FORMER STANFORD STAR LAUREN FLESHMAN WINS SUNDAY’S SEATTLE OPEN CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIC 4-KILOMETER RACE IN MEET RECORD TIME
(Seattle, WA., 25 January 2004)—In perhaps one of the most scintillating performances in the six years of the Seattle Open Cross Country Classic, former Stanford University star Lauren Fleshman won the women’s 4-kilometer title today at Seattle’s Lincoln Park in a time of 13:51, breaking the course record by 75 seconds.
Fleshman, (photo courtesy Alison Wade, www.fast-women.com) a three-time NCAA champion for the Cardinal at 5000 meters on the track, and a 14-time NCAA All American during her career on “The Farm”, took charge of the race shortly after the 2000-meter mark, hotly pursued by her former Stanford teammate Malindi Elmore, who currently resides in Calgary, AB.
As the pair ran towards the south end of the park, Fleshman began pulling away from Elmore, stretching her lead to 13 seconds over the final lap of the Lincoln Park course. Elmore also finished the race under the course record, running a time of 14: 04. In fact, third place finisher Tracy Robertson-Frack, a former University of Arkansas standout, also ducked under the previous course record time of 15:06 set by Club Northwest’s Mindy Leffler in 2001, running 15:00.
For her efforts, Fleshman, who was a member of Team USA at 5000 meters at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Paris last year, won $100.00, plus a course record bonus.
“This is perhaps one of the best races we’ve ever seen in the history of the Seattle Open”, said race director Paul Merca. “Lauren and Malindi went after it right from the get-go. They’ve known each other’s strength and weaknesses and they just went out and raced. They certainly brought the best out of each other today.”
Three-time Seattle Open women’s 6-kilometer champion Tina Connelly of Port Coquitlam, B.C., added a fourth title to her resume, easily winning the race in a time of 20:46. While Connelly, a 2000 Canadian Olympian at 10000 meters was pleased with the victory, but was disappointed that she did not regain her Seattle Open course record time of 20:29 that she lost to fellow countrywoman Emilie Mondor last year.
Former University of Puget Sound All-American Dave Davis, easily won the men’s 8-kilometer race, cruising to victory in a time of 24:41, while University of Portland freshman Michael Kilburg from Sammamish, a graduate of Seattle’s O’Dea High, won the men’s 4-kilometer race in a time of 13:31.
All four winners earned $100.00 today; however, Kilburg is ineligible to receive any prize money due to NCAA regulations.
The Seattle Open Cross Country Classic, presented by Reebok, with assistance from the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Talking Rain, the Pacific Northwest Association of USA Track & Field, Pike Place Bagels, and Active.com, is one of a series of low-cost, high performance cross country races across the country this winter designed to help runners prepare for events such as the USA Cross Country Championships in two weeks in Indianapolis, IN., and the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in March in Brussels, Belgium.
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For immediate release--23 January 2004
FORMER STANFORD STAR LAUREN FLESHMAN ADDED TO SUNDAY'S SEATTLE OPEN CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIC FIELD
(Seattle, WA)--Seattle Open Cross Country Classic race director Paul Merca
today announced that former Stanford University standout Lauren Fleshman
will compete in Sunday's women's 4-kilometer event at Lincoln Park
Fleshman, who graduated from Stanford in 2003, was a three-time NCAA5000-meter champion as a member of the Cardinal squad. During her career on "The Farm", Fleshman earned All-America honors 14 times in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track. She also represented the United States at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Paris last year in the 5000 meter run, setting a personal best of 15:12.71
The women's 4-kilometer race, which begins at 11:00 am, appears to be the
most competitive event of the Seattle Open. In addition, Fleshman's former
Stanford teammate Malindi Elmore, who was second in the Canadian Cross
Country Championships in December, and former University of Arkansas runner
Tracy Robertson-Frack are expected to challenge.
