October 3rd, 2007 - OTTAWA, ON - The ING Ottawa Marathon, Canada’s premier running event and host to the 2008 Canadian Marathon Championships, is reaching out to Canadian runners with the announcement of a new Canadian Elite Program. It offers guaranteed entry, travel assistance and accommodations to any Canadian athletes who meet an “A” standard at any non-aided certified race. This means running sub 2:22:00 in a marathon or sub 1:07:30 in a half marathon for men. For women any time under 2:47:00 for the marathon and 1:19:00 for the half marathon will earn them elite status. For runners who don’t meet the “A” standard, they can still earn a trip to the championships as a seeded athlete by achieving the “B” standard laid out in the plan. Guaranteed entry and priority placement at the start line will go to any athlete running sub 2:31:00 (full marathon) or 1:11:30 (half marathon) for the men, and sub 3:05:00 (full marathon) or 1:25:00 (half marathon) for the women.

“We’re doing this to encourage more competitive runners to participate in the Canadian Marathon Championships,” says Manny Rodrigues, elite athlete coordinator for the Ottawa Race Weekend. “We’re hoping the assistance not only attracts the top elites to the event, but also the developing athletes that are running the ‘B’ standard.”

For Canadian athletes, the new program will benefit both individual runners and the sport as a whole.

“The support offered by the ING Ottawa Marathon for Canadian distance runners is quite amazing,” says Reid Coolsaet, a three-time Canadian Track & Field Champion in the 5000 meters. “The high level of international competition combined with the support for the Canadian athletes gives us a chance to get some Canadians back on the Olympic start line in 2008. The support will help the quality and depth of marathoning in Canada and there should be a significant improvement of the current standard in the years to come.”

The Ottawa Race Weekend includes in its mandate the development of the sport of running both locally and nation-wide. This new program for competitive athletes joins a host of other initiatives aimed at growing the sport at a grass roots level, with the eventual goal of bringing Canada to the forefront of running on an international scale.

Taylor Murphy knows first hand about the commitment of the Ottawa Race Weekend to developing the sport. In 2004 the Guelph native was the first recipient of the Ottawa Race Weekend Athletic Scholarship. Now on the verge of a promising post-collegiate running career he is hoping to benefit from this new ORW program.

“The support offered from the ING Ottawa Marathon to Canadian athletes is unparalleled,” adds Murphy. “The Ottawa Race Weekend has had a great history of supporting Canadian distance running, and it’s great to see the continued support. It’s absolutely going to make a difference.”

“This is a long-term commitment by the Ottawa Race Weekend organization. We are hoping that all Canadian athletes will be inspired to strive to meet these standards simply because the bar has been set,” says Rodrigues. “Whether they make it to the Championships in Ottawa or not, in the end the more runners we have competing at a higher lever, the more likely we are to get athletes who can achieve the tougher Canadian Olympic standards.”

More information about Canadian Elite program is available at www.runottawa.ca

About The Ottawa Race Weekend
The Ottawa Race Weekend, Canada’s premier running festival, combines competition, participation and fundraising to make a distinctive contribution to the health of the community. The 2007 Ottawa Race Weekend welcomed over 29,600 participants in six races, including the ING Ottawa Marathon and the MDS Nordion 10K. It is run by a volunteer Board of Directors. The 2008 event is schedule for May 24th - 25th.