Posted: November 14, 2005

Athletics: A Big Day in Richmond! Course and Entry Records Tumble

Gordeev takes home VW Beetle as bonus; over 10,000 entrants in all events

RICHMOND, Va. - (November 12, 2005) - Andrei Gordeev of Belarus eased into the lead at mile 8, breaking away from his training partner and seizing control to win Saturday's 28th SunTrust Richmond Marathon in a race record time of 2 hours, 14 minutes and 32 seconds. Along with pocketing $2500 for his first place finish in "America's Friendliest Marathon," Gordeev's course record earned him a one-year lease on a brand-new Volkswagen Beetle as part of the race's New Beetle Chase.

Enjoying perfect weather that saw start time temperatures about 40 degrees and virtually no wind, the 32-year-old Gordeev waved to the crowd as he crossed the finish and easily bested the previous course record time of 2:15:36 set by three-time race champion Elly Rono in 2003. The win came just 20 days after Gordeev captured the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon in a time of 2:14:59 on October 23. Russian Sergey Fedetov finished second in 2:16:49, followed by Fred Getange, James Mutuse and Aaron Saft.

On the women's side, Russian Marina Bychkova broke the tape first in a time of 2:42:40. Countrywoman Elvira Kolpakova was second, followed by Virginia Beach's Renee High, Aimee Phillippi-Taylor and Charlottesville's Milligan Grinstead.

The NTELOS 8K men's race provided a thrilling finish for the second year in a row. Vyacheslav Shabunin of Russia edged Kenyans Samuel Ndereba and Joseph Koskei at the tape to capture the win in a time of 23 minutes and 3 seconds. Paul Ngeny was just 4 seconds back in fourth place and Andrew Letherby finished fifth. In the women's race, Ukrainian Tetyana Hladyr won convincingly in 26:00, with Linet Chepkurui, Jackline Okemwa, Grace Misati and Cheryl Anderson rounding out the top five.

A total of 4,763 runners registered for this year's SunTrust Richmond Marathon, smashing last year's record of 4,221. The NTELOS 8K had 4,698 total entries, almost 700 more that the record set in 2003. With another record field in the Richmond Times-Dispatch Kids Run (929), a total of 10,390 runners registered for the event, reflecting total growth of a whopping 18% over last year's record field.

28th SunTrust Richmond Marathon & NTELOS 8K - Richmond, VA, Saturday, November 12, 2005

MEN
1) Andrei Gordeev, BLR, 2:14:32*, $2500 + Volkswagen Beetle one-year lease
2) Sergey Fedetov, RUS, 2:16:49, $1500 
3) Fred Getange, KEN, 2:16:58, $750
4) James Mutuse, KEN, 2:24:10, $500 
5) Aaron Saft, USA/VA, 2:27:37, $250
*course record (previous record, 2:15:36, Elly Rono (KEN), 2003)

WOMEN
1) Marina Bychkova, RUS, 2:42:40, $2500
2) Elvira Kolpakova, RUS, 2:43:33, $1500 
3) Renee High, USA/VA, 2:52:57, $750
4) Aimee Phillippi-Taylor, USA/PA, 2:55:35, $500
5) Milligan Grinstead, USA/VA, 2:57:15, $250

8K
MEN
1) Vyachselav Shabunin, RUS, 23:03, $1000
2) Samuel Ndereba, KEN, 23:04, $500
3) Joseph Koskei, KEN, 23:04, $250
4) Paul Ngeny, KEN, 23:07, $150
5) Andrew Letherby, AUS, 23:18, $100

WOMEN
1) Tetyana Hladyr, UKR, 26:00, $1000
2) Linet Chepkurui, KEN, 26:25, $500
3) Jackline Okemwa, KEN, 26:27, $250
4) Grace Misati, KEN, 27:02, $150
5) Cheryl Anderson, USA/VA, 27:04, $100

For more results, go to: RichmondMarathon.com.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.