Peter Kemboi

Spira shoes covered the podium at the Jacksonville Marathon this past weekend, as both the overall men’s and women’s champions were wearing Spira. Five of the top seven men’s finishers competed in Spira, along with two of the top three women. Spira also carried the men’s and women’s Masters Division champions to victory.

Kennedy Kemei of Chapel Hill, NC

Alena Vinitskaya

Anzhelika Averkova, age 41, won the women’s division in a remarkable time of 2:36:49. She was also the top Master’s finisher among the women. Alena Vinitskaya, who had just won the Miami ING Marathon two weeks ago, finished third in 2:40:42.

“It was a great day for our company,” said Spira CEO and founder Andy Krafsur. “We look forward to repeating this success in future competitions.”

Peter Kemboi of Kenya took the lead at the 24-mile mark and won the fourth Mississippi Blues Marathon today, edging fellow Kenyan Mark Chepses by four seconds.

Kemboi, 36, was timed in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 47 seconds — about a minute off the course record. Chepses finished in 2:19:51 over the hilly, challenging course that started and finished in downtown Jackson.

Kemboi won $4,000 from the $30,000 purse.

The women’s winner was Truphena Tarus, a 26-year-old Kenyan who trains in Marietta, Ga. Tarus, who also won $4,000, was timed in 2:40:18.

The top Mississippi finisher was Rob Oates of Brandon, 16th in 2:53:46.

Todd Hagadone of Fairfax, Va., a former Starkville resident, won the men’s half-marathon with a time of 1:12:46. Sara Phelps of Birmingham (1:35:45) was the top female finisher in the half.

Race organizers said nearly 2,300 runners registered for the marathon and half-marathon events.

Unlike last year, when the temperature was a frigid 17 degrees and there were snow flurries during parts of the race, the weather was much better for running today.

“Today was perfect weather,” said Brian Shelton of Cookeville, Tenn., who was ninth in the marathon.

Article from Clarion Ledger

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20110108/SPORTS/110108004/Kenyan-Peter-Kemboi-claims-Mississippi-Blues-Marathon

Stephen Muange of Kenya won the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, Texas, in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 14 seconds.  Muange’s finishing kick proved the deciding factor in the race, as he surged ahead of his competitor Ethiopia’s Girma Tolla, on the final stretch on Trinity Street.  “The course was good; I liked it,” said Muange.  “I knew I needed to push the pace.  I know Girma, and he’s a speedy guy.”  Muange wore Spira® shoes.

Alena Vinitskaya of Belarus battled flu-like symptoms to win the women’s ING Miami Marathon title in 2:44:39, nearly five minutes ahead of the second place winner.  Vinitskaya competed in Spira® shoes.

Congratulations to both athletes!

Fredison Costa crossing the finish line of the Disney Marathon. Photo by Tom Benitez, Orlando Sentinel / January 9, 2011

Fredison with his Disney winnings.

Spira got a piece of the magic at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in Orlando when Fredison Costa of Piedade, Brazil won the full marathon on Sunday in 2:21:14, coming in more than six minutes ahead of other runners.

On his feet – bright yellow Spira Singer Elite racing shoes.

After coming in second in 2010, Fredison’s win this year snapped a seven-year winning streak by fellow Brazilian Adrian Bustos, who beat Fredison last year by 33 seconds. Fredison took the lead 9 miles into the race, and never looked back.

Fredison said he hopes to qualify for the 2012 Olympic marathon in London, but he doesn’t qualify, he will try for the 2016 Games in his homeland.

More than 17,500 runners were registered for the annual 26.2-mile run through all four Disney theme parks. The race wound through four Disney theme parks, replete with musical entertainment and Disney characters cheering the runners on. It capped a weekend of running events, including a family 5K fun run, kids’ fest and half marathon that drew nearly 54,000 runners from 60 countries.

Andy with Fredison, winner of the 2011 Disney Marathon at the Spira booth.

Like all of our athletes, Fredison makes us so proud, and his victory is a wonderful start to a new and exciting year at Spira.

Also this weekend at Walt Disney World, we worked alongside Fit 2 Run, one of our retailers, to fit runners in Spira shoes at the Marathon Expo. With more than 50,000 athletes participating in the weekend events, we were extremely busy.

Congratulations to Fredison on his incredible victory, and to all the athletes who ran this weekend!

Doug Kurtis finishes 200th marathon

We’ve been keeping up with Doug Kurtis’ story as he went on a mission to run 200 marathons under 3 hours. On October 17, Doug and crossed the finish line of his 198th marathon under 3 hours at the Detroit Free Press Marathon.

This was Doug’s 200th marathon total and his fifth consecutive marathon to run in Spira. Doug took the title in the men 55-59 division with a time of 2:54:43!

Congratulations on this remarkable accomplishment, Doug!

James Kirwa crossing the finish line in first place.

I spent the weekend in Dallas participating in the activities at the Dallas White Rock Marathon. As always, the event was fantastic. Race Director Marcus Grunwald and his staff did a first-rate job hosting the event and making all of the participants and vendors feel welcome.

For me, the highlight of the race was riding in the press truck and watching the men’s marathon race unfold in real-time. Early on, it appeared that the race would be stolen by Keith Pierce, who at one point had built up a 2-minute lead. Pierce, coincidentally, was the first runner to win a major marathon in Spira shoes – the Fort Worth Cowtown Marathon in 2007.  By 17 miles, however, a pack of runners led by and Spira’s James Kirwa, overtook him. I learned later that the rest of the pack did not realize that Pierce was running the marathon and thought he was a half marathoner.

