Hesch, Marley Win Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon

Race record 2,401 finishers at 5th edition in beautiful Santa Ynez Valley

SOLVANG, Calif. - (May 7, 2011) - Late entries Christian Hesch and Tiffanie Marleyled a strong elite field of runners at the 5th Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon on Saturday morning. Hesch from Hollywood, CA set the pace from the start and cruised to victory in a time of 1 hour, 6 minutes, 53 seconds, defeating runner-upBryant Jensen from Ogden, UT by seven seconds with Mark Batres of Rowland Heights, CA third.

In the women's race, Marley of Lake Hughes, CA held off 2008 race winner and Masters ace Susan Loken, 47, from Phoenix, AZ in 1:22:23 to 1:22:47. Both Hesch and Marley had won their only other previous Wine Country Half Marathon (Healdsburg), and this time the race champions took home a 3L bottle of wine, a Ball Watch and $500 cash. Second place finishers received $300 in cash and magnum of wine and third place took home $200 and a magnum of wine. The top three in each age group also won a bottle of wine.

Running USA Annual Half-Marathon Report

America's favorite road race distance shows another year of phenomenal growth as women and the Rock 'n' Roll Series lead the charge; record 25 U.S. half-marathons with 10,000 or more finishers; Bupa Great North Run world's largest

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - (April 25, 2011) - If marathon mania exists, then, the half-marathon has reached hyper-mania. Last year, according to Running USA, U.S. half-marathons continued their upward trajectory as the "leader of the pack" repeated its phenomenal 24% growth rate, from approximately 1.1 million finishers in 2009 to nearly 1.4 million finishers in 2010, a record annual increase for the distance. In the same 733 U.S. half-marathons for 2009 vs. 2010, there was a 17.24% finisher increase (975,409 vs. 1,143,551).

Since 2003, the half-marathon has been the fastest growing road race distance in the United States, and for five consecutive years (2006-10), the number of 13.1 mile finishers in the U.S. has grown by 10% or more each year. Moreover, since 2000, the number of half-marathon finishers in this country has nearly tripled (482,000 to 1,385,000). In short, no other race distance comes close to this type of growth in recent years.

For the rest of the Running USA Annual Half-Marathon Report, CLICK HERE.

Special thanks to
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director.
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
http://www.runningusa.org

 

Inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon Announced by runDisney

January 2012 event weekend at Disneyland Resort to celebrate women runners amid fairy wings and pixie dust; fifth runDisney event - and second showcasing women's health, fitness and active lifestyles; registration now open

ANAHEIM, Calif. - (April 19, 2011) - Building on the near-instant success of its Princess Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World Resort, runDisney is staging a second women-specific race - the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend - in early 2012 at Disneyland Resort, giving women and girls nationwide another opportunity to celebrate health, fitness and active lifestyles. After weeks of anticipation fueled by a series of clues from Disney, the Tinker Bell event was officially revealed Tuesday at a news conference at Disneyland Resort attended by celebrities and Anaheim city officials.

Vibha Run/Walk 2011, 5/10K/Half Marathon and Carnival

The Dream Mile is the flagship event in Vibha's continued efforts to increase awareness about the plight of underprivileged children. It has come a long way since its inception in 1998. It has grown from being a small event attended primarily by volunteers and friends to a permanent fixture on the calendars of runners in the various cities in America. The increasing participation and enthusiasm for this event just goes to show how strongly people feel about the cause of underprivileged children.

Professionally Timed by OnYourMarkEvents
FREE for Children under 12
FREE T-Shirt, Food & Parking
Kid’s Carnival – Games, Face Painting, Mehendi and more…

Go here for full details!