Basweti Claims 2nd Straight SunTrust Richmond Marathon Title

PRESS RELEASE

Record-size field of 15,723 highlights 32nd running of event

Richmond, VA - Jynocel Basweti, 22, of Kenya took first place at the 2009 SunTrust Richmond Marathon for the second consecutive year with a time of 2:18:28, beating his 2008 finish time by four minutes. Also, twenty-nine year old Salome Kogsei surprised spectators with her first-place finish in the female division with a time of 2:40:51. The SunTrust Richmond Marathon was Kogsei’s first full marathon, which she decided to enter at the last minute.

In the second year of the McDonald’s Half Marathon, two new course records were set. Nicholas Kurgat, 30, of Kenya won the men’s division in 1:06:02. Ethiopian Alemtsehay Misganaw, 29, claimed first place for the second year in a row in the women’s division, finishing in 1:16:34, a two minute improvement from last year’s time.

Elkanah Kibet, 23, of Kenya won the men’s division of the HCA Virginia 8k (22:47), while Teyba Naser, 23, of Ethiopia won the women’s division (26:31).

An all-time record of 15,723 runners participated in this weekend’s events. The 26.2-mile SunTrust Richmond Marathon and the 13.1-mile McDonald’s Half Marathon both drew a record-breaking number of entries – 5,188 and 5,572 respectively. The HCA Virginia 8k had a total of 4,564 runners, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch Kid’s Run on Friday evening drew in 399 participants.

Among the SunTrust Richmond Marathon registrants were over 200 participants in the first-ever Runner’s World Marathon Challenge. The Marathon Challenge is an exclusive 16-week training plan created by Runner’s World’s Chief Running Officer Bart Yasso. All 14 of the magazine’s editors also ran in today’s marathon.

On top of an all-time high number of participants, spectators also crowded the streets cheering and handing out water and snacks to the runners. “The atmosphere is great. The bands and people cheering along the way really do make a difference,” said McDonald’s Half Marathon participant Trish Tait of Fredericksburg, Va.

Good friends Bob Curtin, Jr., Hampton, Va., and Gladys Sopko, Williamsburg, Va., also participated in the McDonald’s Half Marathon. Sopko, a first-time participant running in honor of her two granddaughters, said, “I loved it! I would rate it a 10.”
“We danced at all the music stops. We got a workout just dancing,” said Curtin.

The 2010 SunTrust Richmond Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, November 13th. Registration information can be found at www.richmondmarathon.org.