SunTrust Richmond Marathon & NTELOS 8k Entries at Record Pace
Defending Women's Champ Ackerly Runs to Qualify for Olympic Marathon Trials

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By Mike McCormick
Posted Thursday, 11 October, 2007

RICHMOND, VA - The 2007 SunTrust Richmond Marathon & NTELOS 8k are on pace to set records for the most entries ever in the event’s 30-year history by race day.

As of Tuesday, October 9, over 4,300 runners had registered for the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, already surpassing last year's race day total of 3,933. With over a month yet to go, a total field of over 5,000 is expected by race day on Saturday, November 10. The current record for marathon entries is 4,763, set in 2005.

Entries for the NTELOS 8k are also surging. As of Tuesday, 3,990 people had registered. That’s almost 500 more than at this time in 2006. Last year’s field totaled out at 5,393, and this year’s may top that by several hundred. The Richmond Times-Dispatch Kids Run entries are also ahead of last year’s pace at just over 200.

In all, the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, NTELOS 8k and Richmond Times-Dispatch Kids Run are expected to have a total field of over 11,000 participants, which would surpass 2005’s record number of 10,390.

The SunTrust Richmond Marathon will be held on Saturday, November 10 beginning at 8 a.m. at 7th and Broad Streets in downtown Richmond. The NTELOS 8k will follow at 8:35 a.m. The Richmond Times-Dispatch Kids Run will begin at 9th & Main Streets at 8:15 a.m.

Online entries for the SunTrust Richmond Marathon, NTELOS 8k and Richmond Times-Dispatch Kids Run will be accepted at www.richmondmarathon.com up until Wednesday night, Nov. 7. After that, people can sign up in person at the Race Expo at the Omni Richmond Hotel on Thursday, November 8 from 4 to 8 p.m. and Friday, November 9 from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. There is no Race Day registration.

Maureen Ackerly’s Olympic Goal – Last year’s women’s marathon winner, Maureen Ackerly, will be running in this year’s SunTrust Richmond Marathon not only to defend her title, but also to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials, which will be held in Boston in April of 2008.

Ackerly, a Richmond mother of two, who sees herself as an “everyman” runner, is thrilled to be able to qualify for the Olympics in front of her family and friends and a hometown crowd, though the time she must beat for her 26.2-mile marathon run, 2 hours and 47 minutes, is six minutes quicker than her best ever marathon time of 2:53, which she ran in her winning effort here last year.

“I want to show my kids, who are 2 and 4, that it’s okay to try for something that’s out of reach, and you just do it and try your best,” said Ackerly, 38. “My goal is to go to the race that determines who goes to the Olympics. And Richmond is where I want to do it.”

Ackerly believes the women who qualify to race in the Olympic marathon in Beijing will have to run the 26.2 Olympic Marathon Team Trial race in under 2 hours and 30 minutes.

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