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, 2009ÛÓNew 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 ÛÓ 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 ÛÓ 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 ÛÓ 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 http://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
http://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 http://www.usatf.org/