5-19-2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
   
Contact:
Ryan Lamppa
Media Correspondent
USA Track & Field
(805) 696-6232
[email protected]

ALBANY, N.Y. - (May 17, 2004) - The Freihofer's Run for Women (FRW), home of the USA Women's 5 km Championship, gained one of its most respected Open division competitors today when three-time FRW bronze medalist (2000-02) Sylvia Mosqueda joined the elite field for the race's 26th edition set for Saturday, June 5 in downtown Albany, New York.

Mosqueda (Los Angeles, CA), 38, a consummate front-runner, has enjoyed a lengthy running career since capturing the NCAA 10,000m crown at Cal State Los Angeles in 1988. She was the top American in a personal best 10th place (2:33:10) at the ING New York City Marathon last November, lowering her previous personal best by nearly three minutes.

Mosqueda's results this year continue to be impressive. She finished 5th at the Lilac Bloomsday 12K, 40:27; 2nd at the Mt. SAC Relays 10,000m, 31:57.64; 2nd at the Gate River Run 15K, USA Championship, 50:08 and 1st at the 3M Half-Marathon, 1:09:53 (course record).

"Sylvia is a terrific addition to our field," said Run for Women Elite Athlete Recruiter Hank Brown, adding that Mosqueda would have almost certainly joined two-time Run for Women runner-up Colleen De Reuck on the Olympic marathon team in Athens had she not suffered an injury during the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. "She is a tough, fearless competitor who isn't easily intimidated."

Mosqueda, who didn't compete at the 2003 Run for Women but has earned the race's number three bib by virtue of her recent top-three finishes, comes to Freihofer's once again in tip-top physical condition.

"I feel like I'm working as intensely as I did in my college days," Mosqueda said recently in an interview with Peter Gambaccini of RunnersWorld.com. "I'm running like a 20-year-old. Jim McLatchie, my coach, knows what he's doing with me."

Event organizers also announced that Nicole Aish (formerly Jefferson) will also be in the running for the $10,000 Open division champion's check. Aish, 28, (Gunnison, CO) has competed strongly in her last two Freihofer's appearances finishing 4th in 2003 (15:51) and 9th in 2002 (16:15). The 1999 NCAA II champion at 3000m and 1 mile comes to New York's Capital City in outstanding shape, having run two personal bests - 7th 2004 Cardinal Invitational 10,000m, 32:09.13 and 3rd 2004 Mt. SAC Relays 5000m, 15:20.51.

Also hoping to bolster their bank accounts with the $28,600 in Open prize money will be Jenny Crain, 36, (Eugene, OR), who hasn't competed at Freihofer's since 1998 (11th, 16:17), but has notched some solid results in 2004, including 1st Shamrock 15K 52:46 and 12th U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials 2:37:36 (PR) and Sonja Friend-Uhl, 33, (West Palm Beach, FL), 13th place finisher at last year's Freihofer's (16:49), whose 2004 accomplishments include: 5th (2nd U.S.) Fifth Third River Bank Run 25K, USA Championship, 1:31:26; 7th Cooper River Bridge 10K, 35:02 and 14th Gate River Run 15K, USA Championship, 53:47.

"Most of these women are coming to Albany having recently run personal bests," added Brown. "On a good day these women could steal the show from our first and second place finishers for the last two years - Marla Runyan and Colleen De Reuck."

Added George Regan, event director: "These athletes give our field a great deal of depth. Outside of the Olympic Games and World Championships which are track meets, and possibly Carlsbad 5000 on the roads, Freihofer's continues to have terrific depth, placing more women under 18 minutes than most other 5K races in the world."

To register for the 2004 Freihofer's Run for Women, a Founding Member of Running USA, pick up a registration form at any Price Chopper Supermarket or go to freihofersrun.com. As a national championship, Freihofer's also is part of the 2004 Women's USA Running Circuit, a USA Track & Field road series. The 2004 USARC offers a record of $818,700 in guaranteed prize money with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6000, $4000 and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. At each national road championship, the top 10 U.S. runners earn USARC points.

Visit www.usatf.org for USARC standings and more.

Event sponsors include the Charles Freihofer Baking Company (A Division of George Weston Bakeries Inc.), Price Chopper Supermarkets, B95.5 fm, NewsChannel 13 and the Albany Quality Inn.