For immediate release April 30, 2006         Contact Jay Wind 703-505-3567 / 703-218-2726

“Murderball” Movie Star-Wheelchair Olympian, International Field Highlight Potomac River Run Marathon and Half, Sunday, May 7 Arlington Cooperation Foundation and Greater Washington Sports Alliance proudly present
Marathon Logo The 3rd Annual
Potomac River Run Marathon and Half
Sunday, May 7 		Alliance Logo RyanHomes
   
    Runners from 27 states and 7 countries make history Sunday, May 7, at 7:00 am, at the third annual Potomac River Run Marathon and Half-Marathon at Belle Haven Park, a mile south of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.   
    For full information and course maps, see www.pvtc.org/marathon.  Conducted by Arlington Cooperation Foundation, Greater Washington Sports Alliance, and a co-op of charities and running clubs, the scenic, historic course starts at Belle Haven Park and heads down and back on the Mount Vernon Trail along the Potomac River through the woods of George Washington Memorial Parkway.  At sunrise, runners see herons, cranes, geese, and perhaps deer.  May 7 is "World Laughter Day" (www.worldlaughtertour.com, Time, Jan. 17, 2005, p.26), and the marathon celebrates with 26 miles of smiles. The marathon is also a Presidential Fitness Partner event, celebrating 50th anniversary of President's Council on Physical Fitness.
    MARATHON.  Among the runners are returning champion John Piggott, 40, of Williamsburg VA, with a 2:29 marathon best, winner of both previous Potomac River Run Marathons in 2004 (2:42:10) and 2005 (2:40:47).  Challenging Piggott will be 2:16 marathoner Belay Teka of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and 2:33 marathoner Remus Medley of Baltimore.
    New this year is a wheelchair division featuring Mark Zupan, 30, of Austin TX, star of the U.S. bronze-medal-winning wheelchair rugby team at the 2004 Athens Paralympic games.  Rolling alongside him is Ramon Guitard, 23, an avid runner before serving in Iraq, where he lost both legs to an IED.  Guitard has now finished marathons in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York in his wheelchair and hopes to qualify for Boston on May 7, making Potomac River Run the first race in history with both push-rim and hand-crank competitors.  Zupan and his runner friends Chris Igoe of Margate FL, Frank Cava of Haymarket VA, and Jeff Nickell of Fairfield CT, all running the race, were featured in the film "Murderball," nominated for Best Documentary Oscar at this year's Academy Awards. 
    Last year's winner Ellen Komesarook, 42, of Gaithersburg MD, returns to defend her 2005 championship of 3:23.40.  Two three-hour marathoners, Robyn Lee Boyd, 53, of Northville MI, and Yukiko Nishide, 44, of Rye NY, will try to catch her.
    HALF-MARATHON.  In the half-marathon, Ethiopians Tamrat Ayalew (a 2:12 marathoner), Tekalign Shewaye, and Fikadu Deme Jimma and Kenyan Kipkorir Rono will vie to set a Virginia state record. Alexandria's Patrick Griffith is a local legend.   At 61, deputy sheriff Griffith still runs faster than anyone else around and finished second overall in last year's half.  Top seed among women in the half is Rebecca Perlmutter, 22, of Arlington VA, who ran 1:38:28 at Two Oceans Half Marathon in Cape Town, South Africa.
   All entrants get the best goodie bag this side of Boston; SportScience performance t-shirts; refreshments (Ultima Replenisher, Hammer Gel, XS Energy Drink) on the course; finisher medals by Dan Kain Trophies; a sumptuous picnic sponsored by Armand's Chicago Pizzeria, Whole Foods and Honest Tea, and finisher certificates by mail. Cash prizes go to the top 3 overall in the marathon ($250 1st, $150 2nd, $100 3rd). Gift certificates from Georgetown Running Company,  LOCO Sports, Glory Day Grill, Kevin Grevey's Restaurant, Chadwick's, Metro 29 Diner, and Potomac River Boat Tours go to the top 3 by 10-year age-group male/female; plus gift baskets from Kiehl's Since 1851 to first over 4 hours and first over 5 hours.  Awards begin 9:20 am for the half-marathon and 11:30 am for the full marathon at Belle Haven Park.
    SPECTATORS WELCOME.  Although parking is tight at Belle Haven Park, spectators can watch the race from anywhere along the George Washington Memorial Parkway -- West Boulevard Drive, Fort Hunt Park, River Farm Drive, Lucia Lane, and Riverside Park.  At Riverside Park, members of the newly-formed wheelchair rugby team at National Rehabilitation Hospital will gather to watch Zupan and Guitard zoom by about 7:30  and 8:30 am.  In between, they will play wheelchair rugby -- the fastest game on two wheels.
    CHARITIES.  The 2005 marathon donated $5,500 to charities, and race organizers hope to donate even more in 2006.  The beneficiaries are the seven Marathon Charity Partners:
  • AIMS for India
  • Asha for Education
  • Association for India's Development (AID)
  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of National Capital Area
  • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
  • Stop the Silence: Stop Child Sexual Abuse
  • Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors                            
    •     MCP is a co-op of volunteers from seven charities allied to train together for Marine Corps Marathon and share the work of fund-raising.
        OTHER EVENTS.  The weekend's events include more than just the races.    
        Saturday, May 6, at 9 am, the day before the race, Arlington Cooperation Foundation and Northern Virginia Conservation Trust conduct a clean-up of the Mount Vernon Trail from Belle Haven to Riverside Park.  Volunteers are welcome -- bring gloves and working clothes.  Sunday, May 7, at 1 pm, after the race, the National Rehabilitation Hospital rugby team leads the clean-up.  "Our goal," said race director Jay Jacob Wind, "is to leave the campground cleaner than we found it."  Both clean-ups are listed on www.CapitalRiverRelief.org, the month-long riverfront clean-up effort, with support from Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Alice Ferguson Foundation.
        Immediately following the Saturday clean-up, Marathon Charity Partners program meets for the season's first workout, with a warmup at 9:30 am led by Velocity Sports Perforrmance.  At 10 am, marathon runners from all over the country and the world converge with MCP runners for the Friendship 5K. 
        Saturday at 12 noon, pre-race packet pickup and the marathon's College of Running open at Courtyard by Marriott, 2700 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria VA 22314.  All attendees earn a certificate, and the first 10 attendees get HaberVision sunglasses.  The College of Running is free to the public.  Guest speakers:     Saturday at 6 pm, the traditional pre-race pasta dinner kick-offs Marathon Charity Partners' 2006 training program ($12 -- open to the public), sponsored by The Rudin Family. Honored guest: two-time defending Potomac River Run champion John Piggott.
        Sunday, set up begins at 5:00 am; late packet pickup opens at 6:09 am (sunrise); non-competitive Early Bird start at 6:30 am; laughing warm-up led by certified laughter leader Scotty Scott at 6:32 am; National Anthem at 6:52 am; wheelchair start at 6:55 am; and competitive start at 7:00 am.
        KEY POINTS.  "We are proud of our international micro-marathon," said director Jay Jacob Wind. "In 2004, we overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles to make this marathon an international success.  In 2005, runners came from 24 states, plus China.  This year's field is even more diverse, from Australia, Germany, Canada, Ethiopia, Kenya, Peru, and USA.  We encourage our guests to enjoy the restaurants, shops, and theaters of Alexandria.  We thank National Park Service, our sponsors, supporting clubs, volunteers, and participants.  We keep this event in perspective -- We think of it as a big picnic preceded by a footrace."
        "This event shows why the Washington DC region is so great for sports," said Robert Sweeney, executive director of  Greater Washington Sports Alliance.  "A group of runners had a vision, and we supported it to demonstrate how inspirational sports can be for our community." MarathonGuide.com gave our 2004 and 2005 races a double five-star (top) rating.
        SPONSORS.   In addition to Greater Washington Sports Alliance, sponsors include Ryan Homes, Georgetown Running Company, The Christopher Companies, Big Wheel Bikes, E*TRADE Financial, Glory Days Grill, Gold's Gym, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Honest Tea, Kevin Grevey's Restaurant, Sunny's Executive Sedans, Velocity Sports Performance, Whole Foods Market, Bally's Sports, Dr. Myles Schneider, and XS Energy Drink, with support from Capitol Hill Runners, Chesapeake Bay Running Club, IDB Runners Club, Montgomery County Road Runners, Northern Virginia Running Club, Potomac Valley Track Club, YPK, and Reston Runners.
        Potomac River Run thanks sponsors on pre- and post-race publicity, website, t-shirt, banners, and race day.  To sponsor the marathon, see www.pvtc.org/marathonsponsor.html or contact Jay Wind (703-218-2726, racedirector@att.net)   For accommodations at Courtyard by Marriott, call 800-321-2211 or 703-329-2323 and ask for the PRMPRMA rate.

