Course records for marathon and half-marathon in jeopardy at 6th edition; famed Hayward Field finish
EUGENE, Ore. - (April 24, 2012) - This weekend's 6th Eugene Marathon boasts the largest and one of the most competitive elite fields in the race's history in both the half and full marathon races with runners that include Olympic hopefuls and several others capable of setting new course records in both races. The 50 registered elite runners will come from 14 states and four countries to compete at the Sunday, April 29 event. The men's marathon will have 20 competitors who went below the 2:30 mark in 2011 and the race should be especially highly contested.
One men's marathon competitor will be Aleksandar Tomas, a Serbian runner attempting to qualify for his country's Olympic team. Tomas will need to run the Olympic Marathon time standard of 2 hours, 18 minutes to make the team for the 2012 London Games.
The women's marathon will have its own Olympic hopeful in favored Slovakian marathoner Kat Janosikova. With a marathon PR of 2:42, Janosikova will likely set a new Eugene Marathon course record.
The 2012 field of elites does not end with the 26.2 mile runners. There are six male runners capable of running sub-67 minutes for the half-marathon, which would mean another new course record for the men's half. Leading the way is 2010 Eugene Marathon champion and current Eugene resident, Craig Leon. Leon finished 26th at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials last January in Houston and is ready to pop a good time over the 13.1 mile distance.
For the women's half, there will likely be two runners vying for the top spot. Those two runners include the winner of the 2011 Portland Marathon, Marci Klimek from Bend, and former Duck Bria Wetsch. Klimek's Portland victory last year was her first marathon attempt ever and Wetsch also ran a solid 1:16 half last year.
For more information on the Eugene Marathon weekend events, check out: www.eugenemarathon.com
EUGENE, Ore. - (April 24, 2012) - This weekend's 6th Eugene Marathon boasts the largest and one of the most competitive elite fields in the race's history in both the half and full marathon races with runners that include Olympic hopefuls and several others capable of setting new course records in both races. The 50 registered elite runners will come from 14 states and four countries to compete at the Sunday, April 29 event. The men's marathon will have 20 competitors who went below the 2:30 mark in 2011 and the race should be especially highly contested.
One men's marathon competitor will be Aleksandar Tomas, a Serbian runner attempting to qualify for his country's Olympic team. Tomas will need to run the Olympic Marathon time standard of 2 hours, 18 minutes to make the team for the 2012 London Games.
The women's marathon will have its own Olympic hopeful in favored Slovakian marathoner Kat Janosikova. With a marathon PR of 2:42, Janosikova will likely set a new Eugene Marathon course record.
The 2012 field of elites does not end with the 26.2 mile runners. There are six male runners capable of running sub-67 minutes for the half-marathon, which would mean another new course record for the men's half. Leading the way is 2010 Eugene Marathon champion and current Eugene resident, Craig Leon. Leon finished 26th at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials last January in Houston and is ready to pop a good time over the 13.1 mile distance.
For the women's half, there will likely be two runners vying for the top spot. Those two runners include the winner of the 2011 Portland Marathon, Marci Klimek from Bend, and former Duck Bria Wetsch. Klimek's Portland victory last year was her first marathon attempt ever and Wetsch also ran a solid 1:16 half last year.
For more information on the Eugene Marathon weekend events, check out: www.eugenemarathon.com
this article Courtesy of Running USA wire
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