Posted: January 13, 2006

Athletics: Kiplagat, Boulet Win OC Marathon

High Mark Set for Successful Second Year

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - (January 8, 2006) - In its second year, the OC Marathon presented by PacifiCare of California has raised close to $500,000 in combined fundraising efforts for eleven Orange County Children's Charities. Approximately 11,000 runners from (14) countries, (41) states and over (600) cities accompanied some 40,000 spectators on Sunday to set a high mark for one of the most successful new marathons in the world with many dramatic story lines.

"We are proud to be back for a second year," said presenting sponsor PacifiCare Chief Executive Officer, James Frey. "It's a great event to be associated with."

In an exciting men's race, Albert Kiplagat, 34, led the pack of five Kenyans with an OC Marathon winning time of 2 hours, 24 minutes, 22 seconds. Shadrack Muge finished second just two seconds back in 2:24:24 and Joseph Mutinda placed third with a time of 2:24:44. The top Orange County runner was Michael Conners, 38, from San Clemente, who placed ninth in 2:45:49.

Close to 50% of the runners in the OC Marathon were female with Magdalena Boulet, 32, from Oakland, Calif. the race champion in 2:50:41. Mary Akor was runner-up with her 2:53:57 and third place went to Katerina Stetsenko (2:55:33). Local runner Kathy Kobrine, 39, of nearby Irvine won the women's half-marathon with a time of 1:23:16.

Four-time winner of the New York and Boston Marathons, Bill Rodgers participated in the half-marathon and enjoyed talking to runners along the way. "No question this was a wonderful course with a lot of natural beauty and variety," commented Rodgers. "In all the years I've been running, I have never seen so many young people run so well in a road race and actually make it their own. That says a lot about the organizers and the charities that the OC Marathon supports."

Television and film star Autumn Reeser from the hit show "The OC" joined The Mayor of Newport Beach Don Webb and presenting sponsor representative Kate Kane from PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. to officially start The Second Annual OC Marathon on Sunday, January 8 benefiting ROCK - Run for Orange County Kids. Reeser, who plays Taylor Townsend on the hit Fox teen drama, "The OC" also participated in The OC Marathon Mayor's Walk & 5K Run post race festivities and supported the ROCK charities after the race as part of the official finish line celebration.

The OC Marathon is proud to announce KOCE-TV will premier a 30 minute recap of the OC Marathon with race coverage, runner profiles, kids run and ROCK charity story highlights. The show will run on Wednesday, January 11 at 7:30pm & 12 midnight and Thursday, January 12 at 10:30pm in Los Angeles and Orange County. KOCE TV is Broadcast Channel 50. KOCE TV is also on satellite TV or check with your local cable company to find your local station. DVD's will be available for purchase by contacting Peter Murphy from KOCE TV at (714) 895-0880.

The OC Marathon and Run for Orange County Kids (ROCK) cares about our community, the children in the community and their future health. With close to 4,000 participants under the age of eighteen participating in this year's event, the OC Marathon encouraged kids to help kids through exercise and fundraising. The youngest runners to complete the 1.2 mile OC Marathon Kid's Run were five years old with the oldest marathon runner being Sid Jones, 82, from Laguna Hills who finished the marathon in 6:59:21. Emelio Melilli, 85, from Palm Springs was the oldest half-marathon finisher with a time of 3:14:25.

This year's second annual OC Marathon established a unique relationship between runners, volunteers and race spectators with eleven Orange County Children's Charities. In fact, the OC Marathon generated close to $500,000 in combined fundraising efforts for the local children's charities.

2nd Orange County Marathon - Newport Beach, CA, Sunday, January 8, 2006

MEN
1) Albert Kiplagat, Kenya, 2:24:22, $2000
2) Shadrack Muge, Kenya, 2:24:24, $1250
3) Joseph Mutinda, Kenya, 2:24:44, $850

WOMEN
1) Magdalena Boulet, USA/CA, 2:50:41, $2000
2) Mary Akor, USA/CA, 2:53:57, $1250
3) Katerina Stetsenko, Ukraine, 2:55:33, $850

Half-Marathon
MEN
1) Carlos Carballo, USA/CA, 1:07:31
2) Kalen Abbott, USA/OR, 1:10:09
3) Nick Arciniaga, USA/CA, 1:10:15

WOMEN
1) Kathy Kobrine, USA/CA, 1:23:16
2) Emily Mitchell, USA/CA, 1:26:25
3) Homes Petrossi, USA/CA, 1:26:58

For complete race results, go to: OCMarathon.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.