New Course Showcases the Scenic Side of Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, CALIF, October 27, 2002- The Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon returned to San Jose, CA for the sixth year last weekend, only this time with a brand new scenic marathon course on the Los Gatos Creek Trail, a two-person relay on the same beautiful course and an all-new 10K through the neighborhoods of Willow Glen.

The new marathon course and 10K race came about in response to participant feedback. While the previous marathon course was laid out to be a flat, fast tour of the Silicon Valley corporate campuses, the athletes perceived the race as less scenic and somewhat lonely in comparison to other big city marathons.

“That was one of the driving forces behind the changes this year,” says Race Director Tom Bradley. “We are very pleased to have created a route that showcases this beautiful region and at the same time engages the local neighborhoods and spectators.” And that it did.

Athlete and resident response to the new course to date has been overwhelmingly positive. While the new course is not the contour-lacking city run it used to be, the addition of lakes, parks, mountains and spectators seems to be the just the right blend of San Jose city charm and Bay Area beauty. Couple that with all the things the race has become known for- solid race organization, good course support and a really cool, really heavy finisher’s medal, and the reinvented race is on track to become an annual favorite with first-timers and seasoned veterans alike.

Race Day- Sunday, October 27^th

The day began with a few words from the President and CEO of the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, Dan Fenton, followed by City Council Member Ken Yeager from the Willow Glen District as well as Ken Kline, COO of Mercury Interactive, title sponsor of the event.

Nearly 1,700 athletes toed the line as the start gun sounded promptly at 7:00am for both the Marathon and Marathon Relay runners and their new epic journey south to the heart of Los Gatos and back was underway.

The new marathon course led runners from the big city streets of San Jose south through the neighborhoods of Willow Glen before reaching the entrance to the Los Gatos Creek Trail at approximately mile five. From there, it was a paved trail run to the turnaround point on the track at Los Gatos High School.

The two-person relay teams also made their transition on the track, passing their relay slap bracelets like Olympic batons. Runners then retraced their steps back on the Creek Trail to San Jose and the new finish line festivities in Discovery Meadows.

At 7:30am the gun sounded for the start of the Silicon Valley 10K, a brand new element to this year’s event. Over 800 runners followed in the footsteps of the marathoners to a loop in Willow Glen and back to the finish line in Discovery Meadows.

In addition to the three adult races, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital once again sponsored and produced the Silicon Valley Kids Races at 10:00am with fun runs and activities for families with children under 12. The Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital is a beneficiary of the event and the Silicon Valley Marathon will continue their philanthropic endeavors for the hospital in 2003.

In the end, it was a local’s race with the majority of top finishers in the marathon, relay and 10K coming from Northern California. Here are the top three male and female finishers in the 2002 Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon:

Marathon- Women

1	Megan	Daly	Stanford	Ca	F	23	2:53:02.3
2	Lucy	Fitzgerald	Los Angeles	Ca	F	30	2:56:42.0
3	Cinthya	Rinaldo	San Jose	CA	F	36	3:08:51.2

Marathon- Men

Greg

Menegat

San Francisco

2:33:24.5

Richie

Boulet

Berkeley

2:33:45.2

Nestor

Ayala

Coalinga

2:36:51.2

Firstwave Events, proud producers of the Silicon Valley Marathon, would like to say thanks to all the athletes, spectators, volunteers and sponsors for their very important roles in another successful year! For more information about the event, please visit the website at www.svmarathon.com.

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