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KAISER PERMANENTE NAPA VALLEY MARATHON ANNOUNCES ELITE ENTRANTS

NAPA, Calif. - February 23, 2010 (Revised February 24) - The Kaiser
Permanente Napa Valley Marathon announced today that a U.S. Olympian, a
member of a Team USA gold medal-winning squad, and three U.S. Olympic
Marathon Trials qualifiers are among the top entrants scheduled to
compete in the 32nd annual race on Sunday, March 7. They will join a
sold-out crowd of 2,300 participants that are ready to race, run, or jog
the scenic, 26.2-mile marathon course that spans the length of the world-
renowned Napa Valley wine country.

The rolling, point-to-point Napa Valley Marathon (NVM) course is
generally considered a fast one by competitors who have run it.

"I love everything about the course," said Dick Beardsley, a world class
marathoner in the 1980s. "I've run it more times than any other
marathon. It's the kind of course that you can really get rolling on.
For runners hoping to qualify for the Marathon Trials, the Boston
Marathon, or simply run fast, I don't think you'll find a much better course."

Beardsley holds the NVM men's course record of 2 hours, 16 minutes, and
20 seconds set in 1987, and he is the all-time fifth fastest U.S. male
marathoner (2:08:54). The NVM women's course record of 2:39:43 was set
by Diana Fitzpatrick in 1992.

This year, Devon Crosby-Helms, 27, of San Francisco will head a strong
women's elite field. Crosby-Helms scored her first-ever marathon victory
at the 2007 NVM, navigating the fast course in 2:52:49. Since then, she
has lowered her marathon personal record to 2:49:51. The lighting
designer and certified personal chef has earned more prominence,
however, at "ultra" race distances from 50 kilometers (31 miles) to 100 miles.

In fact, with only 3-1/2 years of ultrarunning experience, Crosby-Helms
has turned into one of the top female ultrarunners in the world. She has
competed on officially sanctioned (by USA Track & Field) U.S. national
teams at the last three IAU World Cup 100K races, an international event
which is often referred to as the 100K "world championship" of ultra-
distance running. At last year's IAU World Cup 100K in Torhout, Belgium,
she finished fourth overall while helping the U.S. women's team win the
team gold medal. In 2009, Crosby-Helms also set a women's course record
at the JFK 50-Miler, the oldest and largest ultra race in the country.
She earned a runner-up finish at the USA Track & Field 100K Championship
in 2007. Her first attempt at 100 miles, at the 2008 Vermont 100 miler,
resulted in victory.

Crosby-Helms will use the Napa Valley Marathon to gauge her fitness and
speed as she prepares for the challenging Western States 100 Mile
Endurance Run in June.

"The marathon is a great way to get some speed early in the season and
then build for Western States 100," she said. "My goal for Napa is just
to go out, race well, and have fun. I don't really have any expectations
since I haven't raced a road marathon in a long time."

Several women will line up at NVM's starting line with the 2012 U.S.
Women's Olympic Marathon Trials race on their minds. In 2008, the top
four female finishers at NVM all qualified for the 2008 Trials, which
were held just seven weeks later in Boston. The prestigious Trials race,
in which about 125 elite U.S. female marathoners compete, selects the
three women who comprise the U.S. marathon team at the Olympic Games.
The women's qualifying period for the 2012 Trials began with a one-day
qualifying window last October at the 2009 USA Marathon Championships,
resumed on January 1, and will close 30 days before the Trials race. The
host cities and dates for both the women's and men's Marathon Trials
will be announced by USA Track & Field within several months. Women must
finish a marathon in a time of 2:46:00 or better within the qualifying
period for acceptance into the 2012 Trials.

Meghan Arbogast, a marathon and ultramarathon competitor from Corvallis,
Ore., is headed to this year's NVM to do exactly that. Arbogast, 48, has
qualified for three previous Marathon Trials. Her running
accomplishments also include a personal marathon best of 2:45:46 and
three top-ten finishes in the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run.
Like Crosby-Helms, Arbogast competed at last year's Wold Cup 100K in
Belgium where she placed fifth, one place behind her USA teammate.

"I've really enjoyed competing in the last three U.S. Olympic Marathon
Trials, and I'm not ready to give it up," Arbogast said. "I know I'm
aging, but I want to fight it as long as I can."

