Posted: April 8, 2005

Athletics: News & Notes, Volume 6, Number 24

Runners "hungry" for bonus at USA 10-Mile Championships

A national title isn't all that's on the line at this weekend's USA Men's 10-mile Championships, held as part of the Papa John's 10-Miler in Louisville, Kentucky.

Papa John's is offering a $250 pizza card to the runner leading at the 5-mile mark. "Now it's on!" said Pete Julian, one of the race favorites. Taking note of high-mileage distance runners' taste for pizza and all things caloric, he added, "You'll definitely see some guys go for that." A chip mat will be placed at the 5-mile mark to determine the leader at that point. The athlete must finish in the top 15 in order to collect the bonus.

For more information on the USA Men's 10-Mile Championships, visit www.usatf.org

More Marathon Sunday in New York

More magazine, the only lifestyle publication dedicated to women over 40, will join with the New York Road Runners to host the second annual More Marathon Sunday in New York's Central Park. The event, presented by Rykä, Serenity, and Transition Lenses, consists of a marathon for women over 40, and a two-woman team half-marathon. Women participating in the half-marathon may have a partner under 40 as their teammate.

More than 3,000 participants from around the world are expected for this year's race, compared to the 2,600 runners who competed at the inaugural event last March.

For more information on the 2005 More Marathon, visit www.nyrrc.org.

Boston Marathon announces grand marshal & official starters

Jacqueline Gareau, the women's open division champion in 1980, will serve as the Boston Marathon's grand marshal this year. She will ride in a pace vehicle, ahead of the elite women's field.

Gareau, from Canada, is the Boston Marathon's first grand marshal other than John A. Kelley, who passed away on October 6, 2004. Gareau's victory 25 years ago was overshadowed by Rosie Ruiz, who only ran a part of that year's race, but who crossed the finish line ahead of Gareau. Ruiz was subsequently disqualified. Gareau will precede the Elite Women's Start, which begins from Hopkinton, Mass., at 11:31 a.m. on Monday, April 18. Besides winning in 1980, Gareau also finished as the runner-up at Boston on two other occasions (1982 and 1983). In all, she finished in the top 10 at the Boston Marathon five times.

Also, three-time champion Uta Pippig, who won the Boston Marathon in three consecutive years (1994, 1995, 1996) will be the official starter of the Elite Women's race. Last year (the first year that the Boston Marathon held a separate start for elite women), the race's honorary starter was Joan Benoit Samuelson. Pippig was sworn-in as an American citizen on July 3, 2004 at a ceremony on Boston's Esplanade. This will be her first Patriots' Day as a citizen of the USA.

Senator John F. Kerry (D., Mass.) will be the official starter of the wheelchair division race, which begins at 11:25 a.m. Kerry has been a strong supporter of the Boston Marathon's wheelchair division since the early 1980s.

Walter Brown II will be the official starter of the Noon (mass) race. Traditionally at the Boston Marathon, a member of the legendary Brown family of Boston is involved in the start of the Boston Marathon.

For more information on the 2005 Boston Marathon, visit: www.bostonmarathon.org

Bloom writes cross country book

TAFWA member and 3-time Jesse Abramson Award winner Marc Bloom has a new book out, "God on the Starting Line" (Breakaway Books), about his experience coaching a high school boys cross-country team in New Jersey.The book's sub-title is: "The triumph of a Catholic school running team and its Jewish coach." The book, a non-fiction narrative, is about the shared struggle among coach and athletes to achieve mutual understanding through the rigors of cross-country. The publication is now in its third printing.

Bloom writes on track and running for the New York Times and is a senior contributor to Runner's World. "God on the Starting Line" is his eighth book.

To purchase the book visit: www.breakawaybooks.com.