The Seattle Open Cross Country Classic, presented by Reebok, with assistance
from the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, Talking Rain, the
Pacific Northwest Association of USA Track & Field, Pike Place Bagels, and
Active.com, is one of the final high performance cross country races in the
country designed to help prepare runners for the USA Cross Country
Championships in Indianapolis, IN., on February 7-8 and the IAAF World Cross
Country Championships in March in Brussels, Belgium.
The women's 6-kilometer race, set for 11:45 am, features three-time Seattle
Open champion Tina Connelly from Port Coquitlam, B.C., Connelly, a 2000
Canadian Olympian at 10000 meters, returned to competition in 2003 after
giving birth to a daughter, Shelby Layne in 2002. She set the Seattle Open
course record of 20:30 in 2001 and aims to retake her Seattle Open course
record, which she lost to 2003 winner Emilie Mondor by one second (20:29).
Connelly's expected challenge will come from a slew of top Canadian
athletes, including Alison Rendell of Vancouver, and former University of
Washington runner Margaret Butler, both of whom competed at the World Cross
Country Championships.
Both the men's 4-kilometer (11 am) and 8-kilometer (11:45 am) races features
a group of up-and-coming regional caliber runners trying to prove fitness
going into the USA national cross country championships in two weeks. In
the 4-k, a pair of University of Portland freshmen, Michael Kilburg, and
John Hoeck are the top seeds, while in the 8-k race, Canadian
internationalist Morgan Titus is the top runner entered.
Race director Paul Merca anticipates that all four races on the schedule
will be wide-open contests, with the cream of the Northwest's distance
runners expected to run in preparation for the USA national championships
two weeks later in Indianapolis.
The USA Championships in Indianapolis is the selection race for the US
national team that will run at the IAAF World Championships in Brussels in
March.
Additionally, the Seattle Open is part of a series of races that Athletics
Canada officials are using to help evaluate their team members, as they
prepare for the World Cross Country Championships.
In conjunction with the men's 8-k and women's 6-k races is an international
team challenge competition between teams representing American states and
Canadian provinces. The first four finishers from each state or province
will score for their team, while the first six displace per International
Association of Athletics Federations rules. There is no team scoring in the
short cross country race. The Oregon men's squad and the British Columbia
women's team won at last year's Seattle Open.
The men's and women's 4-kilometer races kick off the program at 11 am,
followed by the men's 8-k and women's 6-k races, which start simultaneously
at 11:45 am. All races are on a spectator-friendly 2-kilometer loop course,
which starts and finishes adjacent to the soccer field on the north end of
Lincoln Park.
Runners who wish to enter the Seattle Open may sign up for the races
beginning at 9:30 am in front of picnic shelter #5 for a $15 entry fee.
For more information on the Seattle Open, please contact Merca at
206/499-4329, or visit Club Ballard's web site at www.clubballard.com.
--cba-
NOTES: Complete race results from the Seattle Open will be posted on the
Club Ballard web site at www.clubballard.com no later than 6 PM on Sunday
evening, barring any technical difficulties. Media wishing to receive
results before 6 PM are asked to contact Merca at 206/499-4329.
For further information on Lauren Fleshmam, please visit:
http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Fleshman_Lauren.asp and
http://www.fast-women.com/athletes/interviews/laurenfleshman02.html
For further information on Malindi Elmore, please visit:
http://www.fast-women.com/athletes/interviews/malindielmore.html
Biographical information on Tina Connelly is available at:
http://athletics.ca/article.asp?id=17
TIME SCHEDULE:
9:30 am-Course open for inspection; day of race sign-up
11:00 am-Men's and Women's 4-k race
11:45 am-Men's 8-k race and Women's 6-k race
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 20 January 2004
ENDURANCE RUNNER TINA CONNELLY SEEKS HAPPY TRAILS IN SEATTLE
In the long run, it's just one race.
But Sunday's Seattle Open Cross-Country Classic, presented by Reebok is looming as an important test for British Columbia runner Tina Connelly as the January 25th event heralds the beginning of a busy running year.