        HISTORY.  Potomac River Run Marathon continues a long tradition of DC area distance races. For 60 years, the Alexandria-based Potomac Walk (later called Alexandria Volkslauf) attracted hundreds to the Mount Vernon Trail. In 1964, the original Washington's Birthday Marathon (now in Greenbelt and Beltsville MD) ran from Mount Vernon to the Washington Monument. Marine Corps Marathon started in Arlington and DC in 1976. In 1979, Dannon sponsored Two Bridges 36-Miler up and down the trail; that event is now National Capital 20-Miler.  DC Parks and Recreation organized a hometown DC Marathon from 1981 to 1986; a private company conducted Washington DC Marathon in 2002; and some of Potomac River Run's organizers ran unofficially after Washington DC Marathon was cancelled in 2003. In 2005, Chesapeake Bay Running Club added Lower Potomac River Marathon, and this March 25, Greater Washington Sports Alliance inaugurated the new National Marathon. Potomac River Run Marathon is proud to follow that long tradition.   

  • We each have our reasons for running marathons.
  • Here is Ramon Guitard's reason for running Potomac River Run Marathon on Sunday, May 7.

    Hello,

    I am 23 years of age and am a Sergeant in the US Army and have a wife and 2 children. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY then at the age of 13 moved to SC, met my wife in high school, then after graduating high school in 2001, joined the military.

    I served in Iraq twice and unfortunately was severely injured on my second tour to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was injured on October 9, 2004, by a roadside bomb in Iraq. My injuries are right leg above knee amputation, left knee fusion, partial vision loss in my right eye, and I am a TBI (traumatic brain injury). I was approached by the Vice President of the Achilles Track Club of New York, NY early 2005, and I was asked, "What do you want to do that you can't do?"

    I said "run." Unable to run because of my injures, I was introduced to the handcrank wheelchair known as the hand-cycle. After becoming familiar with the hand-cycle, I competed in my first marathon the Marine Corp Marathon on October 30, 2005, and finished it in 3:30.

    I found something I now like that seemed to give me freedom and took my mind off my injuries. Knowing that I could go faster than the average runner, hand-cycling isn't just a sport but therapy for me, so I continued to compete in marathons across the U. S.

    So far I have completed 4 marathons and 1 half marathon and have no intentions of stopping until my goal is met. Even though I have been injured, it hasn't stopped me. What has happened has made me even stronger. I am alive and have a lot to live for.

    As I was taught from basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky "you cant smoke a rock".

    -- Ramon Guitard
    -- used by permission