Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon
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The Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon, also known as P. F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon, is a marathon and half-marathon race, held annually in Arizona on the Sunday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and linking three cities of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area: (Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tempe). Like the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon of San Diego, it is organized by Elite Racing Sports Marketing and Management. It is sponsored by P. F. Chang's China Bistro. The marathon race can be used to obtain a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon.
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[edit] Course
Both race courses start in Phoenix, and finish in the city of Tempe on Packhard Drive between Arizona State University's Sun Devil and Sun Angel stadiums. The event also includes wheelchair races starting 10 minutes and 5 minutes before the marathon and half-marathon races. The average start line temperature is around 40°F (4°C), and the average daily high temperature is between 50°F and 70°F (10°C-21°C).[1]
The marathon portion of the event begins on Washington Street (near 14th Ave) in downtown Phoenix, while the half-marathon portion of the event begins one street south of Washington on Jefferson Street (near 12th Ave). Along the route are over 40 high school cheerleading teams and 70 bands who perform for the runners.[1] Later in the evening there is a concert held in Tempe for all the runners and volunteers.
[edit] World record
The event is noted for the half-marathon world record set by Haile Gebrselassie on January 15, 2006, who ran the second half of the marathon course in 58 minutes and 55 seconds. This part of the marathon course is slightly downhill, but is still within IAAF requirements for world record status. Grebreselasie's record stood for a year, until it was lowered by 2 seconds on February 9, 2007 by Samuel Wanjiru at Ras al-Khaimah; Wanjiru lowered it again to 58 minutes 33 seconds on March 17, 2007 at The Hague.
[edit] Men's Winners
| DATE | NAME ATHLETE | COUNTRY | WINNING TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 13, 2008 | Mike Aish |  New Zealand |
2:13:21 |
| January 14, 2007 | Terefae Yae |  Ethiopia |
2:14:13 |
| January 15, 2006 | Shimelis Mola | Ethiopia |
2:13:08 |
| January 9, 2005 | Terefae Yae | Ethiopia |
2:14:24 |
| January 11, 2004 | Haron Toroitich |  Kenya |
2:10:33 (CR) |
[edit] Women's Winners
| DATE | NAME ATHLETE | COUNTRY | WINNING TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 13, 2008 | Adanech Zekiros | Ethiopia |
2:31:15 |
| January 14, 2007 | Adanech Zekiros | Ethiopia |
2:31:43 |
| January 15, 2006 | Shitaye Gemechu | Ethiopia |
2:31:44 |
| January 13, 2008 | Adanech Zekiros | Ethiopia |
2:31:14 (CR) |
| January 11, 2004 | Shitaye Gemechu | Ethiopia |
2:31:33 |
[edit] Men Wheelchair Winners
| DATE | NAME ATHLETE | COUNTRY | WINNING TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 13, 2008 | Tyler Byers |  Sterling, VA, USA |
1:45:07 (CR) |
| January 14, 2007 | Tyler Byers | Reston, VA, USA |
1:57:28 |
| January 15, 2006 | Bradley Ray | Albuquerque, NM, USA |
2:18:30 |
| January 9, 2005 | Peter Hawkins | Malvern, NY, USA |
2:22:03 |
| January 11, 2004 | Peter Hawkins | Malvern, NY, USA |
2:09:14 |
[edit] Women Wheelchair Winners
| DATE | NAME ATHLETE | COUNTRY | WINNING TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 14, 2007 | 0:00:00 | ||
| January 15, 2006 | 0:00:00 | ||
| January 9, 2005 | 0:00:00 | ||
| January 11, 2004 | Tricia Downing | Denver, CO, USA |
2:55:45 (CR) |
CR: Course Record
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Race Information. www.rnraz.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-04.