Molly Friel 42, of Fresno, Calif. is hoping to qualify for her second
Olympic Marathon Trials, and she will use NVM to test her fitness level
for achieving that goal. Friel competed in the 2004 Trials where she
finished 86th in 2:57:48. Later that year, she ran her personal record
marathon time of 2:45:09 at the California International Marathon. In
2008, she was entered in the Napa Valley Marathon, ready to try and
qualify for her second Trials, but a foot injury a month before the race
forced her to cancel her plans. She is looking forward to another opportunity.

Dolores Bergmann, 38, of Chester, Calif. (near Lassen Volcanic National
Park in the Sierra-Nevada mountains) is entered in NVM still looking to
qualify for her first Marathon Trials. She was victorious in her debut
marathon, running 2:48:55 at the 2006 Newport (Oregon) Marathon, not
quite good enough to meet the 2:47:00 "B" qualifying standard for the
2008 Trials. She did not improve in four subsequent marathon finishes.
Bergmann has prepared for NVM over the winter primary by training on
snowshoes and treadmills with a weekly long road run at lower elevation.

Napa Valley Marathon entrant Abigail (Abby) Larson, 30, of Salt Lake
City, Utah has Olympic credentials. She was a member of the U.S. Olympic
cross-country ski team at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino,
Italy, competing in three events. Larson began running in college with
her cross country ski team at Northern Michigan University where she was
a four-time NCAA All-American. Following the Olympic Games, she placed
12th at the 2007 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon/San Diego in 2:53:38, her
personal best. Larson no longer skis competitively. She is currently
completing a Ph.D. in exercise and sport science at the University of
Utah and works as a community and clinical dietitian.

Additionally, three-time NVM women's champion (1997, 2005, 2009) Mary
Coordt, 40, of Elk Grove, Calif. is entered, but she is a tentative
starter. Coordt has been concertedly training for the Two Oceans
Ultramarathon in Cape Town South Africa on April 3 and will wait to see
how she feels. Coordt has already qualified for her fourth U.S. Olympic
Marathon Trials race.

Top entrants in the men's field include:

- Michael Arnstein (New York, NY), 32, the NVM men's runner-up in 2008
(2:34:07). He ran a personal record of 2:30:59 while placing second at
the Palm Beach (Fla.) Marathon last December and hopes to run 2:29 at Napa.

- Kenneth Burgess, 29, (Piedmont, Calif.), a Commander in the U.S. Coast
Guard who has a marathon best of 2:40:22 set in Boston in 2006. Burgess
co-supervised the search and recovery efforts of TWA Flight 800 in 1996
when he was stationed in Long Island Sound. The international flight
exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 230
passengers. He is competing in his first NVM.

- Sean Meissner, 38, (Sisters, Ore.), a marathoner and ultrarunner who
won marathons last year at Redding, Lake Tahoe, and Columbia Gorge using
them as training runs for ultras. His marathon PR is a solid 2:39:06
registered at the 2006 California International Marathon.

The 2010 Napa Valley Marathon starts on Sunday, March 7 at 7:00 a.m.
sharp in Calistoga on the Silverado Trail near the intersection of
Rosedale Road. The marathon's fast, USA Track & Field certified (for
accurate distance) road course runs the length of the beautiful
Silverado Trail and finishes at Vintage High School in Napa. Top runners
are expected to reach the finish between 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Runners
will receive official times up until 1:00 p.m. when the course closes.

Entry slots are still available for the companion Kiwanis 5K Fun Run,
which starts (8 a.m.) and finishes at Vintage High School on marathon morning.

Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon weekend includes a Sports and
Fitness Expo, Friday, March 5 from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday,
March 6 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel &
Spa. Also on Saturday's slate is the marathon's popular Marathon
College, an innovative speaker/seminar program that includes a "faculty"
composed of respected running authorities and celebrity runners.

For more information about the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon,
please visit the marathon's web site at www.napavalleymarathon.org.

* * * * * *

The Napa Valley Marathon appreciates generous sponsor support from
Kaiser Permanente/Thrive, Calistoga Mineral Water Company, ASICS America
Corporation, Gatorade, Silverado Trail Wineries Association, Marathon &
Beyond, Road Runners Club of America, USA Track & Field, MarathonFoto,
Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa, GU, CBS 5, Napa Valley Register, KVYN/
99.3 The Vine, KVON 1440 AM, the Napa Running Company, KCBS 740 AM,
Silverado Brewing Company, Napa Valley Bike Tours, Wine Country Inn/Napa
Valley, Clover Stornetta Dairy, and Calistoga Bed & Breakfast Consortium.

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