INDIANAPOLIS (MAY 2,
2015)
– Perfect weather and a flat, fast course aided participants in the 2015
OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. Kenya’s Elisha Barno won the men’s race
with a time of 1:02:31 and Sarah Kiptoo, also of Kenya, won the women’s race
with a time of 1:13:09.
This
is Barno’s second win in two weekends as last Saturday he won the Kentucky
Derby Festival’s Mini-Marathon. Barno, who trains in Santa Fe, N.M., is 29
years-old and is unbeaten in American races.
Sarah
Kiptoo’s win in the women’s race marks the second time that she has claimed the
top spot in the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. 25-year-old Kiptoo, who
also trains in Santa Fe, N.M., previously won the race in 2013.
In
the wheelchair race, 31-year-old Joshua George of Champaign, Ill., took home first
place with a time of 44:52. Just last week, George won the wheelchair race at the London Marathon, which also served
as the International Paralympic Committee world championship. George was
presented with a $1,000 check from Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana.
Paralympian
Amanda McGrory, 28, of Savoy, Ill. won the women’s race with a time of 51:26,
shattering the previous record of 53:17, set by Miriam Nibley in 2001. McGrory
is a past winner of the Paris Marathon and ING New
York City Marathon.
Brownsburg’s
Ben Hendricks won the Finish Line 500 Festival 5K race for the fourth-straight
year with a time of 15:41. Hannah Schuster of Littleton, Col. won the women’s
5K in 18:40.
2015
marked the 39th running The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.
It’s the nation’s largest half-marathon and the
500 Festival's largest fundraiser. The 13.1-mile Mini-Marathon course winds
through the streets of downtown Indianapolis and includes a lap around the
historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Register
Early for the 2016 Mini and Save!
Don't
miss your chance to register for the 40th Mini-Marathon on May 7, 2016. The 500
Festival will once again offer a race weekend rate for the 2016 OneAmerica 500
Festival Mini-Marathon. Registration
will be available through May 6, 2015 at a rate of $60. Registration
will then close, and re-open in September. Registration costs will increase as
race day nears. To register, visit IndyMini.com
Participants
seeking an even greater challenge will have two new options in 2016
·
Mega Mini Challenge: Tackle both the Finish
Line 500 Festival 5K and OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon on race morning.
Participants who register for the challenge will receive a commemorative shirt
and medal as well as shirts and medals for the Mini-Marathon and 5K.
·
Mini Maniac Challenge: Take on all 32.1
miles of the 500 Festival Miler Series, presented by OrthoIndy in February,
March and April and the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon. Similar to the
Mega Mini Challenge, Mini Maniac participants will receive a commemorative
shirt and medal in addition to the shirts and medals for the Miler Series and
Mini-Marathon.
About the 500
Festival
Founded in 1957, the 500 Festival is a
not-for-profit organization that produces more than 50 life-enriching events
and programs while celebrating the spirit
and legacy of the Indianapolis 500 and fostering positive impact on the city of
Indianapolis and state of Indiana. One of the largest festivals in the nation,
each year more than half a million people attend an event or program produced
by the 500 Festival. Since its founding, the 500 Festival has contributed more
than $350 million in economic value to Indianapolis. To learn more about the
500 Festival, please visit www.500festival.com, follow us on Twitter @500festival, or on Facebook.
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