Former Tulane Standout, Paul Added to Field

Solomon Kandie, Kenya, added his verbal committment to the 2006 QCM. Kandie placed third at the NCAA Steeplechase (8:31) during his track career at Tulane, he was a former Conference USA Champion. He owns a 64-minute 1/2-marathon PR and ran a 2:24 in his lone marathon performance, a second-place in the 2004 Orange County Marathon.

Jennifer Paul, of Rock Island, IL, also joined the elite field. She will be making her marathon debut this fall at the QCM. The former Augustana standout won the 2004 QCM 1/2-marathon in 1:27, she was third in the 2005 QCM 1/2-marathon at 1:26. Paul is the first local runner to be added to this year's elite field.

VERBAL COMMITMENTS AS OF 8-23-06:

WOMEN (6):
Alena Vinitskaya, Belarus (2002 & 2003 Champion)
Valentyna Poltavska, Ukraine (2005 Champion)
Sarah Plaxton, Highland, MI (3rd 2004 & 3rd 2005)
Katerina Stetsenko, Russia (Newcomer)
Tracy Stewart, Golden, CO (Newcomer)
Jennifer Paul, Rock Island, IL (Newcomer)

MEN (6):
Sergey Nochevny, Russia (2003 Champion, Course Record Holder)
Dzmitry Sivou, Belarus (2nd 2004 & 3rd 2003)
Vyacheslav Rodionov, Russia (3rd 2005)
Vince Temu, Kenya (2nd 2002 & 5th 2003)
Jonathan Ndambuki, Kenya (6th 2006)
Solomon Kandie, Kenya (Newcomer)

* Note: Top runners are encouraged to contact the Elite Coordinator at ifrink@crawfordsheetmetal.com. Elite field consideration will be given to men capable of running at or below 2:40 and women at or below 3:10.

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Sivou, Ndambuki, Stewart Join Elite Field

Dzmitry Sivou (Belarus), Joanthan Ndambuki (Kenya), and Tracy Stewart (Golden, CO) have joined the elite runner field for this fall's QCM.

Sivou owns two top-three finishes in the men's open field. In 2004, he placed second with a 2:21:21 clocking. He was third in 2003 at 2:21:28. Ndambuki placed sixth at last year's race with a 2:25:23.

Stewart joins the women's field and will be running the QCM for the first time. Her best time, in 2006, has come at the Lincoln Marathon, where she placed third in 2:57:23.

VERBAL COMMITMENTS AS OF 8-10-06:
WOMEN:
Alena Vinitskaya, Belarus (2002 & 2003 Champion)
Valentyna Poltavska, Ukraine (2005 Champion)
Sarah Plaxton, USA (3rd 2004 & 3rd 2005)
Katerina Stetsenko, Russia (Newcomer)
Tracy Stewart, USA (Newcomer)
MEN:
Sergey Nochevny, Russia (2003 Champion, Course Record Holder)
Dzmitry Sivou, Belarus (2nd 2004 & 3rd 2003)
Vyacheslav Rodionov, Russia (3rd 2005)
Vince Temu, Kenya (2nd 2002 & 5th 2003)
Jonathan Ndambuki, Kenya (6th 2006)

* Note: Top runners are encouraged to contact the Elite Coordinator at ifrink@crawfordsheetmetal.com. Elite field consideration will be given to men capable of running at or below 2:40 and women at or below 3:10.

Cheeseburger in Paradise at the BURGER BASH

A new event is joining the Quad Cities Marathon event weekend lineup: The Burger Bash at Bass Street Landing in downtown Moline on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 1 - 10 p.m.

Burger Bash Kids activities include costumed characters and fun jumps and will coincide with the ORA Expo and Happy Joe's Micro Marathon. Festival goers will enjoy the best BURGER BAR in town with all the fixin's starting at 5 p.m, then rock to a Buffet-infused band from 7 - 10 p.m. Food will be served by Bass Street Chop House.

"We're very excited that downtown Moline is adding a festival to the marathon atmosphere on our event weekend," says Race Director Joe Moreno.

General admission is free from 1-4 p.m.; admission after 4 p.m. is $3. Kid's 12 and under free all day.

Marathon Relay Teams Can Finish Together

The 5-Person Relay race takes on a new twist for 2006. A Relay Regroup Area will be staged about a block before the marathon finish line so the whole team can finish in unison and support the anchor person as they cross the line. "We want each relay team member to relish the marathon relay accomplishment by crossing the finish line," says Race Director Joe Moreno.

The distances for the 5 Relay legs are as follows (all are approximate measurements):

• 1st Leg, at Starting Line, 6.3 miles
• 2nd Leg, at Lindsay Yacht Club, 6.2 miles
• 3rd Leg, at District of Rock Island, 6.2 miles
• 4th Leg, at RI Arsenal Island, 3.3 miles
• Last Leg, on River Drive in Moline, 4.5 miles.

Another new feature this year is where each mile for relay leg will be marked and visibly labled for the runners.