RESOURCES FOR RACE DIRECTORS

2009 USA Men’s Marathon Championship to Be Staged at the ING New York City Marathon; Olympian Brian Sell Enters

Special USA Championship-only $150,000 prize purse offered by host New York Road Runners

New York, June 25, 2009—New York Road Runners will host the 2009 USA Men’s Marathon Championship in conjunction with the ING New York City Marathon 2009 on Sunday, November 1, and 2008 Olympian Brian Sell is the first leading contender to enter the field, it was announced today by NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

NYRR will offer a total prize purse of $150,000 for the USA Men’s Marathon Championship, including $40,000 for the winner. The prize money will be cumulative with that earned in the ING New York City Marathon.

“It is extra special for us to have the men’s championship back here in New York as we celebrate the 40th running of the New York City Marathon,” Wittenberg said. “Brian is a great first headliner to the strong field we expect to have on November 1.”

Sell, 31, of Rochester Hills, MI, had his career’s finest performance in New York’s Central Park at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon, where he finished third in two hours, 11 minutes, 40 seconds to qualify for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Sell went on to finish 22nd in the Olympic marathon in a time of 2:16:07. The second American to finish the Boston Marathon earlier this year, Sell will be making his ING New York City Marathon debut.

“I felt like lightning in a bottle in the Olympic Trials in New York and I’d like to do it again,” Sell said. “I have had good races in New York. From the 8K to the Olympic Trials, it’s always been a good spot for me, so I hopefully I can have another strong race in 2009.”

Sell has been one of America’s top marathoners since his attention-grabbing run from the front at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon. He was ninth in the 2005 IAAF World Marathon Championships, and fourth in the 2006 Boston Marathon.

“New York Road Runners annually puts on one of the world’s classic marathons, and they organized one of the greatest ever Olympic Team Trials in 2007,” said Doug Logan, the CEO of USA Track & Field. “We look forward to many of our top athletes returning to New York, and to the ING New York City Marathon, to compete for a national title.”

New York Road Runners previously hosted the USA Men’s and Women’s Marathon Championships in 2001 and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon in November 2007.

New York Road Runners

New York Road Runners, founded in 1958, is dedicated to promoting the sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and responding to community needs. Our road races and other fitness programs draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with our magazine and website support and promote professional and recreational running. A staff of more than 100, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend plus many track and cross country events. NYRR’s home base in New York, and its lifelong identification with Central Park, have given many of its events iconic status, attracting the world’s top professional runners. Our youth programs provide running to some 75,000 schoolchildren in New York City, around the country, and in South Africa who would otherwise have few or no fitness opportunities. For more information, visit www.nyrr.org.

The ING New York City Marathon

The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon is one of the world’s great road races, drawing nearly 105,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the more than $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and more than 300 million worldwide television viewers. As any one of the nearly 788,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime. For more information, visit www.ingnycmarathon.org.

USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org.