Posted: April 10, 2006

Athletics: St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend™ Sets Event Record with Nearly 15,000 Registrants

Maurer, Fox marathon champions; Freudenburg, Sutton half-marathon winners

ST. LOUIS - (April 9, 2006) - The Spirit of St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend™ crossed the finish line of its sixth edition this weekend with a record number of registrants and a wide variety of events for athletes of all ages and abilities. Nearly 15,000 people registered for the two-day fitness festival, representing a 45 percent increase from 2005. Participants came from 47 states and 9 foreign countries.

More than 10,000 runners and walkers registered for the AT&T Spirit of St. Louis Marathon, the National City Spirit of St. Louis Half Marathon and the Lockton Companies' Marathon Relay held Sunday, with a course that wound thru the cities of St. Louis, Clayton and University City. The Missouri State Marathon and Half Marathon Championships, open to state residents only, were held concurrently. The Honorary Co-Chairs of this year's Marathon were St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa and St. Louis Fire Chief Sherman George.

Saturday's Family Day in Forest Park also hit record numbers, attracting approximately 4,500 registrants. The participants - which included toddlers, children, adults and senior citizens - participated in Children's Fun Runs, the Spirit of St. Louis Read, Right & Run Marathon™, the 5K Run/Walk and the Mature Mile for older adults sponsored by the Washington University School of Medicine Program in Physical Therapy.

The Read, Right & Run Marathon, recognized as one of the top children's marathons in the country, nearly tripled in size this year with 2,800 students from 67 schools and organizations participating. It is the nation's only fully integrated children's marathon, encouraging students to read 26 books, perform 26 good deeds and run a combined total of 26.2 miles over a period of several months. Students run their last miles on Race Day.

"This year's Marathon Weekend turned an exciting corner in terms of participation and enthusiasm," said Nancy Lieberman, president of the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend. "We were thrilled to see a record number of St. Louisans get involved this year - from runners and walkers, to artists, performers and volunteers. They embraced the true spirit of this event: to get fit, to be healthy and above all, to have fun. It's a wonderful civic event for the greater metropolitan area."

The Spirit of St. Louis Marathon Weekend reprised its highly successful "Art & Sole" theme, integrating visual and performing arts with the art of running. Thirty, 6' x 4', hand-painted murals served as mile markers during the Marathon course, marking the start and finish lines and every mile in between. Interspersed among the murals were more than 30 performing arts groups ranging from dance troops to live music.

Men's marathon champion (and Missouri state champion) was Daniel Maurer, 23, of St. Louis in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 9 seconds, followed by Joel Eckberg, 29, of Darien, Ill. in 2:36:45 and Joseph Porter, 22, of St. Louis in 2:39:24. The women's winner was Kelly Fox, 33, of Mount Zion, Ill. in 3:05:28 with Stacie Kane, 36, of St. Louis second and state champion in 3:12:49 and Kerry Hanson, 26, of Shorewood, Wis. third (3:14:31).

The top three finishers in the half-marathon were Zac Freudenburg, 27, of St. Louis in 1:08:36 (also state champion), Vincent Morogah, 25, of St. Louis (1:11:39) and Jason Maus, 26, of Ada, Ohio (1:12:43) and for the women, state champion Katie Sutton, 26, of Kirkwood in 1:23:00; Melissa Bosslet, 21, of Champaign, Ill. second (1:23:19) and third Eileen Petito, 36, of Alton, Ill. in 1:24:46.

St. Louis Police Department Wins "Battle of the Badges" Bragging Rights
First-place in the "Battle of the Badges" category, a competition between relay teams from the St. Louis Police Department and the St. Louis Fire Department, went to the Police Department's "District Level" relay team with a time of 3:04:12.

For race results and more information on the Spirit of St. Louis Marathon & Family Fitness Weekend, visit StLouisMarathon.com. The date for the 2007 Spirit of St. Louis Marathon Weekend will be announced by April 30, 2006.

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.

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