It’s Not Too Late to Sign-up for the
2009 MLB All-Star Game Run
There is still time to register for the All-Star Charity 5K & Fun Run, which is set for Sunday, July 12 at Busch Stadium. Online registration closes on July 4 at 11:59 pm, so if you miss the online deadline, you can register in person at the Sport Authority – Kirkwood, starting on July 9. The runs are open to all ages and fitness levels and will include a competitive timed start. Participants receive a commemorative all-star run t-shirt and a finisher’s medal (pictured here). For additional information visit allstargame.com. GO! St. Louis will provide race management for the races.

Late Registration & Packet Pick-Up:
Sports Authority
Kirkwood Crossings
1205 S. Kirkwood Rd.
Kirkwood, MO, 63122
Thurs., July 9, 9:00 am – 9:30 pm
Fri., July 10, 9:00am-9:30pm

Sports Authority at the MLB All-Star Week Sponsor Zone, NE of Busch Stadium
Sat., July 11 - 8:00am-8:00pm
Sun., July 12 (Race Day) - 6:00am-7:15am

Second Annual Youth & Family Summer Track Series Set to Kickoff in June

It's not too late to register for the second annual Youth & Family Track Series. The popular series takes place at Parkway North High School and is open to students who have completed K-8 grade and their family members. Participants meet on Wednesday evenings at 6:00 pm and will be introduced to track events ranging from sprint, middle distance, field and relay races. The Series is part instruction from some of the area top track & field coaches, along with timed competition. Participants receive an event t-shirt and healthy refreshments after each session. For more information or to register, click HERE!

Students at Bryan Hill Elementary Celebrate Completion of GO! St. Louis Read, Right & Run Marathon
More than 6,000 Saint Louis Public School (SLPS) students recently completed the Read, Right & Run Marathon program. During the month of May, area schools participating in the innovative program held celebrations to present students with their finisher medals. One of the celebrations took place at Bryan Hill Elementary, where more than 200 students and school administrators ran their final 1.2 miles, received medals and enjoyed post-run healthy refreshments. Special thanks to representatives from SLPS, parents and administrators from Bryan Hill and the program’s sponsors: Centene Corporation, Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield and St. Louis Rams. Congrats to Bryan Hill and all of the more than 6,000 area SLPS students on completion of this outstanding challenge. To read more about the GO! St. Louis Read, Right Marathon click here.

GO! St. Louis Read, Right & Run Marathon®  Receives What’s Right with the Region Award
The GO! St. Louis Read, Right and Run Marathon program, which encourages thousands of area students each year to read 26 book, perform 26 good deeds and run 26.2 miles, was recently honored by Focus St. Louis with a What’s Right with the Region award. The organization was singled out for their excellence in the category –Demonstrating Innovative Solutions. Program Director Mona Langenberg (pictured here) accepted the award in a May 7 ceremony, held at Sheldon Concert Hall.

Freudenburg Wins 9th Annual GO! St. Louis Marathon
Zac Freudenburg, 30, set a new course record of 2:23:57, while winning the 9th Annual GO! St. Louis Marathon on Sunday, April 19. On a rainy St. Louis morning, Freudenburg led the majority of the race and in the end defeated two-time champion Karl Gilpin, 30, from Russellville, MO, who finished in 2:27:00. Gilpin had won the race in 2007 and 2008.  Brian Baillie from Carbondale, IL finished third in 2:31:08. St. Louis residents captured three of the top five spots, as Jonathan Kraas, St. Louis, finished fourth at 2:31:22 and Jesse McDaniel, 23 finished fifth with a time of 2:31:56.

In the wheelchair division three-time winner Don Dowling from St. Charles, MO finished first in 2:12:57. Dowling holds the wheelchair record, 2:03:45 , set in 2003. On the women’s side, Sandy Dailey finished the course in 4:04:23. It was back-to-back wins for Dailey, as she finished in 4:01:33 in 2008.

The master’s marathon winners were Juan Arias, Maplewood, MO with a time of 2:46:33, while Jessica Pollock, Freeburg, IL finished in 3:27:32.

