa. As a graduate of Vintage High School, where NVM's finish line is located, she has a special connection to the race. She feels that it's only appropriate that she finish her first marathon at her old alma mater.

About 150 participants are running to raise money for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma research as part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program.

Oakland's Hilary Cooper, 36, claims no responsibility for her marathon undertaking. "My husband is making me do this," she admitted about Graham Cooper, 35, who ran his first marathon at age 13 and is also entered.

Top entrants in the 2005 Napa Valley Marathon include a vital mix of youthful talent and fine competitors in the older ranks. The men's field includes Chris Lundstrom, 28, who coaches cross country at San Francisco State University, and owns a marathon best of 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 8 seconds. Richie Boulet, 31, of Oakland, is a sub-four-minute miler and former All-American at Cal-Berkeley who has a 2:25:46 marathon best. Also entered are Maine's Byrne Decker (2:22:48) and Matt Pulle (2:29:41) of Tennessee.

The women's field appears wide open. Contenders include Folsom, CA's Rena Schumann, 43, a veteran of over 100 ultramarathons and three top ten finishes at the Western States 100 miler. In 2004, Schumann was a member of the U.S. national team that competed at the 100K World Cup in The Netherlands. She hopes to improve upon her runner-up performance among female masters last year.

Among veteran masters runners, Helen Klein will make a third consecutive appearance. Klein, 82, of Rancho Cordova, CA holds, among many records, the world's best marathon mark of 4:31:32 for 80 to 84 year-old women.

Neither Canada's Nik Southwell, who topped last year's NVM men's race in 2:28:56, or Erin Moeller of Cedar Rapids, IA, the women's victor in 2:51:07, are expected to defend their titles. The men's course record (2:16:20) was set by Dick Beardsley in 1987. The women's standard (2:39:42) was recorded by Diana Fitzpatrick in 1992.

No matter what their motivations or abilities, runners set their sights on the Napa Valley Marathon because of its reputation as "the best little marathon in the west." The marathon's beautiful point-to-point course on the historic Silverado Trail, through the celebrated Napa wine country, has not changed in the race's 27-year history.

"Our runners tell us that we're very successful with the format that we have now, so there's no need to change," said race co-director Rich Benyo. "We're just one of those laid back races that has all the amenities but reminds you of another era."

Said Joe Henderson, a longtime writer, author of 25 running books, and advocate for the sport: "I keep coming back to Napa because it stubbornly remains a boutique race in a marathon world leaning increasingly toward big-box events. Napa is smallish in size but lacks nothing when it comes to caring for its runner-customers."

The 2005 Napa Valley Marathon is on schedule to sell out its 2,300 entry slots approximately a week before race day.

Napa Valley Marathon weekend includes a Sports and Fitness Expo, Saturday, March 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa. Also on slate is the marathon's popular Marathon College, an innovative speaker/seminar program that includes a "faculty" composed of respected running authorities and celebrity runners.

The marathon starts on Sunday, March 6 at 7:00 a.m. sharp in Calistoga on the Silverado Trail near the intersection of Rosedale Road. The race finishes at Vintage High School in Napa. Top runners are expected to reach the finish between 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Runners will be scored, and receive official times, up until 12:30 p.m. when the course closes. For more information, see the Napa Valley Marathon's web site at www.napa-marathon.com.

The Napa Valley Marathon appreciates generous sponsor support from Calistoga Mountain Spring Water, Gatorade, ASICS America Corporation, Silverado Trail Wineries Association, Marathon & Beyond, Road Runners Club of America, USA Track & Field, Marathon Photo, Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa, CBS 5 and UPN Bay Area, GU, KVYN/99.3 The Vine, KVON 1440, Wines Central, MRC Delivery Solutions, Pacific Union College, Napa Running Company, and Queen of the Valley Hospital.