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SAN DIEGO, Calif.--(June 4, 2000)--At the 3rd Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, Margaret Okayo of Kenya, in only her second marathon, used a 5:10 12th mile to break the field and went unchallenged to the tape to set a new course record of 2:27:05. With the best finish on a warm, windy day, Ethiopia's Belay Wolashe won the men's race in 2:12:45.

At 6:45am the race started under reasonable cool conditions and the early lead pack of about 20 men took advantage of the shady miles to record a string of three sub 5 minute miles in the first 10 kilometers. Philip Tarus, winner of the two previous editions, looked strong as he tracked the pace makers.

The pack reached 10 miles in 50:03 and folks on the press truck were talking about a sub 2:09 and a negative split. With the tough hills after the 10K mark taking their toll, the half-way point was reached in 1:05:06 about 45 seconds above the original target. By now the shade disappeared and there was no cloud cover to mask the cruel sun.

Tarus and Philip Tanui ran together until Tanui, brother of Moses Tanui, double Boston Marathon Champion, broke away at 18 miles. He opened a 32 second lead and looked to have the race won until a 5:25 22nd mile allowed Wolashe to reel Tanui in. The Ethiopian maintained a 5:30 per mile pace to the finish, which no one could match. He crossed the line in 2:12:45 to win by 57 seconds. Patrick Kiptum of Kenya finished second in 2:13:42 with Tanui third in 2:14:47.

"I felt confident coming into race. With the heat, the pace early on was too fast so I waited for the field to come back to me," said Wolashe, 31, who finished sixth in the 1998 race.

Okayo dominated the women's race as her lead increased to 2 1/2 minutes by mile 18. Although runner-up Svetlana Zakharova of Russia tried, she was unable to reduce the margin by more than 10 seconds. Okayo's was a heroic performance worth probably 2:24:30 on a less punishing day. Defending women's champion and former course record holder Irina Bogacheva of Kyrgystan finished sixth in 2:34:18.

"With the wind and the sun, I thought that I would run 2:30. With little competition, I was surprised to see 2:27 at the finish line," stated Okayo, 23, who was edged by Joyce Chepchumba at the 1999 LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon.

Each winner took home a prize package worth $55,000 including $10,000 and Suzuki products (the Grand Vitara SUV, an outboard engine, an all-terrain vehicle and a motorcycle).

A record field of 20,649 entered the race. The Leukemia Society was another big winner at Rock 'n' Roll as 4,300 runners from the Leukemia Society Team in Training program raised $13,000,000 in pledges at this year's race. Over the first three years of the event, Team in Training runners have raised $38,000,000 for leukemia research.

Suzuki Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
San Diego, CA, June 4, 2000

MEN
1) Belay Wolashe, Ethiopia, 2:12:45
2) Patrick Kiptum, Kenya, 2:13:42
3) Philip Tanui, Kenya, 2:14:47
4) Benson Lokorwa, Kenya, 2:15:07
5) Christopher Cheboiboch, Kenya, 2:15:35
6) Dewit Terfa, Ethiopia, 2:16:34
7) Mbarak Hussein, Kenya, 2:16:58
8) Sergey Fedotov, Russia, 2:17:54
9) Kashun Kpiso, Ethiopia, 2:18:26
10) Jonathan Ndambuki, Kenya, 2:19:15

Master (40+)
1) Oscar Diago, 41, Oceanside, 2:41:19

WOMEN
1) Margaret Okayo, Kenya, 2:27:05*
2) Svetlana Zakharova, Russia, 2:29:24
3) Hellen Kimaiyo, Kenya, 2:30:35
4) Masako Koide, Japan, 2:32:52
5) Zina Semanova, Russia, 2:33:18
6) Irina Bogacheva, Kyrgystan, 2:34:18
7) Olga Kovpotina, Russia, 2:35:59
8) Firaya Sultanova, Russia, 2:37:42
9) Anfisa Kossatcheva, Russia, 2:45:26
10) Emma Cabrera, Mexico. 2:48:51
*course record (old record 2:28:46 by Irina Bogacheva in 1999)

Master (40+)
1) Mary Burns-Prine, 42, San Diego, CA, 2:53:39

For more information and results, visit the race website at
http://www.rnrmarathon.com.

Special thanks to 
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Coordinator for providing us this press release.
USATF Road Running Information Center
5522 Camino Cerralvo, Santa Barbara, CA 93111
(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 696-6252
http://www.usaldr.org