American Ultrarunning Association Elects New President and Executive Board
Posted Thursday, 5 June, 2008
MORRISTOWN, N.J. - (June 4, 2008) - In the recent elections of the American Ultrarunning Association (AUA), Roy Pirrung of Sheboygan, WI was elected by acclimation to a 4-year term as president. Pirrung replaces former AUA president Kevin Setnes who did not seek another term.
Pirrung currently serves as vice-chair of USATF's Mountain, Ultra and Trail Running Council, is a member of USATF's Athletes Advisory Committee, and has been both team manager and scoring team member of the USA 24 Hour Run National Team for the past 6 years. At age 59 in 2007, he broke his own record as the most senior athlete ever to represent the USA on an Open national team.
In his local Milwaukee region, he was the founder of an RRCA running club and served nearly 20 years as its president, and served as the Long Distance Running (LDR) chair for the Wisconsin Association of USATF. As an athlete, Pirrung's accomplishments include a World Masters Championship title, and American Open and Masters Championship national titles at various ultra distances. He has held the American Open Records for the 24 Hour and 48 Hour runs, and has been named the USATF Open and Masters Ultra Runner of the Year.
Re-elected to 4-year terms were Secretary Scott Eppelman of Coppell, TX and Treasurer Lin Gentling of Rochester, MN. Both are former USA National Ultra Team members, and Gentling is a former USA National 100K Champion.
Pirrung's new presidential Executive Board appointments include Phil McCarthy of New York, NY; Carolyn Smith of Milwaukee, WI and Dean Karnazes of San Francisco, CA.
Phil McCarthy is a classically-trained pianist, composer and singer, who works for a classical music publisher. He burst onto the national class ultra scene with a surprise 3rd place finish at the 2006 USA National 24 Hour Championships, then followed that with an even bigger surprise 4th place finish at the 2007 24 Hour World Championship, the best finish ever by an American man in that World title event.
Carolyn Smith is a family practice and sports medicine physician who serves as Medical Director for the Marquette University Student Health Service and Team Physician for the University's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. A 1988 U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, in recent years Smith has represented the USA on both the 100K and 24 Hour Run National Teams, and has won both the 100K and 24 Hour National Championship titles. At the 2005 World 24 Hour Championship, she finished 11th and helped the U.S. women's team secure the bronze medal.
Dean Karnazes, the "household name" of American Ultrarunning, is best known as a NY Times bestselling author for his popular book "Ultramarathon Man". He was recently named by TIME magazine as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in the World."
Recipient of an ESPN ESPY Award as Best Outdoor Athlete for having run 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 consecutive days, Karnazes is a peripatetic advocate for healthy, active living. He is a member of the California State Senate Taskforce on Youth Wellness and a winner of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Community Leadership Award. Karnazes' competitive ultra accomplishments include a victory in the 135 mile "Badwater" race across Death Valley, a third place finish at the USA National 24 Hour Championship, and he was a scoring member of the 2005 USA Men's National Team at the 24 Hour World Championship.
The American Ultrarunning Association (AUA) is the only national non-profit organization devoted exclusively to the promotion of footraces beyond the standard 26.2 mile marathon distance. AUA is a member organization of the International Association of Ultrarunners, Running USA and USA Track & Field.
For more information on the American Ultrarunning Association, go to www.americanultra.org.
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