Runner's World Announces 2006 Heroes of Running
Nine honored including Frank Shorter, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Deena Kastor

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Posted Thursday, 26 October, 2006

Contact: Chris Brienza, (212) 808-1358; Chris.Brienza@Rodale.com

NEW YORK - (October 25, 2006) - American running pioneer Frank Shorter, an Olympic Marathon gold and silver medalist who has also helped enact important policy changes in the sport of distance running, and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, whose personal battle against obesity led him to take up running, lose 110 pounds and become a passionate national advocate for proper health and nutrition practices, are among the nine runners who are honored this year as Runner's World magazine's 2006 Heroes of Running.

Shorter, Huckabee and the seven other 2006 Heroes of Running are featured in the December 2006 issue of Runner's World, on newsstands everywhere October 30, and will be honored by the magazine at a gala event in New York City on Friday, November 3.

Joining Shorter and Huckabee on Runner's World's third annual Heroes list are:

* Defending ING New York City Marathon champion Paul Tergat, who has worked diligently to combat world hunger through his work with the UN's World Food Program.

* Deena Kastor, who established the U.S. women's marathon record in April with a 2:19:36 win at the Flora London Marathon, is the first U.S. woman to break 2:20. Team Running USA's Kastor is among the women's favorites at the 2006 ING NYC Marathon on November 5.

* Charlotte, NC's Molly Barker, a four-time Hawaii Ironman finisher whose Girls On The Run program now actively inspires and encourages more than 50,000 third- to eighth-grade girls throughout the country each year to run and build self-confidence.

* Randolph, NJ's Mark Goldstein, 73, a male breast cancer survivor who has run 165 Komen Races for the Cure, including races at all 114 venues of the event throughout the world, since his diagnosis and successful treatment 18 years ago.

* Ultra-runner Tim Twietmeyer, 47, of Auburn, Calif., who in June completed his 25th consecutive sub-24 hour Western States Endurance Run, a 100-mile race he's won five times.

* 18-year-old triathlete Rudy Garcia-Tolson of Bloomington, Calif., a double-amputee who has clocked a 5:57 mile on two prosthetic legs and is in training to become the first-ever double amputee to complete the Hawaii Ironman in 2007.

* Lisa Shannon of Portland, Ore., who one year ago founded a series of fundraising runs to benefit and bring attention to the plight of women in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo and has already raised more than $100,000 so far.

Runner's World's Heroes of Running program honors the past year's most inspirational runners, as well as those who have achieved something extraordinary or contributed to the sport in a monumental way.

"Legions of people in the running world deserve recognition for their accomplishments, and many of them often go unnoticed," said Runner's World Editor-in-Chief David Willey, who in 2004 led the effort to initiate this now-annual honor. "And while there are those who probably think the word 'hero' is used too casually, the truth is that the hardest part of this undertaking is narrowing down the list of finalists.

"The members of our 2006 class of the Heroes of Running, like the ones that have come before it, reinforce our belief that just the simple act of moving forward can shape not only our sport, but our world. We're proud to honor them not only for the heroics they've demonstrated, but for the future heroes we hope they'll inspire."

"I was inspired by John Bingham's motto that 'the miracle is not that I finished; the miracle is that I even had the courage to start,'" said Huckabee, referring to longtime Runner's World columnist John "The Penguin" Bingham. "That sums up my sense of awe to be included in a list of people whose shoes I am not worthy to lace. I can't run to cross the finish line first but to cross it for the millions like me, who need to know that we can change our habits, regain our health, and restore our hopes." The ING NYC Marathon on November 5 will mark Huckabee's fourth career marathon.

"This award means so much to me," said Barker. "To be honored among the other recipients, people I have admired immensely over the course of my lifetime, is very humbling. I am incredibly grateful to Runner's World for taking the time to honor people who have used the power of running to literally change lives and, in the case of Girls on the Run, to transform the way our culture perceives the societal roles of girls and women around the globe."

For more information on Runner's World's 2006 Heroes of Running, visit: RunnersWorld.com

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