U.S. Team Set for World Championship 24 Hour Run in Korea
Posted Monday, 30 June, 2008
From Dan Brannen
The 6th World Championship 24 Hour Run of the International Association of Ultrarunners will be held in Seoul, Korea on October 18-19, 2008. U.S. national teams have performed well at the event, usually finishing among the top 5 national teams and making the team medals podium twice. The highest individual American finishes in the world title event's half-decade history were achieved by Stephanie Ehret (bronze in 2005) and Phil McCarthy (4th in 2007). This year will mark the second time the event has been hosted by an Asian city. The 2006 World 24 Hour was held in Taipei, Taiwan.
This year's national team includes the following members:
WOMEN
Connie Gardner, Medina, Ohio
Debra Horn, Shake Heights, Ohio
Jamie Donaldson, Freeport, Pennsylvania
Carilyn Johnson, El Paso, Texas
Laura Nelson, Woodstock, Virginia
MEN
William Allen, Prince Frederick, Maryland
Scott Jurek, Seattle, Washington
Dean Karnazes, San Francisco, California
Phil McCarthy, New York, New York
Roy Pirrung, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Alex Swenson, Vashon, Washington
TEAM MANAGER
John Geesler, St. Johnsville, New York
TEAM MEDICAL ADVISOR
Dr. Andy Lovy, D.O., Kirksville, Missouri
Gardner, Horn, Johnson, Pirrung and McCarthy were automatic team selections by virtue of their top 3 finishes in the Ultracentric National 24 Hour Championship in November 2007. Donaldson, Nelson, Jurek, Karnazes, Allen and Swenson were selected by virtue of their rankings in non-championship qualifying events in the previous 18 months. Pirrung, at age 59, for the fourth consecutive year becomes the oldest athlete ever named to an Open national team in the sport of athletics. He is the only runner to have been selected for all 6 of the 24 Hour Run U.S. teams since the World event's inception in 2003. Pirrung won the inaugural USA 24 Hour Run Championship in 1988, then again in 1991, and has finished second in that event for the past 3 years.
The team's Medical Advisor, Dr. Andy Lovy, was recently honored by the American Osteopathic Association as one of the "Great Pioneers in Osteopathic Medicine".
The team, sponsored by apparel manufacturers Sport Science and Injinji, is coordinated and managed by the American Ultrarunning Association (AUA). For more information, go to http://www.americanultra.org/
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