Wire 29, April 15, 2004

In this edition of the Running USA wire:

1) USATF Road Running Information Center's Annual Marathon Report: Part I-II
2) Get in Gear, Team USA Minnesota Partner
3) Bolder Boulder Announces New Charity Team Challenge

Team Running USA sponsored by Nike
Supported by grants from the New York Road Runners and Atlanta Track Club

Copyright © 2004 Running USA
All Rights Reserved
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
Flora London Marathon, GBR, April 18
http://www.london-marathon.co.uk
108th B.A.A. Boston Marathon, MA, April 19
http://www.bostonmarathon.org
Country Music Marathon, Nashville, TN, April 24
http://www.cmmarathon.com
Inaugural Salt Lake City Marathon, UT, April 24
http://www.saltlakecitymarathon.com
Big Sur Int'l Marathon, Carmel, CA, April 25
http://www.bsim.org
Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon, OH, April 25
http://www.clevelandmarathon.com
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, OK, April 25
http://www.okcmarathon.com
Nike Run Hit Wonder 5K/10K, Los Angeles, CA, April 25
http://www.nike.com/nikerunning/runhitwonder/main.jhtml?ref=nike_running_usa

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ryan Lamppa, (805) 696-6232; ryan.lamppa@...

USATF RRIC MARATHON REPORT, PART I
U.S. Marathon Demographic Snapshot

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - (April 15, 2004) - With the Flora London and Boston
Marathons this weekend and the spring marathon season in full stride, it is
time again for USATF Road Running Information Center's annual marathon
report.

Monday's 108th Boston Marathon illustrates how much marathon demographics
have evolved since the 1970s Running Boom era. In 1975, female finishers
were only 1.5% of the field (28 of 1,846 overall finishers). The female
percentage continued to increase impressively to 11.7% in 1985, 35% in 2000
and 37% in 2003 as the absolute finisher totals grew respectively (3,930,
15,668 and 17,030). Boston has also experienced a gradual increase in the
age of marathoners, although its very large masters pool (53% - up from 48%
in 2000) is affected by the qualifying entry process.

A more general look at all 2003 marathons that provided results to USATF
RRIC shows consistency over the last 6 years (see charts below). The median
age for marathon finishers (39 for men, 34 for women) has not changed since
1998 and the overall median age has only increased by 1 year to 38. Also,
the percent of women (40%), masters (43%) and juniors (2%) has not varied by
more than one percentage point. Younger women are still the majority of
runners under-30 (55%) while men comprise 69% of the masters group (40 and
over).

Of course from city-to-city and year-to-year, marathon fields vary more
significantly. The 2000 New York City Marathon, for example, had the lowest
percent of female finishers (28.4) of the larger U.S. marathons tracked that
year but in the 2003 ING-sponsored edition, 34% of the finishers were women.
Another large marathon with significant increases in female participation
was Honolulu which increased from 42% in 2000 to 48% in 2003. The highest
female percent for both 2000 and 2003 occurred at Portland with 58% and 57%
respectively. The large marathon with the smallest percent of masters was
LaSalle Bank Chicago (33% both years) and the largest number of juniors (19
and under) can be found at the City of Los Angeles Marathon (8.5% in 2000
and 11% in 2003) which has the successful "Students Run L.A." training
program.

As the Median Times chart below illustrates, marathoners were a little
faster in 2003 (4:19:52 for men, 4:52:55 for women) compared to 2002, but
still significantly slower than in the 1980s and 90s. The data also shows
that there is a much bigger difference between men and women's times than
between older and younger runners. An average male masters runner could
expect to run about 7 minutes slower than an under-30 male, whereas the
typical female masters runner might run 15 minutes slower than her under-30
counterpart.

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN 1980-2003
1980 1995 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003
Women 10.5% 26% 34% 36% 38% 40% 40%
Masters 26% 41% 40% 42% 44% 43% 43%
Juniors 5% 2% 1% 1% 2% 2% 2%

MEDIAN TIMES
1980 1995 2002 2003
Males 3:32:17 3:54:00 4:20:01 4:19:52
Females 4:03:39 4:15:00 4:56:46 4:52:55

MEDIAN AGE
1980 1995 1998 2000 2002 2003
Males 34 38 38 38 39 39
Females 31 35 34 35 34 35
Median Age Overall na na 37 37 37 38

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USATF RRIC MARATHON REPORT, PART II
U.S. Marathon Count, Estimates, Growth Rate and Largest Marathons

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - (April 15, 2004) - Since the USATF Road Running
Information Center began compiling running data in 1987, we are often asked:
"How many marathons are there in the U.S.?" Currently, with the widespread
use of the Internet for running calendars and a reasonable stability for
most events of the distance, we are much closer to having a complete list of
marathons. As a start, there were 348 different U.S. marathons included in
the RRIC database and/or found on the top 10 online calendar sites over a 12
month period. If you add an estimated 25 events that are more local and not
on a national or regional radar, a reasonable minimum estimate is 375 U.S.
marathons.