Kansas Runner Megan Earney Captures Women’s Marathon Title
Megan Earney, 29, Olathe, KS., set a new women’s marathon record with a 2:51:20 mark. Earney outdistanced the women’s field, while winning by more than 17 minutes. She finished third in 2008 GO! St. Louis Marathon with a time of 3:10:48. Jackie Pirtle-Hall, 26, St. Charles, MO finished a close second in 3:08:24, while Mairi Burfoot, Ballwin, MO came in third with a time of 3:09:04. Alton, IL resident Melinda Hochgesang was fourth, 3:10:53.

Kipruto Rotich Dethrones Two-Time Champion Mathew Chesang in Half Marathon
Kipruto Rotich, 28, Columbia, MO set a new course record, 1:07:19, in winning the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon race. In a close race he nudged second place finisher Artur Kern, 28, from Searcy, AR, who finished with a time of 1:07:52. Craig Donnelly from Hillsborough, NJ finished third, 1:08:27. Two-time champion Mathew Chesang, Olathe, KS was fourth, 1:08:29. Chesang had won the half marathon in 2007 and 2008. The first St. Louis resident finisher in the race was Tim Bradley, who finished in 1:12:57.

Handel-Williamson Completes Back to Back Half Marathon Wins
In the women’s race, Kelly Handel-Williamson, Austin, TX completed back-to-back wins, finishing in a time of 1:23:03.  She won the women’s title in 2008, while finishing with a time of 1:20:13. Elsah, IL resident, Sarah Jarvis was second, posting a time of 1:25:59. In the master’s divison, Julie Bergfeld, St. Louis, MO placed first with a time of 1:27:57.

The 2009 Half Marathon presented by National City sold out for the first time in event history, reaching the 10,000 race cap in early April.

Team “Off Constantly” Wins 4-Person Marathon Relay
362 teams competed in one of the various marathon relay divisions. “Off Constantly” placed first with a time of 2:50:33. The team was comprised of Andrew Harris, Lee Cordova, Jake Wilson and Igor Konfisakhar. The Battle of the Badges division was won by the firefighters this year, as team Schupp placed first, with a time of 2:59:40, which was also good for second overall. It marked the first time in the history of the event that the firefighters have captured the Battle of the Badges Trophy. Ameren 1 finished third overall with a time of 3:02:38. Registrations for the Marathon Relay increased from 265 team in 2008 to 362 in 2009.

Complete list of award winners here.

More Than 5,000 Participants Enjoy GO! St. Louis Family Fitness Day in Forest Park
Congratulations to all of the participants, who competed in the Family Day Fitness events, presented by Subway. The event was held on Saturday, April 18 in Forest Park. and featured a 5K Run/Walk, GO! St. Louis Read, Right & Run Marathon, Children’s Fun Runs and a Mature Mile.
The 5K Run/Walk presented by the YMCA was the most popular event, with close to 1,300 athletes competing.
For the complete recap visit our news section HERE.

 

My Story: Phillip Rodriguez
This past 2009 Half Marathon will surely be memorable for me. I ran my first half marathon last year in 2008 in St. Louis and enjoyed the challenge of the race and looked forward to running it once again in 2009. This year however, my girlfriend decided she would like to join me in the journey that is known as long distance endurance training.  So 12 weeks out from the race, we began our training and thereafter each day and weekend, we set aside time to run, train, challenge and push ourselves to running a half marathon together, as a team.

  It was a great experience and we learned a lot about one another during those long runs…small talk at first that eventually turned into much longer discussions as the mileage increased. Funny stories, boring stories, short stories...all types of stories...and sometimes it was just pure silence...and it was alllll great. Every Saturday that we trained for our longer runs became, even to our friends, as our time together to train and hang out with one another and that we would be unreachable. At times, we all know training can be boring, but little did she, or her friends know, that this 2009 Half marathon was surely going to be a major celebration afterwards........read the rest of Phillip's story here.

Read more inspiring stories HERE.

Interested in telling your story and have it featured on the website?
E-mail us at: mystory@gostlouis.org!