First-Time Participant Shatters Course Record by Eleven Seconds

SAN FRANCISCO, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- First-time ING Bay to Breakers 12K participant Sammy Kitwara of Kenya made race history amid more than 62,000 participants, world-class athletes, weekend runners and enthusiasts of all ages. Finishing in 33:31 - beating Ismael Kirui's 1993 time by 11 seconds - Kitwara's performance earned the $25,000 Battle to the Breakers prize, the $7,000 First Place prize, the $5,000 ING Hayes Street Summit prize as the first male to reach the highest elevation point, and a $3,000 bonus for breaking the course record, for a total prize purse of $40,000.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090517/SF18357)

"Sammy's awe-inspiring performance truly embodies the amazing talent of our elite athletes and underscores our 98-year history as an exhilarating, world-class footrace," noted Angela Fang, the race's general manager.

Despite the unseasonably warm weather, the race attracted 31,626 registered runners, who along with an estimated 31,000 nonregistered participants brought the race total to more than 62,000. The race's official after party, ING Footstock, also saw record crowds of participants, as well as race supporters.

"This success of this year's race was the result of a City coming together in support of one mission: to safeguard the future of the ING Bay to Breakers 12K. We thank the residents, civic leaders and City services of San Francisco for helping us to continue to offer this vibrant, iconic event," added Fang.

Women's Results - Open Field

    Place    Name                Age   Hometown                Time     Bib#
      1      Teyba Erkesso       26    Ethiopia                38:29      15
      2      Lineth Chepkurui    21    Kenya                   38:35       1
      3      Deena Kastor        36    Mammoth Lakes, Calif.   39:04       3
      4      Edna Kiplagat       29    Kenya                   40:30       4
      5      Jane Kibii          24    Kenya                   40:40       5
      6      Teyba Naser         19    Ethiopia                40:47      14
      7      Liliya Shobukhova   31    Russia                  41:04       8
      8      Katie McGregor      31    St. Louis Park, Minn.   41:29      16
      9      Mariya Konovalova   34    Russia                  41:37       6
     10      Kiyoko Shimahara    32    Japan                   42:07       9
     11      Meskerem Legesse    22    Ethiopia                43:45      10
     12      Midori Sperandeo    43    Folsom, Calif.          44:53      13
     13      Tania Fischer       43    Santa Monica, Calif.    45:34      11
     14      Emily Bates         32    Salt Lake City, Utah    45:59      17
     15      Michelle            43    Draper, Utah            46:04      12
             Simonaitis

Men's Results - Open Field

    Place    Name                Age   Hometown                Time     Bib#
      1      Sammy Kitwara       22    Kenya                   33:31      24
      2      Tilahun Regassa     19    Ethiopia                34:15      28
      3      John Yuda           29    Tanzania                34:23      23
      4      John Korir          33    Kenya                   34:53      21
      5      Silas Sang          31    Kenya                   34:54      40
      6      Gilbert Okari       30    Kenya                   35:18      27
      7      Gilbert Koech       28    Kenya                   36:01      30
      8      Justin Young        29    Boulder, Colo.          36:05      32
      9      Mike Sayenko        24    Bellevue, Wash.         36:36      34
     10      Josh Moen           27    Readlyn, Iowa           36:53      29
     11      Peter Gilmore       32    San Mateo, Calif.       37:41      38
     12      Matt Levassiur      27    Alamosa, Colo.          38:03      39
     13      Brad Poore          30    Davis, Calif.           39:08      37
     14      Nick Neely          24    Reno, Nev.              39:24     135
     15      Brian Locher        30    San Luis Obispo, Calif. 40:25      87

Top American Woman

    Place       Name               Age    Hometown               Time    Bib#
    Overall
     15         Deena Kastor       36     Mammoth Lakes, Calif.  39:04      3

Top American Man

    Place       Name               Age    Hometown               Time    Bib#
    Overall
     8          Justin Young       29     Boulder, Colo.         36:05     32

Top Bay Area Woman

    Place       Name               Age    Hometown               Time    Bib#
    Overall
     109        Melinda Dinapoli   39     Saratoga, Calif.       47:13    245

Top Bay Area Man

    Place       Name               Age    Hometown               Time    Bib#
    Overall
    11          Peter Gilmore      32     San Mateo, Calif.      37:41     38

First Place - Women's Masters

    Place       Name               Age    Hometown               Time    Bib#
    Overall
     69         Midori Sperandeo   42     Folsom, Calif.         44:53     13

First Place - Men's Masters

    Place       Name               Age    Hometown               Time    Bib#
    Overall
     27         Dennis Simonaitis  46     Draper, Utah           41:37     42

First Woman to Reach the Top of Hayes Street Hill

    Place       Name               Age    Hometown               Time    Bib#
    Overall
     14          Lineth Chepkurui  21     Kenya                  13:58      1

First Man to Reach the Top of Hayes Street Hill

    Place       Name               Age    Hometown               Time    Bib#
    Overall
     1          Sammy Kitwara      22     Kenya                  12:23     24

For winning centipede information, as well as full race results, please visit http://www.ingbaytobreakers.com.

About ING Bay to Breakers 12K

Headed for its 98th year, the ING Bay to Breakers 12K is one of the world's largest and oldest footraces, held annually in San Francisco, Calif. The name reflects the traditional course which takes tens of thousands of participants from the northeast end of the downtown area near The Embarcadero (the "bay" side of the city) to the west end of the city and the "breakers" of Ocean Beach. The 7.46 mile (12 kilometer) race features world-class athletes in addition to costumed runners and 'fun-loving' folks out for a great day of running and walking through San Francisco. For more information, visit www.ingbaytobreakers.com.

Join the discussion or just stay up to date with news, fun facts and photos by visiting ING Bay to Breakers 12K online at Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/b2bonfb), Flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/ingbaytobreakers/), or Twitter (http://twitter.com/INGB2Breakers).

About ING

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, investments, life insurance and retirement services to over 85 million residential, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of about 130,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

In the U.S., the ING family of companies offers a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients, which includes life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves over 14 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit www.ing.com.

ING Bay to Breakers 12K 2009 Sponsors

ING Bay to Breakers 12K 2009 sponsors include title sponsor ING, Southwest Airlines, Reebok, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Salonpas, Hyatt Regency of San Francisco, Crystal Geyser, Panasonic, Victorinox Swiss Army, Yakult, MINI, Barefoot Wines, KGO-ABC 7 NEWS, The Examiner, WILD 94.9, STAR 101.3, Green 960 AM, 106.1 KMEL, GenA.com, California Track & Running News, Lamar Transit, Active.com, Michelob ULTRA and AEG.

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