Another way to approach the marathon count is to examine the certified
course list. There was a time in the mid-1990s when the total number of U.S.
certified marathon courses was around 650. Now some courses have expired
(after a 10 year life) and the current total as of March 7, 2004 was 444
"active" marathon courses. On closer examination, approximately 114 of those
were duplicates. Then remove another 15 which are probably no longer used
such as "1996 Olympic Marathon" and the canceled "DC Marathon." After adding
an estimated 55 for uncertified courses, trail marathons and courses used
more than once a year, we get the same estimate of 375.

Due to this revision of event numbers, the historical estimated finisher
totals have also been revised as follows:

Year Estimated U.S. Marathon Finisher Total
1976 25,000
1980 120,000
1990 236,000
1995 312,000
1996 340,000
1997 340,000
1998 360,000
1999 374,000
2000 389,000
2001 366,000
2002 388,000
2003 400,000

In the U.S., marathons in 2003 grew by 3% compared to 2002, while outside
the U.S., there was another year of solid growth with a 4.9% increase for
the same 62 marathons (301,747 finishers in 2002 vs. 316,470 in 2003).

For the first time in history, four marathons - New York City, Chicago,
London and Berlin - reported over 30,000 finishers in the same year (2003).
The 2003 ING New York City Marathon supplanted the Flora London Marathon as
the world's largest with a race record 34,729 finishers and #2 all-time
ranking (only the 100th Boston Marathon in 1996 with 35,868 finishers is
larger), while the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon continued its growth spurt
as it also jumped over London for the #2 world-wide position in 2003 with
32,362 finishers. Like 2002, the U.S. again had 7 of the 15 largest
marathons in the world.

For largest marathon lists, see the below.

2003
World's Largest Marathons (finishers):

1) ING New York City, NY 34,729
2) LaSalle Bank Chicago, IL 32,362
3) Flora London, GBR 32,174
4) real Berlin, GER 30,709
5) Paris, FRA 28,991
6) Honolulu, HI 22,139
7) City of Los Angeles, CA 17,097
8) Boston, MA 17,030
9) Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll, CA 16,798
10) Chosun Ilbo Chunchon, KOR 16,276
11) Marine Corps, DC 15,973
12) Olympus Hamburg, GER 15,588
13) Ford Cologne, GER 14,652
14) Stockholm, SWE 12,076
15) Naha, JPN 11,442

2003
U.S. Largest Marathons (finishers):

1) ING New York City, NY 34,729
2) LaSalle Bank Chicago, IL 32,362
3) Honolulu, HI 22,139
4) City of Los Angeles, CA 17,097
5) Boston, MA 17,030
6) Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll, CA 16,798
7) Marine Corps, DC 15,973
8) Walt Disney World, FL 9,422
9) Twin Cities, MN 7,085
10) Portland, OR 7,016
11) Grandma's, MN 6,868
12) hp houston, TX 5,735
13) Philadelphia, PA 5,354
14) Motorola Austin, TX 5,315
15) St. George, UT 4,437

Source: USA Track & Field Road Running Information Center - www.usatf.org
and www.runningusa.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Get in Gear 10K/2K Supports Team USA Minnesota with Contribution
Athletes Participate in Fit for Fun Activities

MINNEAPOLIS - (April 14, 2004) - The Get in Gear 10K/2K announced this week
that it would contribute $1,000 to Team USA Minnesota to help the team's
distance runners with travel expenses for competitions leading up to the
U.S. Olympic Trials in July. In turn, Team USA Minnesota athletes are
assisting Get in Gear with the Fit for Fun 2K training program which has
trained over 35,000 children to run since 1988.

