Posted: November 9, 2005

Athletics: Kaiser Permanente Sponsors 2006 Napa Valley Marathon

NAPA, California, November 8, 2005 - The Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers of Santa Rosa and Vallejo will sponsor the 28th running of the Napa Valley Marathon on March 5, 2006. The 2006 marathon will be officially titled the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon.

The marathon has served as the National Marathon Championship for the Road Runners Club of America since 1998, and will do so again in 2006.

"The partnering of the Napa Valley Marathon with Kaiser Permanente perfectly fits our Thrive program," said Dr. Kirk Pappas. "The Thrive program promotes people taking personal responsibility for their health, and nothing personifies that so much as fit people who have trained diligently to run 26.2 miles."

Dr. Pappas has run the Napa Valley Marathon a half-dozen times.

"We see this partnership as a perfect fit," said Rich Benyo, President of the marathon board. "We've had a decade-long relationship with Kaiser Permanente. They've provided the majority of our medical staff at the marathon for the past 11 years, and with the launch of their Thrive program, we're on the same page: Avoid illness by taking responsibility for your own fitness."

Runner's World Magazine named the Napa Valley Marathon one of the top 20 marathons in America. Earlier this year, Competitor Magazine voted the Napa Valley Marathon the best rural race in America. The race runs along the Silverado Trail from Calistoga in the northern reaches of the famed Napa Valley to Vintage High School on the northern fringes of the City of Napa.

Practicing the fit lifestyle they preach, dozens of Kaiser Permanente staff have taken part in the race, both as medical volunteers and as runners. The marathon has built a reputation as a runner's race by paying attention to detail.

"The biggest difference between this marathon and others I've done is that at the Napa Valley Marathon you're treated like an elite runner even if you're not," said Lisa Ensele, a 2005 marathon finisher.

The marathon is a non-profit corporation that benefits charities in the Napa Valley and surrounding areas.

The Kaiser Permanente Thrive program is a multi-faceted approach to promoting a physically active lifestyle while also promoting the role of the mind in preventing diseases. The Thrive program includes complementary and alternative care, healthy lifestyle programs, Weight Watchers options, the 10,000 Steps Program, plus mind and body health. The program also offers online encyclopedias that cover 1,900 health topics and identifies and explains thousands of prescription drugs.

Kaiser Permanente/San Francisco sponsors a half-marathon.

For information about the 2006 Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon, visit www.napavalleymarathon.org or contact: Marita Dorenbecher at (707) 944-1373, maritadorenbecher@sbcglobal.net, or Mark Winitz at (650) 948-0618, winitz@earthlink.net.