Courtesy: event press release

The Freescale Austin Marathon [formerly known as the Motorola Austin Marathon] announced a new bonus structure for 2005 today. A total of $40,000 in cumulative bonuses will be offered to encourage faster times at the February 13, 2005 event, setting the stage to make a serious bid to capture the state of Texas men and women's open- division marathon records within three years.

In addition to $60,000 in prize money, a bonus of $5,000 for new event open-division records will be offered. Additionally, the first male or female runner to set a new state record would also earn another $5000 and the first runners to break 2:10 for men or to go under 2:27:00 for women, would earn an additional $5000. And finally, the Freescale Austin Marathon will award another $5000 to the first man under 2:09 or the first woman under 2:26.

If the bonuses go unclaimed in 2005, the money will carry forward to the following year and be added to the bonus pool for each successive year until a bonus is finally paid.

The current State of Texas marathon records of 2:10:04 [Richard Kaitany, 1984] and 2:27:51 [Ingrid Kristiansen, 1986] were both run in Houston. The Freescale Austin Marathon event records are 2:11:14 by Mohamed Nazipov [2001] and 2:30:39 by Tatiana Borisova [2004].

"The Association of Road Race Statisticians has rated the Freescale Austin Marathon as having the fastest course in the world for the past two years" said race director John Conley. "But as we all know, fast times are not always a function of how fast a course is but are often linked to such things as prize money or the caliber of the elite field that is assembled".

"With the cash incentives rolling over into each successive year, $70,000 or more in first-place and bonus money will be up for grabs within three years. Like a lottery, eventually the prize purse and bonuses become big enough to attract the kind of runner who can run under 2:09 or under 2:26 without too much trouble on a course like ours" said Conley. "Even though many PR's are set on our course and the Freescale Austin Marathon generated more qualifiers to the 2004 Boston Marathon than any other marathon in Texas (BAA, 2004), we are ready to set the bar higher and make a serious bid for new records".

Entry into the open elite field at the 2005 Freescale Austin Marathon is by invitation-only and runners must have run a 2:14 or better for men and a 2:34 or better for women, within the past two-years on a USATF or AIMS certified course. Travel assistance is available to qualified athletes.

In 2004, over 10,500 runners form 47 states and 28 countries participated in the event making it one of the largest running festivals in the United States and generated over $6 million in total economic impact. Close to 12,000 runners are expected to participate in the 2005 marathon and half-marathon.

The Freescale Austin Marathon awards money in five different categories for men and women:

Place                   Open     Masters  Seniors  Veterans  Wheelchair
                                 40-49    50-59    60 & Over (no handcycles)
1st Overall             $10,000  $2,000   $300     $300      $300 
2nd Overall             $7,000   $1,500   $200     $200      $200 
3rd Overall             $5,000   $1,000   $100     $100      $100 
4th Overall             $4,000   $750     $0       $0        $0 
5th Overall             $3,000   $500     $0       $0        $0 
1st American            $1,000   $500     $0       $0        $0 
1st Austin Resident     $1,000   $500     $0       $0        $0 

For more information about the Freescale Austin Marathon, or inquiry about entry into the elite field for 2005, contact John Conley at john@freescaleaustinmarathon.com, visit www.freescaleaustinmarathon.com or call (512)478-4265 or toll- free at 1-877-601-6686.