Posted: November 20, 2006

Athletics: Swenson, Smith Victorious in National 24-Hour Race

By Dan Brannen GRAPEVINE, Texas - (November 19, 2006) - With the highest overall finish (men / women combined) in national ultra championship history since Ann Trason won overall in 1989, Carolyn Smith of Milwaukee continued her 3-year steady rise to the top of American women's ultradistance racing at the National 24-Hour Run Championship in Grapevine, Texas this weekend. Smith bested former National 24-hour champ Rebecca Johnson of Lafayette, Colo. by nearly 5 miles in raising her personal best distance for the all-day / all-night race by over 13 miles. In doing so, she fell less than 1/2 mile short of taking the Men's silver medal and moved all the up to #4 on the all-time U.S. women's 24-Hour list. The top 10 men and women also included one "household name" celebrity of each sex. With best-selling books, numerous national TV appearances, and major print media feature stories on their resumes, Pam Reed and Dean Karnazes each found time in their busy promotional schedules to drop in for a weekend of round-the-clock running. Unfortunately, Reed, one of America's most consistent long-range female ultrarunners over the past half-decade, had an off race but still finished in the top 10. Karnazes, having just completed his "50 marathons in 50 days" whirlwind tour of the U.S., then set out to run back home to California from New York, took a brief hiatus, flew into Dallas for the weekend, barely missed winning the men's individual bronze medal, and finally headed back to Virginia to complete his transcontinental run. Guaranteed spots on the 2007 U.S. 24-Hour Run National team (to the World 24-Hour in Quebec, Canada, July 28-29) went to the top 3 men and women. Three additional team spots for each sex will be determined and announced shortly. "Ultracentric" 24-Hour: National 24-Hour Run Championship - Grapevine, Texas, Nov. 18-19, 2006 MEN 1) Alex Swenson, 42, Vashon, WA, 146.40 miles ($1500*) 2) Roy Pirrung, 58, Sheboygan, WI, 139.68 miles ($1500*) 3) Philip McCarthy, 38, New York, NY, 138.72 miles ($1500*) 4) Dean Karnazes, 44, San Francisco, CA, 137.76 miles ($500*) 5) Scott Eppelman, 40, Coppell, TX, 135.36 miles ($500*) 6) Chuck Goetschel, 40, Trabuco Canyon, CA, 126.96 miles ($500*) 7) Akos Konya (HUN - guest), 32, Oceanside, CA, 126.24 miles 8) John Geesler, 47, Saint Johnsville, NY, 124.08 miles 9) Bill Lockton, 58, Santa Monica, CA, 123.84 miles 10) Rudy Afanador, 48, Medford, NY, 116.88 miles WOMEN 1) Carolyn Smith, 41, Milwaukee, WI, 139.20 miles ($1500*) 2) Rebecca Johnson, 37, Lafayette, CO, 134.4 miles ($1500*) 3) Connie Gardner, 43, Medina, OH, 132.72 miles ($1500*) 4) Laura Nelson, 41, Woodstock, VA, 123.12 miles ($500*) 5) Debra Horn, 47, Beachwood, OH, 121.2 miles ($500*) 6) Stephanie Ehret, 43, Boulder, CO, 115.92 miles ($500*) 7) Bonnie Busch, 48, Bettendorf, IA, 105.12 miles 8) Pam Reed, 45, Tucson, AZ, 103.44 miles 9) Carilyn Johnson, 39, El Paso, TX, 102.95 miles 10) Dorit Attias, 44, Cerrillos, NM, 101.52 miles *Pending selection to 2007 U.S. National 24-Hour Run team and participation in 2007 World 24-Hour (July 28-29, Quebec, Canada) as a member of that team. Full results at: AmericanUltra.org. Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director (805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016 Ryan@RunningUSA.org www.RunningUSA.org.

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