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GILMORE AND COORDT WIN TITLES AT KAISER PERMANENTE NAPA VALLEY MARATHON

GILMORE AND COORDT WIN TITLES AT KAISER PERMANENTE NAPA VALLEY MARATHON

U.S. Soldier in Kuwait Finishes Race “Remotely”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Mark Winitz

Win-It!z Sports Public Relations

Tel: (650) 948-0618 Mobile: (650) 799-3319

NAPA, Calif. – March 1, 2009 – Peter Gilmore, 31, of San Mateo, Calif.

and Mary Coordt, 39, of Elk Grove, Calif. took home victories at today’s

31st Annual Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon (NVM). Both runners

registered clear-cut wins, well ahead of their competition. Gilmore’s

winning time was 2 hours, 23 minutes, and 5 seconds, the second fastest

men’s time at this race in the past 15 years. Coordt topped all women

with a finishing time of 2:48:54 and claimed her third victory at NVM.

She also won here in 1997 and 2005.

Despite rainy, but otherwise temperate conditions, a remarkable 1,822

runners out of 1,895 starters finished the 26.2-mile race that runs the

length of the beautiful Napa Valley. It was the all-time highest

finisher count for the race for the second year in a row. The event is

limited to 2,300 registrants, which is largely determined by the number

of available hotel rooms in the world-renowned Napa Valley wine

producing and tasting region.

Gilmore is a world-class runner who owns a swift personal best in the

marathon of 2:12:45, but this year’s NVM marks his first marathon

victory ever. Andy Martin, 34, of Bend, Ore. led the men’s race for

almost 16 miles, as Gilmore followed, but he could not match Gilmore’s

strong second half of the race over the rolling, point-to-point course.

“It took me a while for my body to loosen up because I didn’t get a

chance to warm up at all before the race,” Gilmore said. “My goal for

this race was to run a good training run, to go out at 5:30 or 5:40 (per

mile) pace and then speed up. That’s just what I did. I ran miles 21

through 25 pretty hard, which was part of the plan.”

Gilmore is preparing for a competitive, prize money marathon this coming

spring, but he hasn’t finalized plans for a specific race yet. He

finished 8th at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, but an untimely

chest cold forced him to drop out of the 2008 Trials race midway,

thwarting his Olympic aspirations.

“It turned out about how I expected,” said Martin who won three

marathons last year, but whose 2:20:04 personal record is almost eight

minutes slower than Gilmore’s. “Peter ran a strong race. I tried to keep

the pace honest for as long as I could.”

Martin finished second in 2:27:23, over four minutes behind the winner.

Former University of California-Berkeley All American James Nielsen, 29,

of Palo Alto, Calif. was third in 2:31:45.

Coordt equally dominated the women’s race following a strong fourth

place finish at last year’s NVM in which she ran a time of 2:46:30, a

personal record that qualified Coordt for her third U.S. Women’s Olympic

Marathon Trials. This year, Coordt took the lead from the starting gun

and never relinquished it. Her nearest rivals were Jenni Johnson, 29, of

Tustin, Calif. who finished second in 2:56:08 and third placer Monica

Ochs, 39, of Anacortes, Wash. in 3:03:46.

“I ran with some men for as long as I could, but I was alone from 18

miles to the finish,” said Coordt, who will turn 40 in June. “The

weather actually wasn’t that bad, but I didn’t feel perfect. Yet I’m

very happy to get my third win here.”

Christine Iwahashi (West Sacramento, Calif.) is the only other three-

time women’s winner (’86, ’87, ’90) of NVM.

“I think Mary (Coordt) is awesome,” said Iwahashi, 53, who is Coordt’s

teammate on the Sacramento-based Buffalo Chips running club. “This is a

very special race for both of us. It’s neat to see Mary’s consistency

here, and in running in general.”

Iwahashi topped the women’s 50-54 division at this year’s race in 3:41:33.

Each overall winner (Gilmore and Coordt) took home titles as 2009 Road

Runners Club of America (RRCA) national marathon champions. The event

served as RRCA’s National Marathon Championship event. Both winners won

five cases of premium wine donated by the Napa Valley Silverado Trail

Wineries Association. Each winner also carried home a specially

produced, etched bottle of Napa Valley wine.

Johannes Rudolph, 43, of Boulder, Colo. finished fourth overall in

2:33:41 and captured the men’s masters (40 years of age and older)

victory. Cinthya Vielma, 42, of San Jose, Calif. won the women’s masters

title in 3:06:15.

Although Major Tim Burgess, 37, a soldier based in Kuwait, couldn’t be

on this year’s starting line, he ran the Napa Valley Marathon “remotely”

on his U.S. Army base at Camp Virginia this morning. Burgess, who lives

in Healdsburg, Calif. was accompanied by another soldier, Captain Sam

Kang, for 15 miles. He ran the remainder of the 26.2-mile distance alone

except for two supporting Medics. Burgess finished his solo jaunt in

4:26:15, and he will be placed in the official NVM results.

“I felt great for the first 11 miles before I felt any soreness,”

Burgess reported via e-mail. “Then, just after mile 17, I started to

slow. After mile 21 I kind of shuffled along. The last two miles were

pretty tough. But I’m proud that my finishing time is almost five

minutes faster than what I ran last year at the Napa Valley Marathon.”

Burgess is the first “remote” overseas participant to finish NVM.

“We’re very proud of the accomplishments of all of this year’s Napa

Valley Marathon finishers, including Major Burgess’ valiant run,” said

Co-Race Director Rich Benyo. “Finishing a marathon is a unique personal

achievement, and we salute these runners’ commitments.”

Full race results for the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon, plus a

personal commentary and photos of Major Burgess’ remote NVM, are

available on the event’s web site at www.napavalleymarathon.org.

All proceeds from the Napa Valley Marathon (a non-profit organization)

are donated to local charities in the Napa Valley.

* * *

The Napa Valley Marathon appreciates generous sponsor support from

Kaiser Permanente, Calistoga Mineral Water Company, Gatorade, ASICS

America Corporation, Silverado Trail Wineries Association, Marathon &

Beyond, Road Runners Club of America, USA Track & Field, MarathonFoto,

Napa Valley Marriott Hotel & Spa, GU, CBS 5, Comcast, Napa Valley

Register, KVYN/99.3 The Vine, KVON 1440 AM, the Napa Running Company,

KCBS 740 AM, Silverado Brewing Company, DJ’s Growing Place, and Wine

Country Inn/Napa Valley.