Margaret Okayo
Okayo, of Kenya, who missed most of the past two years due to injuries, has won four major marathon titles during her career – two New York Marathons, one Boston Marathon and one London Marathon – and was a runner-up in Chicago, finishing with an impressive marathon debut of 2:26:00 in 1999. She also won back-to-back Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathons in San Diego where she holds the course record, running a 2:25:05 in 2001.
“I am very happy to come and compete in the first Rock and Roll San Antonio Marathon. This will be my comeback race,” said Okayo.
Okayo leads an exciting women’s field which includes New Zealand Olympian Liza Hunter-Galvan, who resides locally in San Antonio, as well as Olympian Nuta Olaru of Romania, whose 2008 accomplishments include a seventh place finish at the Boston Marathon and a third place finish in San Diego.
A significant challenge could also come from Svetlana Ponomarenko of Russia, who earlier this year won the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, and has also won marathons in Frankfurt, Dallas, Twin Cities and Athens over the last 2 years.
On the men’s side, U.S. Olympian Brian Sell will run the half marathon. He competed in the marathon at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and also finished 9th at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki.
The elite field for the men’s marathon is comprised primarily of Ethiopian and Kenyan runners. The USA, Ukraine and Russia are also represented among the strong international competitors. The field will be led by 1997 and 1998 ING New York City Marathon winner John Kagwe of Kenya, owner of the second-fastest time ever winning the’97 race with a personal record of 2:08:12. He is also a previous Rock ‘n’ Roll champion, finishing first in the 2001 San Diego Marathon.
Challenging Kagwe will be 2006 P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon champion Shimeles Molla of Ethiopia, who also has a top-6 finish in a major marathon from Berlin in 2005. Molla will be joined by fellow Ethiopian Gizaw Bekele, one of the 72 athletes from Ethiopia who participated at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. His only previous marathon was in Addis Ababa, finishing 2nd to Beijing bronze medalist Tsegay Kebede.
Matt Downin, a five-time qualifier for the USA Olympic Trials, brings the top American credentials to San Antonio. In 2005, Downin finished third in the 10,000 meters at a USA Outdoor Championships, with personal best time of 28:34. He set his marathon PR of 2:14:28 with an eleventh place finish at the ING New York City Marathon in 2005, finishing the season ranked #5 in the U.S. at the 26.2 mile distance by Track & Field News.
The race course begins in scenic Lions Park and proceeds though downtown San Antonio, passing the legendary Alamo before heading into the Southtown Arts District. The marathon continues past the historic missions, through the wooded Mission Trails National Park, which runs along side the picturesque San Antonio River. The final straightaway and finish line are located at the foot of the Alamodome, site of the post race fiesta.
With a separate prize purse for Texas athletes, the inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll event will host the “Texas Showdown,” a statewide competition in which runners from throughout Texas will compete for prize money on the 13.1 and 26.2-mile race courses. In the Texas Showdown, the top male and female marathon finishers win $2,000; second-place finishers get $1,000; third-place finishers win $500.
Additionally, any male Texas athlete who completes the marathon under 2:31:00 and any Texas female athlete under 2:56:00 will receive a prize money bonus. In the half marathon, any Texas male who finishes under 1:08:30 and any Texas female under 1:17, will also receive a bonus.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon and ½ Marathon celebrates its inaugural running on Sunday, November 16, 2008 with 30,000 registered runners from all 50 U.S. states and 18 countries. For more information, visit www.rnrsa.com.
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