Athletes Helping Athletes Silver Strand Half-Marathon Debut Successful
Paul Martin Sets Record at First Ever National Leg Amputee Championships
by Tabi King
courtesy of Running USA wire
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Contact:Tabi King , 888-566-5221
tabik@roadrunnersports.com
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - (Nov. 19, 2000) - The Athletes Helping Athletes Silver
Strand Half-Marathon debuted without a hitch under beautiful blue skies
and ideal 60 degree temperatures. Skirting the Pacific Ocean along
Coronado's Silver Strand Beach, the pancake-flat course allowed men's
first place finisher, Rick Wilhelm of Seattle, to turn in a time of
1:12:22, with women's first place finisher, Mary Coordt of Elk Grove, CA,
in at 1:24:17.
But the big news of the day was below-knee amputee Paul Martin's 1:31:49
finish which awarded him the first-ever amputee national record.
While being interviewed by local television camera crews, the Boulder,
Colorado resident commented, "This new Flex-Foot really did the trick. I
was able shave a full 12 minutes my personal record, and I finished the
race without having to walk any part of it."
Asked why he runs, the 2000 Sydney Paralymic team member and 1999 Hawaiian
Ironman physically-challenged winner responded, "I was born with a
competitive bone in my body."
Fourteen-year-old Andrew Lester, a below the knee amputee, finished second
with a time of 1:39:41.
"Andrew Lester-who pushed me real hard-is responsible for helping me set
the national record," laughed Martin. "It took me six miles to catch up to
him."
Amy Dodson, a below knee amputee from Baxter, TN set the national women's
record at 1:59:14.
Clinching a national record for his age group was 12-year-old double
above-knee amputee Rudy Garcia-Tolson of Bloomington, CA who finished his
first attempt at a half-marathon in 2:24:58.
A 7:20 miler, and 24-minute 5K runner, the young spokesman for both
Athletes Helping Athletes and the Challenged Athletes Foundation so far
had only completed a 10-mile training run.
A total of 1375 half-marathoners entered the Athletes Helping Athletes
Silver Strand Half-Marathon. All 10 amputee athletes finished the event.
Male Overall
1) Rick Wilhelm, 34, Seattle, WA 1:12:22
2) Fabio Mathias, 24, Irvine, CA 1:12:52
3) Jim Christopher, 45, Bonita, CA 1:14:29
4) Jorge Farfan, 32, Escondido, CA 1:15:56
5) Christopher Lemon, 35, San Diego 1:16:59
Female Overall
1) Mary Coordt, 31, Elk Grove, CA 1:24:17
2) Cheryl Sheremeta, 41, La Jolla, CA 1:25:03
3) Melissa Marsted, 35, Santa Barbara, CA 1:25:52
4) Marcella Teran, 45, San Diego 1:27:19
5) Maria Madueno, 44, Tijuana, MEX 1:28:42
2000 National Leg Amputee Championships Overall Results
1) Paul Martin, Boulder, CA 1:31:49* $1,500 Below Knee
2) Andrew Lester, Greensboro, NC 1:39:41 $750 Below Knee
3) Raymond Viscome, Silver Lake, NY 1:40:37 $500 Below Knee
4) Ivan Steber, Upland, CA 1:45:18 Below Knee
5) Tom Martin, Greenville, SC 1:48:28* $750 Above Knee
6) Jack Richmond, Charleston, TN 1:58:42 Below Knee
7) Amy Dodson, Baxter, TN 1:59:14* $750 Below Knee
8) Rudy Garcia-Tolson, Bloomington, CA 2:24:58 $500 Above Knee
9) Kirk Bauer, Rockville, MD 3:11:53 $250 Above Knee
10) Mary Ebright, S Lake Tahoe, CA 3:12:24 Below Knee
* Denotes national record
Dan Cronin, 59, of Coronado, CA won the wheelchair division in 1:14:30.
"Designated the National Leg Amputee Championships by Disabled Sports USA,
the Athletes Helping Athletes Silver Strand Half-Marathon has produced its
first national record holders," said Tabi King, Marketing Manager for
Athletes Helping Athletes. "Today we had some of the world's best
challenged athletes running side-by-side with their able-bodied
counterparts. Ten years ago, these record times would have been unheard of
without the both the determination of the athletes and the carbon-fiber
and alloy technologies that enable them to compete at this level."
"We've set the mark," said race director Rick Kozlowski, "so we can expect
some very fast times in the future. One nice thing about this
course--aside from the beautiful California scenery--is that the net
elevation change is something like 17 feet and as word gets out, this
November run will be one to include as competitive half-marathoners seek
to round out the year."
Athletes Helping Athletes is a training program designed for runners of
all abilities. This unique program provides diverse training
regimens--from 5K walks to marathons and everything in between--for
athletes not up to the challenge of running a full 26.2-mile marathon
distance. Runners participate by running an event to raise funds for
Athletes Helping Athletes, which, in turn, benefits challenged athletes
and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). The CAF awards grants to
athletes with disabilities so that they can purchase adaptive equipment
and pay for training and competition needs. This year alone, the
Foundation has distributed over $200,000 to worthy challenged athletes.
For more information about the Athletes Helping Athletes Silver Strand
Half-Marathon contact Tabi King at Athletes Helping Athletes, 5549 Copley
Drive, San Diego; ph: 888-566-5221 or visit the Web site at
www.athleteshelpathletes.org
# # #
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.runningusa.org
http://www.usaldr.org
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