The 27th annual Get in Gear 10K will be held April 24, along with its
companion 2K (1-1/4 mile) Fun Run. Both races start and end at Minnehaha
Park in Minneapolis. Known as the "Annual Rite of Spring," the Get in Gear
10K attracts over 5,000 runners and is Minnesota's largest 10K race.

The 2004 Fit for Fun program, coordinated by teacher Paul Vogel, is a
seven-week training program designed to introduce children in grades 3-5 to
the fun of recreational running and to the health benefits of aerobic
fitness activities. There are 33 metropolitan-area grade schools
participating this year. Team USA Minnesota athletes Katie McGregor and
Johanna Olson have given talks and run with children at two schools with
some of the largest sign-ups - Hastings Elementary and the Ramsey Fine Arts
School.

Team USA Minnesota athletes will also help with the start and finish of the
Get in Gear 2K where the Fit for Fun children will run. In 2003, over 2,400
children completed the seven week training program and more than 1,100
children participated in the 2K Fun Run.

"We are proud to help support Team USA Minnesota in its mission to provide
training opportunities for promising distance runners," said Paulette
Odenthal, executive director of the Get in Gear 10K and 2K. "We are also
honored to have the opportunity to showcase Team USA athletes as role models
to our youth that participate in our long-standing Fit for Fun program."

About Team USA Minnesota
Team USA Minnesota, part of the Team USA Distance Running program, is based
in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It was formed in January
2001 and began selecting athletes in April of that year. The Team USA
Minnesota Distance Training Center is a coordinated effort to bring local
resources together to improve post-collegiate American distance running and
to develop Olympians. The athletes are coached by Dennis Barker, head cross
country and track coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota training center's major sponsor is Life Time Fitness
(www.lifetimefitness.com) and its silver sponsor is the Twin Cities
Marathon. For more information about Team USA Minnesota, visit the web site
at www.teamusaminnesota.org.

Contact:
Pat Goodwin, (952) 924-1081; pfgoodwin@...

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Cliff Bosley, Race Director, (303) 444-7223, x14; cbosley@...
Nancy Kauffold, Public Relations, (303) 444-7223, x20;
race@...

Bolder Boulder Announces New Charity Team Challenge

BOULDER, Colo. - (April 14, 2004) - The Bolder Boulder - a Memorial Day
tradition - has teamed up with Roche Colorado Corporation to offer the
inaugural Bolder Boulder Charity Team Challenge.

This is a new team division for 2004 offered within the Bolder Boulder
Citizen's Team Competition. The winning team in this division will receive a
donation to their charity of $2,000, second place will receive $750 and
third place will receive $250. Each charity can enter only one team of four
runners, with at least one female required. All team members must either be
on staff with the charity or a board member. The winning team will be
determined by adding up the finish times of all four team members, with the
lowest total time deciding the winner.

This new division is only open to Boulder County charities. All Boulder
Charity Challenge team entries must be accompanied with letterhead from the
non-profit and a list of current staff and board members. Charities can make
this event even more fun and profitable by looking for a sponsor to match
their "win" or by having their runners collect pledges toward their run by
mile or by finish time.

Register for the Charity Team Challenge online at:
http://www.bolderboulder.com/info_teams.cfm

For more information, call (303) 444-RACE.

About Bolder Boulder
The Celestial Seasonings Bolder Boulder 10K, a Running USA Founding Member,
is the 3rd largest timed road race in the country and the 5th largest in the
world. The race attracts up to 50,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair
racers and draws professional racing teams from all over the world to
compete for the largest non-marathon prize purse in road racing. The race
starts at the north end of 30th Street in Boulder near the First National
Bank of Colorado, winds through neighborhoods with live music and
entertainment at every corner, and finishes in the University of Colorado's
Folsom Field. More than 100,000 spectators watch the festivities from inside
the stadium and along the course. Every year, the race makes donations to
local charities that provide volunteers to help stage the race. Over the
years, beneficiaries have included the Boulder Humane Society, Attention
Homes, Younglife, Boulder Optimists, local schools, and church youth groups.
The Bolder Boulder is proud to be partnered with the following primary
sponsors: Celestial Seasonings, Frontier Airlines, Millennium Hotel, New
Balance, Seagate Technology and CarFind USA.

The 26th Bolder Boulder will be held on Memorial Day, May 31, 2004.

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Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services
385 Oak View Ln
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805) 696-6232; fax (805) 967-5958
http://www.runningusa.org