MERCURY INTERACTIVE SILICON VALLEY MARATHON- STILL RUNNING @ PEAK PERFORMANCE

SAN JOSE, CALIF, October 28th, 2001- The Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon returned to downtown San Jose, CA for the fifth year this weekend to the roar of thousands of spectators and over 4,000 runners, a respectable growth from last year given the conditions of 2001. Despite this year’s economic downturn, massive layoffs and the events of September 11th, the event still managed to grow and raise $15,000 for the educational programs of the San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation. "For a few hours this Sunday, this event united a community in a fun, healthy way and made everything negative about this year melt away. It was a great pleasure to be able to provide that experience," says Race Director, Tom Bradley.

Version 5.0, as they say in "Silicon Valley Speak," kicked off Friday afternoon with the UPS Sports Tech Expo, a two-day exhibition at the San Jose State Event Center. Athletes from around the world converged on the campus of San Jose State University to mingle with fellow runners and sample the latest in sports technology, everything from the simple necessities of running to state of the art training devices that magically track a runner’s statistics. Companies represented at the expo include such Silicon Valley movers and shakers as Mercury Interactive, Fortune Magazine, UPS, London Road Design, Motherboard Enterprises and many more.

Race Day- Sunday, October 28th
The first of four races began at 7:00AM with the Silicon Valley Half Marathon, a 13.1-mile foot race that begins at the top of the full marathon course at Tasman Drive and First Street and finished at Almaden Blvd. and Park Avenue in downtown San Jose. Returning male champion, Darrin Rohr successfully defended his title as the male half marathon champion with a finishing time of 1:10:38. The female winner was Christina Nooney of San Francisco with a finishing time of 1:24:58.

Top three male and female finishers of the Silicon Valley Half Marathon:

The big race, the Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Ma rathon, began at 7:30AM just following an incredible outpouring of emotional patriotism during the national anthem that was somehow eerily timed with an American Airlines plane sailing over the top of the start and finish line on Almaden Blvd. and Park Avenue in San Jose.

The cool, fall weather conditions were perfect on Sunday to produce some astonishingly fast times from a prestigious field of international elite athletes. Returning champion, Simon Sawe, was in contention to win his third Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon, but standing in his way was elite racer Elly Rono of Kenya and Steve Wilson of Lafayette, IN.

The three male elites remained together in the lead for nearly half the race before Rono and Sawe slowly stretched the distance between themselves and Wilson. At mile 25, as if their blistering 5-minute- per-mile pace was somehow a cruising speed, Rono turned on the afterburners and pulled away from Sawe who grimaced and struggled to match the speed of his rival but could not. At the finish line, it was Elly Rono, new champion of the Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon with a finishing time of 2:20:31.

In the hunt for the women’s division championship, it was consistent top finisher Barb Acosta, Rosemarie Lagunas and newcomer, Alena Vinitskaya of Belarus. The women’s race was tight for the first 6 miles with all three contenders exchanging turns at the lead, but the tide quickly turned as Lagunas and Vinitskaya quickly put a huge gap between themselves and the other contenders. At the mile 15, Vinitskaya eased away from Laguna and settled into pace that Laguna could not match. At the finish it was Vinitskaya with an impressive finishing time of 2:42:49.

The top three male and female finishers in the Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon:

The Silicon Valley Marathon Relay began at 7:30AM with four-person teams covering the same course as the full marathon. Each runner in the team completed approximately 6.2 or 6.9 miles of the course depending on which leg they ran and passed a wrist bracelet on to the next runner. Many Silicon Valley companies such as RHI Consulting, Aspect and Sun Microsystems, use the marathon relay as a team building experience and an excellent way to show corporate pride. The Rat Racers from General Dynamics took top honors this year with a finishing time of 2:58:06.

For a complete listing of results or more race information, visit www.svmarathon.com.

The Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital produced a feature of their own this year with the Silicon Valley Kids’ Races. The Kids’ Races consist of six different distances, everything from a Diaper Dash to the One-Mile Fun Run. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) also offered a number of other services to the community during their appearance race weekend. As the lead agency for SAFE KIDS, LPCH was on hand to answer parent’s questions about car seat and booster seat safety. Other fun and educational services featured include the Parent Information and Referral Center (PIRC) and the Teenage Health Resource Line. These programs offer free advice and referrals to parents and teens respectively. Every child that participated received a medal and all the race bibs were number one, signifying that all the children were winners and the important thing is just to run the race.

The Una Mas Post Race Fiesta rounded off the day’s events in the Plaza de Cesar Chavez, just down the street from the finish line. Una Mas helped to refuel the runners with an assortment of wholesome, healthy wraps from their catering menu and supplied fresh fruit to sustain the athletes while they were out on the course. The fiesta also included a kid’s fun zone, live music from the main stage, and of course, the awards ceremony to cap off the 2001 Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon.

What does it take to "run" a marathon? Firstwave Events, producers of the Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon have listed a few things you will need to design, promote and "run" a marathon of your own.

• 20 or so really, good friends who won’t desert you after the madness
• 50 or more sponsors (Can’t do it without you! THANK YOU SO MUCH!)
• Over 700 volunteers (Definitely can’t do it without you! THANK YOU SO MUCH!)
• 7,800 office hours
• 40,000 brochures
• 20 or more quality running events nearby to pass out your brochures
• A ton of print, radio and television advertising
• 3 graphic artists and a couple of different printers
• A really fast, attractive website with way too much information
• Over 200 police officers
• 25,000 gallons of water on the course
• 6,000 single servings of water at the finish
• 100,000 cups
• 100 cases of assorted fruit
• 8,000 servings of food for after the race
• 52 trash cans and rakes
• 120 tables spread out over 26.2 miles
• 50 communication devices
• 26 aid stations with 20 people at each of them
• 28 bands, DJ’s and entertainers
• 70 rolls of duct tape
• 10,000 zip ties (give or take a few thousand)
• 100 or more vendors, service suppliers and contractors
• A medal, t-shirt, poster, program and goodie bag for every participant
• A lot of patience, perseverance and a strong back
• Enough money to acquire and maintain all the above items

ABOUT THE EVENT
The Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon offers runners of all levels an exhilarating tour of the world's leading technology center with a Marathon, Half-Marathon, Marathon Relay and Kid’s Races. Proceeds directly benefit the education programs of the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. Hundreds of Silicon Valley companies support the event through their participation and sponsorship. The flat, fast loop course starts and ends amidst the tall palms of downtown San Jose and has been dubbed the "Fastest Marathon in the Pacific Region" by the Ultimate Guide to Marathons. Hi-tech finisher medals have become a signature embodiment of the Mercury Interactive Silicon Valley Marathon. The UPS Sports/Tech Expo is October 26-27, 2001 at the San Jose State Event Center and all races take place Sunday, October 28, 2001. For more information, visit www.svmarathon.com or call (831) 477-0965.