Thrilling Finishes & Record-Breaking Performances Help World Marathon Majors Usher in Brand New Era

World, national and course records, thrilling finishes, more than 300,000 participants and a championship race that went down to the final day highlighted the inaugural 2006-07 World Marathon Majors Series, and ushered in a brand new era of growth and excitement in the sport.

After a six month break, the excitement will continue at the 2008 Flora London Marathon on April 13, followed eight days later by the 112th Boston Marathon on April 21.

Here is a look back at some of the many highlights from the 2006-07 World Marathon Majors Series:

Record Breakers:
* 2006: Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN) sets a course record of 2:07:14 at the 110th Boston Marathon.
* Deena Kastor (USA) sets a new U.S. record of 2:19:36 in winning the 2006 Flora London Marathon, becoming the eighth woman to break 2:20:00.
* Ethiopians Haile Gebrselassie (2:05:56) and Gete Wami (2:21:34) each set national records in victory at the 2006 real,-BERLIN-MARATHON.
* Gebrselassie sets a new world record of 2:04:26 at the 2007 real,-BERLIN-MARATHON.
* A complete list of the national records set in WMM events in 2006-07:
MEN: Ethiopia (twice) and Italy
WOMEN: Australia, Ethiopia (three times), Nepal, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Russia (twice) and the United States of America

Thrilling Finishes
* Felix Limo (KEN) edges Martin Lel (KEN) by two seconds to win the 2006 Flora London Marathon
* Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA) beats Stephen Kiogora (KEN) by five seconds to win the 2006 ING New York City Marathon.
* Lel outsprints Abderrahim Goumri (MAR) by three seconds to win the 2007 Flora London Marathon.
* Patrick Ivuti (KEN) wins the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon by five one-hundredths of a second over Jaouad Gharib (MAR), the closest finish in WMM history.
* Berhane Adere (ETH) outsprints Adriana Pirtea (ROM) by three seconds to win the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

Winning Streaks
* 2006: Cheruiyot becomes the first man to win Boston and Chicago in the same year.
* 2006: Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT) wins her second straight ING New York City Marathon.
* 2007: Cheruiyot wins his third straight WMM event at the Boston Marathon.
* 2007: Catherine Ndereba (KEN) captures her second IAAF World Championship title. The victory is the eighth of her career in WMM events and her 16th career top-3 finish, an all-time record.
* 2007: Paula Radcliffe (GBR) wins her seventh WMM race in seven finishes at the ING New York City Marathon.
* 2007: Lel becomes the first man to win London and New York City in the same year.

Growing Fields
* 2006: 33,633 complete the largest LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon ever.
* 2007: 20,338 complete the second-largest Boston Marathon ever.
* 2007: 35,694 complete the largest Flora London Marathon ever.
* 2007: 32,638 complete the largest real,-BERLIN-MARATHON ever.
* 2007: 38,607 complete the ING New York City Marathon, making it the largest marathon ever run.

The 2006-07 season culminated the day after the 2007 ING New York City Marathon, when Robert K. Cheruiyot (KEN) and Gete Wami (ETH) were honored as the inaugural World Marathon Majors Series champions. In addition to splitting $1 million for their victories, the two athletes are well-positioned in the race for the 2007-08 WMM crowns, with Cheruiyot tied for second and Wami comfortably in first place on the leaderboard.

Current 2007-08 WMM Series Schedule
In 2008, athletes will have six opportunities to earn WMM points:
April 13 – Flora London Marathon
April 21 – Boston Marathon
August 17 & 24 – Olympic Games Women's & Men's Marathons (Beijing)
September 28 – real,-BERLIN-MARATHON
October 12 – LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon
November 2 – ING New York City Marathon

The 2007-08 WMM Series will conclude at the 2008 ING New York City Marathon.

The World Marathon Majors website (WorldMarathonMajors.com) has continued to develop over the past two years. The site currently features bios on the top athletes from the 2006-07 and 2007-08 WMM Series, along with complete leaderboards.

Also featured: Press Release Archive, WMM Facts & Figures and Event Histories.

Source/Courtesy: Running USA – RunningUSA.org

Ryan Lamppa,
Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232
Ryan@RunningUSA.org |
www.RunningUSA.org