For Connelly (left; photo courtesy Alison Wade, www.fast-women.com), the event serves as a chance to move forward after what was a 2003 comeback year following the birth of her daughter, Shelby Layne, in 2002.
"I won the Seattle Open three years in a row and held the course record
until Emilie Mondor broke it by one second last year," mused 33-year-old
Connelly, a member of Canada's 2000 Olympic team and a former Canadian cross-country and 10,000-metre champion. "(The Lincoln Park course is) a muddy, hilly course which suits me well. My goal is to get my record back."
Connelly will run in the women's 6-kilometer race at 11:45 am. The Seattle Open kicks off with the men's and women's 4k race at 11:00 am, followed by the men's 8k and women's 6k races at 11:45.
Connelly trains as part of the Pacificsport National Endurance Centre-Vancouver. The centre, led by head coach Marek Jedrzejek, is made up of 15 training groups of endurance runners based in communities from the University of British Columbia. to Chilliwack.
Members compete and train at a variety of levels and include Olympians,
nationally-ranked runners and promising young competitors achieving at the
provincial level.
Connelly capped her 2003 comeback year with a second-place finish at the
California International Marathon in December, finishing in 2:34:51, just
eight seconds off her personal best. Her season also included third-place
finishes in both the 10,000 and 5,000-metre national championship races and
third at the national cross-country championships last fall.
"Three-times a bronze medallist - there was a time when I'd have been
disappointed with those results but I'm pretty jazzed that I was competitive
at all," said Connelly. " My plan for the 2003 season was to just try and
regain my fitness and build up my strength for the 2004 Olympic year. I
didn't specifically focus on the track season because I knew it would take
me about a year to get back to where I was."
Although Canada's team to the upcoming world cross-country championships in
Brussels, Belgium has yet to be made official, Connelly will likely be confirmed to
the team based on her finish at cross-country nationals while further
confirming her good fitness with the marathon result. She states if she
makes the trip to Brussels her goal will be a top-20 finish. The Seattle
Open will offer a good competitive test as many American runners are
using the event as a final prep for the February U.S. championships in
Indianapolis.
"This year, everything is about preparing for the Olympics in Athens," said
Connelly, who had hoped last year to run the onerous Canadian Olympic
marathon standard of 2:28:14. "I would like to run the 10,000 metres and
redeem myself after my dismal results in Sydney. The marathon attempt was
sort of a back up. We had hoped I'd qualify in the marathon so I'd have some
breathing room to relax and work on my 10,000."
"My approach to running now is more relaxed than before," she said. "I do
about 80 per cent of my training with Shelby in the jogging stroller so I
have to be a little more flexible with things. Since having a child I find
I'm way less stressed out about competition and results. Psychologically,
this is probably of benefit to me because I am a very intense person by
nature."
Entry forms for the Seattle Open are available at several Seattle-area sports stores, including Super Jock ‘n Jill in Green Lake; Seattle Running Company on Capitol Hill; Foot Zone in Bellevue and in Issaquah; and Sound Sports in Downtown Seattle. Interested participants may send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Club Ballard, Box 70601, Seattle, WA., 98127-0601. An entry form is available at the team’s web site, which is:
http://www.clubballard.com
The entry fee for the event is $10.00, before January 21st. There will be day-of-race registration; however, the entry fee on race day is $15.00.
Runners may also enter the Seattle Open through its online partner, Active.com. Telephone inquiries for the race may be directed to Paul Merca at 206/499-4329. You may also send email inquiries to clubalrd@earthlink.net, or visit the club’s web site at http://www.clubballard.com.
The Seattle Open Cross Country Classic is supported by Reebok, Talking Rain, Pike Place Bagel Company, and Active.com with special assistance from the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation and the Pacific Northwest Association of USA Track & Field.
