Posted: April 24, 2006

Athletics: Arby's® Rocky Mountain Half-Marathon and Seagate Women's 8K Set for June 11

New Women's 8K Sponsor Seagate Pitches in Support of Same-Day Race Benefiting The Gathering Place

DENVER - (April 18, 2006) - The second annual Arby's® Rocky Mountain Half-Marathon and Seagate Women's 8K is slated for Sunday, June 11 with a new Women's 8K sponsor, a strong field of elite runners competing for a $25,000 purse in the half-marathon. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado and The Gathering Place, Denver's only daytime drop-in center for women and children who are experiencing homelessness and poverty.

"We are thrilled to be a part of the Rocky Mountain Half-Marathon again this year," said Leslie Andrews, Director of Marketing and Consumer Affairs for The Bailey Company, a Golden, Colo.-based Arby's franchise owner. "We've found it's a great opportunity for Arby's® to connect with people interested in a healthy lifestyle and to let them know we serve items like our All Natural Chicken line and Market Fresh Sandwiches, Salads and Wraps. Eating healthy and being active is what living in the Rocky Mountains is all about and is why Arby's is a great partner for the Rocky Mountain Half-Marathon."

This year's Women's 8K is sponsored by Seagate Technology's Longmont design center. The hard drive company has been capturing headlines recently for its new line of portable storage products designed for today's mobile lifestyle. Recognizing mobility and opportunity go hand-in-hand, Seagate signed up to support the Women's 8K and help Denver-metro women of The Gathering Place take action to improve their quality of life.

"We're extremely pleased to support The Gathering Place in its efforts to serve Denver-metro women," said Seagate's Cindy LaRocque, corporate communications manager. "These women have demonstrated a tremendous amount of courage and strength by taking that first step in overcoming adversity and turning their lives around. And you can be sure we'll take the next step for them on race day, with a contingent of Seagate women running on their behalf."

Event organizer, Band Marketing + Partners (BMP), will donate two dollars per each Seagate Women's 8K race-entry fee to The Gathering Place and Seagate will match another $1.50 per entry for a total donation of $3.50 per entry. Seagate will also donate one new Mirra 250 GB personal server and one new 400 GB External Drive to The Gathering Place office.

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"The Gathering Place is excited to benefit from this event and is, of course, very grateful to Seagate and Band Marketing for their commitment to women in Denver." said Leslie Foster, President and CEO of The Gathering Place. "Together, they join a long legacy of effective support driven by women helping women."

To further mobilize the women served by The Gathering Place, Seagate and BMP invite 8K participants to donate gently used, women's clothing suitable for job interviews to recipients of The Gathering Place through its "Hand Me Up" program. Clothing donations may be donated on the day of the race or dropped off ahead of time at any Heritage Cleaners location. In addition, 8K participants are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to the race expo for The Gathering Place food drive.

Last year's Arby's Rocky Mountain Half-Marathon attracted a strong field of elite professionals, with Julius Kibet of Kenya winning the men's elite race and setting the course record in a time of 1 hour, 4 minutes and 56 seconds and Luminita Talpos of Romania winning the women's half-marathon in 1:16:50.

Heather Fredrickson, a law student from the University of Colorado won the Women's 8K last year with a time of 32 minutes, 1 second. Her comments to the Denver Post after the race echoed those who participated in the 8K.

"It's a great event," she said. "It's really nice to have an all women's race. It's just a different feel: the starting line is more relaxed. People are nicer to each other - there's more camaraderie."

Online registration began in January 2006 and will end on June 9, 2006 at 12:00 pm PST. For additional information and further details on sponsors and in-kind donors, visit: RMRunning.com.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director

(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016

Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.

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