Posted: September 7, 2005

Athletics: Olympian Rod Dixon to Direct Roadrunners Training Program for the Los Angeles Marathon

Program expands to a third location in the Inland Empire

LOS ANGELES - (August 31, 2005) - Organizers of the City of Los Angeles Marathon announced plans for its official training program, the Roadrunners, which will kick-off on September 10 in training for the 21st annual City of Los Angeles Marathon presented by Honda on March 19, 2006.

This year, the popular Roadrunners training program in Los Angeles and Ventura has expanded to a third location in the Inland Empire. Rod Dixon has been brought on board as Director of Training. Dixon, a 1972 Olympic bronze medalist whose come from behind win at the 1983 New York City Marathon is one of the most memorable in history, will build on the legacy of Roadrunners' success by offering "professional marathon training for the everyday athlete." He will bring in such legendary marathon runners as Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter and Lorraine Moller, along with experts in training and nutrition. Pat Connelly also returns for his 16th year as a coach.

The Los Angeles Roadrunners meet every Saturday morning at Westminster Avenue School in Venice at 7:00am. In 2005, the program attracted over 2,000 athletes who embarked on the 28 week, 5 day/week training program, with 99% achieving their goal of finishing the Los Angeles Marathon. The Los Angeles Roadrunners training program includes 20 running and walking pace groups, and the weekly group runs are fully supported with water, Gatorade and fruit. Participants will be provided with a training manual, in-training T-shirt and weekly lectures.

The Ventura Roadrunners meet at 7:30 every Saturday morning at San Buenaventura State Beach. Eileen and Ed Cohen will return as the Running and Walking Coaches for the fourth year in a row. Between the two of them, they have participated in 42 marathons, including a combination of 20 L.A. Marathons. In 2005, the Ventura Roadrunners had a 100% completion rate in the L.A. Marathon. Sign-ups and the first day of training is September 10.

The newly established Inland Empire Roadrunners group will meet every Saturday morning at Butterfield Park in Chino Hills at 7:00. The runners will be divided into pace groups, with all pace group leaders working under the supervision of Head Coach Stephen Sumner. Sumner is Head Coach for the Pacers Running Club and Glendora High School Girls' Cross Country.

Registration for all three locations is available online at LARoadRunners.com or starting on September 10, the first day of orientation. The cost of Roadrunners training is $75 and only $50 for participants who register for the L.A. Marathon at the same time. For more information, call (310) 444-5544.

The Los Angeles Marathon presented by Honda, is the largest marathon held in California, the fourth largest in the country and the seventh largest in the world. It is expected to draw more than 25,000 runners from 50 states and 100 countries in 2006. In total, event day will include more than 45,000 participants for the 26.2 mile run, the Acura L.A. Bike Tour and the Emerald Nuts 5k Run/Walk. Registration for all three events is now open.

Since its inception, the L.A. Marathon has raised more than $25 million for local charities by encouraging participants to run for a cause. Once again, the L.A. Marathon promises to deliver what has become known as the "Million Dollar Morning," as 50 charities will benefit from the anticipated $2.5 million raised by runners who complete the 26.2-mile run.

The 2006 Los Angeles Marathon, a Running USA Founding Member, will once again be televised live on NBC4 and Telemundo 52 and via the World Wide Web courtesy of NBC4. The Webcast enables a global audience to experience NBC4's live broadcast of the marathon in real-time by logging onto NBC4.tv or by linking through LAMarathon.com.

In addition to American Honda Motor Co., Inc., marathon sponsors include American Airlines, NBC4, Telemundo 52, Saucony and Emerald Nuts. To date, more than 375,000 runners and walkers have participated in the L.A. Marathon. For more information or to register for L.A. Marathon XXI, visit LAMarathon.com or call (310) 444-5544.

Source: Karen Kalan, The Los Angeles Marathon