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MADISON, Wis. - (April 2, 2007) - Although the Mad City 100K will not start until sunrise on Saturday, April 7, race director Tim Yanacheck promises that the stars will be shining that morning in Madison.
"The stars of ultramarathoning will be here," said Yanacheck, and the competition will be intense at Mad City as it also serves as the 2007 USA 100K Road Championship.
The distance, 100 kilometers, is just over 62 miles. Competitors will run the scenic 10-kilometer course around Lake Wingra ten times providing support crews and spectators many opportunities to see the athletes during the event. There is a 13 hour time limit to complete the race.
Over 50 ultramarathoners from around the country are slated to compete at the 6:30am start in Madison's Vilas Park. The prize purse is $9650 to be awarded to the top six (6) male and female finishers in the USA Championship division (which is limited to USATF members) as follows: national champion - $2000, 2nd - $1200, 3rd - $750, 4th - $500, 5th - $250 and 6th - $125.
Athletes vying for the national title and prize money include:
* Greg Crowther, 33, Seattle - Just last month, Crowther won the USA 50K title and set a course record of 3:04 and he wants the double 50K / 100K crown. He won the prestigious Sunmart 50 Mile trail run last December. Crowther ran on the national team at the World Cup in Japan in 2005.
* Scott Jurek, 33, Seattle - For Jurek, a living legend among ultramarathoners, 100 kilometers is one of his shorter races. He has won the Western States 100 Mile race a record seven consecutive times and the notorious 135 Mile Badwater Ultramarathon through Death Valley in 2005 and 2006. Last year, Jurek also won Greece's famed 246K race, the Spartathlon, the first American male ever to do so.
* Chad Ricklefs, 39, Boulder, Colo. - A former member of the national team, Ricklefs ran the fastest 50 mile race of the year in 2004 and won the national championship. He has won the legendary high-altitude Leadville Trail 100 Mile race twice.
* Patrick Russell, 31, Minneapolis - Russell proved he is on track when he set a personal best at 50 miles earlier this year, winning the Rocky Raccoon Trail race in Texas. He is a veteran of World Cup competitions, running for the U.S. team in 2005-06.
The women's field is also very strong, according to Yanacheck, and includes at least four members of national teams:
* Nikki Kimball, 35, Bozeman, Montana - Kimball was the national 50 mile trail race champion in 2003-06, and added the road race title in 2005. She has been a U.S. national team member every year since 2001, including 2005 when the Team USA won the team gold medal.
* Julie Udchachon, 36, Eagle River, Alaska - A rookie member of the national team last year, Udchachon finished the World Cup 100K in Korea as the third American. In a record-breaking performance in 2005, she finished second in the famous JFK 50-mile race to then-national champion Anne Riddle Lundblad.
* Carolyn Smith, 41, Milwaukee - Smith also has national team credentials. Among other international ultramarathons, she finished 11th in the world at the 2005 24 Hour Run Championship, helping the U.S. win the team bronze medal.
Does Yanacheck have a favorite in the race? He doesn't hesitate. "My favorite", he boasts, "is my wife." Yanacheck just happens to be married to Ann Heaslett, 43, Madison, former national champion at 50 miles and in the 24 hour run. Heaslett has also been a member of the national ultramarathon team at the IAU World Cup 100K four times. Most recently, she has been concentrating on Ironman-distance triathlons, but Yanacheck thinks the opportunity to run a big-time ultramarathon in her hometown was too much to resist. "Just like me, Ann likes home-cooking," said Yanacheck.
The Mad City 100K could also produce some fast times by a couple of "senior" Wisconsin men:
* Roy Pirrung, 58, Sheboygan - Pirrung is a world masters champion and U.S. Open and masters champion. He has broken over 50 national records and won 50 national titles. Since 1981, Pirrung has run 80 marathons and 122 ultramarathons, along with over 500 other events. Perhaps most remarkable of all: Pirrung has completed every race he has started.
* Kevin Setnes, 53, Eagle - Setnes was national champion in this event three times, in 1996, 1997 and 1999. At the 1993 USA 24 Hour Championship, Setnes set the U.S. record by covering over 160 miles, and repeated as champ in 1999.
At stake are possible spots on the national team going to The Netherlands for the 2007 World Cup 100K this September. U.S. men must run a qualifying time of 7 hours, 20 minutes, while the standard for women is 8 hours, 40 minutes.
For more race information, visit: MadCity100K.com.
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.
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