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Mammoth's Kastor and Hall to lead Team USA at BolderBOULDER International Team Challenge May 26 |
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Thursday, 15 May 2008 |
__BOULDER, Colo. At the 30th DICK'S Sporting Goods BolderBOULDER on May 26, U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials champions Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor will lead the men's and women's American teams in the International Team Challenge. Over the last six Challenges, the U.S. women have had good success with four team titles (2002, '03, '05 and '06) to their credit, while the U.S. men won their first and only team title in 2004.
Kastor of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist, has won the BolderBOULDER three times in her four attempts between 1999 and 2003. Other career highlights for the three-time Olympian include a World Record at 5K on the roads and marathon victories at the recent Olympic Trials in Boston, Chicago (2005) and London (2006) as well as two World Cross Country Championship silver medals (2002-03) and 25 national titles. In addition, Kastor, 35, has set 17 U.S. records including the marathon (2:19:36), the first American woman under 2:20.
Hall, who trains with Kastor and Team Running USA at altitude in Mammoth Lakes, will be making his BolderBOULDER debut. Although just 25 years old, his running resume already lists three U.S. Records (including 59:43 for the half-marathon) and four national titles (including his stirring marathon trials win in Central Park last November). At the recent Flora London Marathon, the 2005 NCAA 5000 meter champion finished 5th overall in 2:06:17, the third fastest all-time U.S. performance for the 26.2 mile distance.
This year also marks a return to the traditional BolderBOULDER point-to-point 10K course for the International Team Challenge. Since 1998, the event has been contested on a criterium-style course from Folsom Field. This change is expected to produce faster times and increase the competition of the Challenge. Overlapping start times will allow spectators to watch the finish of the men's and women's team races within 20 minutes of the end of the Memorial Day Celebration.
The complete Team USA roster, along with the rest of the international professional teams, will be announced later in May. The International Team Challenge again will offer more than $100,000 in individual and team prize money - one of the largest guaranteed non-marathon race purses.
For more information, visit BolderBOULDER.com
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 22 May 2008 )
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