James Kirwa, celebrating after crossing the finish line in first place.

At 20 miles, the lead pack was down to two runners. Kirwa and Edward Tabut. The two ran together until the last mile, when Kirwa, running very comfortably, broke way for the victory in 2:18:40. In October, Kirwa had his marathon debut and won the Des Moines marathon in 2:14:20, once again in Spira.

Ironically, Edward Tabut, who was the 2009 White Rock marathon champion while competing for Spira, elected to compete in Adidas this year. This is the fourth consecutive year that a runner competing in Spira footwear has won at least one major division of the White Rock Marathon. We have lost count of the many race and marathon victories in Spira both in the US and around the world!

As they say, “it’s gotta be the shoes!”

Check out the video below of James crossing the finish line from Dallas’ WFAA Channel 8 News.

Photo by Mike Maple/The Commercial Appeal

Congratulations to Spira athlete, Peter Kemboi, who won the men’s division of the St. Jude Memphis Marathon today with a time of 2:26:29!

This win is Peter’s first time to win a marathon! Great job, Peter!

For more info on today’s race, check out this article from the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Dave James - North Coast 2010

When most people elect to challenge themselves in the sport of distance running, they typically look to run a Marathon. Unless you’re an elite or very serious athlete, you’d be satisfied with just finishing such a race, without regard to time.

Now imagine a race covering 100 miles. For the very brave (and/or crazy) few who participate in the sport of ultra marathoning, merely finishing the distance would be an enormous achievement.

Dave James is the rare individual who actually looks to run ultra races “fast.”  In 2009, for example, James had 3 of the 4 fastest hundred 100 mile times in the world, setting course in each, most by several hours. In one race, the 24 hour national championships, James’ 100 mile split time of 13 hours and 6 minutes was the third fastest time for that distance in history and he ran for another 20 miles! To place that in perspective, that’s the equivalent of 4 consecutive 3 hour and 15 minute marathons, a pace that most people cannot comprehend even for one marathon.

October of 2010 has been a particularly successful month. James won two Marathons, the Towpath Marathon in Cleveland in 2 hours in 44 minutes, followed the next weekend by winning the West Virginia State marathon championships in a personal best 2 hours and 43 minutes. Not content with those performances, James ran the U.S. National Championships at 50 miles in 5 hours and 52 minutes, that’s roughly 2 sub three-hour marathons back to back!

James discovered Spira at the 2009 Boston Marathon, and virtually all of his race victories since then have occurred in Spira.  He recently wrote me, “The technology is amazing. I feel light and fast whenever I lace up my Spira’s. I recover faster because I use them.”

Dave, it’s hard to imagine you’ll be unknown for long!

Remember when we introduced you to Doug Kurtis? World-record holder. Uber-marathoner. He’s had a few accomplishments during his running career. Doug is a man on a mission to run 200 marathons under 3 hours.

This weekend, Doug will be running his 17th Detroit Free Press Marathon, and tallying his 200th marathon, if all goes as planned, this will be his 198th marathon under 3 hours. What a feat!

The race will be Doug’s fifth consecutive marathon wearing Spira, and we hope we can help propel him to number 200! If you’re in Detroit this weekend, keep an eye out for the red shoes!

The Detroit Free Press recently interviewed Doug about his racing career, and the race this weekend. Check it out here.

Good luck, Doug!

Photo by RASHAUN RUCKER/Detroit Free Press

Paul Ngeny

Spira runner Paul Ngeny, 31, of Auburn, California won first place overall and in the men’s open division in 1:07:25, a time that beat the previous course record for the Disneyland Half Marathon by 41 seconds.  Over 14,000 registered participants ran 13.1 miles through the two Disneyland Resort theme parks, then onto the field of Angel Stadium, where they were cheered to the finish line by Disney characters and the “ChEAR Squad,” creating an exciting race event for both runners and bystanders.

“The course was very nice and comfortable,” Ngeny said. “I liked running through the parks and all the music. I could keep on going for a hundred miles.”   Ngeny said he enjoyed the race and looked forward to go on the rides.  “This is a very beautiful place,” NGeny said.

Javier Cruz

InSPIRAtional athlete Javier Cruz from Bakersfield, California competed once again in Spira for the third year in a row.  Cruz captured first place in the men’s 45-49 division in 1:21:00, finishing 23rd overall.  Cruz is a featured athlete on Spira’s InSPIRAtional Stories page .

In the wheelchair crank (handcycle) division, InSPIRAtional athlete Kirstie Honeywill-Sykes, 35, of Celebration, Fla., was the women’s first finisher in 1:06:51. Honeywill-Sykes sported the Spira yellow Stinger Racing shoes as she soared to the finish line.  She said that the lightweight shoes are very helpful in competitions.

Kirstie Honeywill-Sykes

An extremely popular race, registration for participation in the Disneyland Half Marathon closed in May, 2010, because it was filled to capacity.  The Weekend events also included a 5K fun run, followed by kids’ races (also sold out) and a health and fitness expo. Dates for next year’s Disneyland Half Marathon have already been set for Sept. 2 – 4, 2011. Registration is scheduled to open Jan. 2, 2011.

Congratulations to these InSPIRAtional athletes!