TIME SCHEDULE--SEATTLE OPEN CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIC
9:30 am--Packet pickup & day of race registration opens
11:00 am--Men's & Women's 4k short cross race
11:45 am--Men's 8k & Women's 6k long cross race
For Immediate Release: Sunday, January 11, 2004
CLUB BALLARD TO HOST SEATTLE OPEN CROSS COUNTRY CLASSIC ON JANUARY 25TH AT LINCOLN PARK
Club Ballard Athletics announced that the Seattle-based track and field club will stage the Seattle Open Cross Country Classic on Sunday, January 25th, 2004 at Lincoln Park in Seattle.
Race director and Club Ballard team manager Paul Merca states that the meet will offer many of the athletes from the Pacific Northwest a final competitive opportunity before the USA Cross Country Championships in Indianapolis, IN., on February 7-8.
“As USA Track & Field has moved the national championships to February from its traditional late November/early December window in order to conform with the international calendar, the competitive opportunities for athletes wishing to run cross country races domestically after December is very limited.”
“Club Ballard is happy to provide the distance runners of this area a chance to see where they are before the national championships, and we’re delighted to stage this meet”, Merca said. “We anticipate the participation of many of the Pacific Northwest’s elite distance runners in both the short-cross (4K) and the long races, including several runners who have competed at the international level of the sport.”
In the 2003 edition of the Seattle Open, Phillimon Hanneck of Beaverton, OR., won the men’s 4-kilometer (2.46 miles) short cross race in a time of 13:06.
Hanneck, competing for NIKE, was chased by former University of Washington standout and 2002 short course winner Geoff Perry before he pulled away for the victory.
Former Arizona State University All-American Kelly MacDonald of Renton easily emerged victorious in the women’s 4-kilometer race in a time of 15:11
In a very exciting men’s10-kilometer (6.2 miles) race, Chad Johnson of Portland pulled away for the victory, winning in a time of 30:17 to defeat NIKE teammates Dave Davis (30:27) and Mike Donnelley (30:30). Hanneck, who won the 4-k race 45 minutes earlier, finished fourth in 30:58.
Emilie Mondor of Montreal, a student at British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University won the featured women’s 6-kilometer (3.74 miles) race in a course record time of 20:29, running away from fellow Canadian national team member Allison Rendell of Vancouver by 1:29. Janine Moffett of Vancouver, BC finished third in a time of 22:04.
In the Northwest International Team Challenge race held in conjunction with the men’s 10-k and women’s 6-k races, Oregon, led by Johnson cruised to victory over British Columbia and Washington, scoring a perfect 10 points.
The British Columbia women also scored a perfect 10 points to win the team title.
The meet will consist of a men’s and women’s 4-kilometer race and community run at 11:00 AM; a women’s 6-kilometer race; and a men’s 8-kilometer competition, both of which starts at 11:45 AM. The men’s 8-kilometer race is a change from previous Seattle Open races, in which the longer 10-k distance was contested.
All races will be contested over a European-style 2-kilometer loop course going through the north and central portions of Lincoln Park. This course was originally designed for the 1999 USA Women’s World Cross Country Team Trials.
The men’s 8K and the women’s 6K races also features an international team challenge competition between teams representing American states and Canadian provinces. The first four finishers from each state or province will score for their team, while the first six displace per International Association of Athletics Federation rules. There is no team scoring in the short cross country race.
Individual and team awards, courtesy of Reebok will be presented to the top finishers in each of the four races on the schedule.
Entry forms for the race are available at several Seattle-area sports stores, including Super Jock ‘n Jill in Green Lake; Seattle Running Company on Capitol Hill; Foot Zone in Bellevue and in Issaquah; and Sound Sports in Downtown Seattle. Interested participants may send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Club Ballard, Box 70601, Seattle, WA., 98127-0601. An entry form is available at the team’s web site, which is:
http://www.clubballard.com
The entry fee for the event is $10.00, before January 21st. There will be day-of-race registration; however, the entry fee on race day is $15.00.
Runners may also enter the Seattle Open through its online partner, Active.com. Telephone inquiries for the race may be directed to Paul Merca at 206/499-4329. You may also send email inquiries to clubalrd@earthlink.net, or visit the club’s web site at http://www.clubballard.com.
