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Lead Stories: Friday, July 25, 2008

USATF Release on the Passing of NYRR Founder Ted Corbitt

Posted December 12th, 2007 at 5:48 PM by Andrew Goodman

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Trail / Ultra

ted corbitt courtesy of gary corbitt Ultrarunning legend, 1952 Olympian, New York Road Runners Founding President and pioneer in the field of course measurement and certification Ted Corbitt died Wednesday of cancer in Houston, Texas. He was 87.

Corbitt began his running career as a sprinter in Cincinnati and didn’t run his first marathon until he was 32 years old, placing 15th at the 1951 Boston Marathon. At age 54 he ran his 175th marathon, in Boston, in 2 hours 49 minutes 16 seconds, less than one minute slower than his first marathon 23 years earlier. His fastest marathon time was 2:26:44 in 1958. He ran a total of 199 marathons and ultra races during his career and formerly held American Records at 50 miles, 100 miles and 24 hours.

Shortly after the founding of the Road Runners Club of America in February 1958, Corbitt founded the first RRCA chapter in April of that year, the New York Road Runners Club (now the New York Road Runners). Corbitt was elected as the second president of the RRCA at the organization’s 1960 Annual Meeting.
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Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance Runs to Host
IAU Trail World Challenge

Posted November 16th, 2007 at 12:30 PM by Hariz Siddiqui

Section: News & Results, Trail / Ultra

The 18th Sunmart Texas Trail Endurance Runs, scheduled for Saturday, December 8 in Huntsville State Park, will host the 2007 IAU Trail World Challenge for the 50 Miler and the 50K events. In 2006, Sunmart was given a tryout as the IAU Trail World Challenge and overwhelmingly satisfied the criteria for hosting an IAU (International Association of Ultramarathoners) event.

The 50 mile race and 50 kilometer event are expected to attract over 1,000 ultra-marathoners from more than 40 states and 14 countries. The 50 mile route is comprised of four 12.5 mile loops through the park’s extensive trail network. The 50K route covers a two loop course. The 50 mile event begins at 7:00am, with the 50K race set to start at 7:30am at Huntsville State Park, which is 60 miles north of Houston. A prize purse will be awarded in both the 50 Miler and the 50K.

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Olympic Gold Medalist
Robert Taylor Dies

Posted November 15th, 2007 at 8:30 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Track & Field

Robert Taylor two-time olympic medalist runner track & field According to the Associated Press, two-time Olympic medalist Robert Taylor died Tuesday at a hospital in Missouri City, Texas, after becoming ill Monday at the school where he was a teacher. He was 59.

One of the finest sprinters of his era, Taylor won a gold medal in the 4×100m relay and a silver medal in the 100 meters at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.

“Robert had one of the greatest personalities,” friend Terry Henson of Tyler, Texas, told the Tyler Morning Telegraph. “His ability as an athlete was unmatched. He never really got his just due on how great an athlete he really was.”

Porter Robinson, who helped coach Taylor at Texas Southern, told The Associated Press that Taylor had “great, great talent.”
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Aramco Houston Half Marathon to host USA Half Marathon Championships through 2011

Posted September 7th, 2007 at 7:21 PM by Jeanie Rebb

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The Aramco Houston Half Marathon has extended its commitment to host the USA Half Marathon Championships through 2011, USATF has annoucned. The event has previously hosted the USA Men’s Half Marathon Championship (2005-’06) and both the men’s and women’s championships in 2007.

“Houston has traditionally been a great proving ground for new U.S. talent,” said Bill Roe, USATF President. “The support that Houston and Aramco Services Company have put forth both in the race as well as in key funding for the USA Distance Project will continue to keep the momentum moving forward for USA long distance athletes.”

The 2008 USA Half-Marathon Championships will be held in conjunction with the thirty-sixth running of the Chevron Houston Marathon on January 13, and will be the first race on the 2008 USA Running Circuit (USARC).

The USA Half Marathon Championship races have attracted some of America’s top young runners. In 2007, that field included Ryan Hall of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., who clocked an American record 59:43 over the 13.1-mile course, obliterating the previous record set by Mark Curp in 1985. Hall’s time shaved 1:12 off the old record and made him the first American to break the 1 hour barrier in the half marathon distance.
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