Magdelena Lewy Boulet & Jason Lehmkuhle lead Saucony team of hometown heroes at 2012 U.S Olympic Marathon Trials, release, note by Larry Eder

Magdelana Lewy-Boulet, 2011 XC Club, photo by PhotoRun.net

Jason Lehmkuhle, 2011 Virgin London, photo by PhotoRun.net

Saucony sent us this release today. We found it, in particular, another example of how much the running footwear business has supported the sport. Of the 300 athletes who will line up on Saturday, January 14, 2012, many find support from the performance running brands. Saucony has a local support program called Hometown heroes, and many of those athletes are represented in this release.

Their two top athletes, Magdelena Lewy Boulet and Jason Lehmkuhle, look to be in the real fight to make the Olympic team. My take on the trials right now is that the top two women is pretty well, done, unless Ms. Davila or Ms. Flanagan oversleep. The third position on the women’s team is a total battle with fifteen or so athletes in the fight. On the men’s side, Mr. Hall can either run to make the top three, or run with his coach, and set an American record. But second and third are totally open there.

Magdelena Lewy Boulet has been fun to watch racing all year, and she has the tools to get on the team. Jason Lemkuhle has the history, and the patience to stay out of trouble and grab a lot real estate over the last three or four miles. The athletes who make this team, either men or womens, will be the runners who make the least mistakes. Marathon racing in an Olympic Trials environment is a blistering chess game. For the past four, some for eight, some for the past twelve years, have dreamed of the upcoming moments, on Saturday, January 14, 2012.

The other thing that Saucony did was a small line for the Trials, here is a picture that they sent me, just for shoe geeks.
Good luck to all 300 participants in this weekends’ Trials.

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2008 OLYMPIAN MAGDALENA LEWY BOULET LEADS SAUCONY TEAM OF HOMETOWN HEROES AT 2012 U.S. OLYMPIC MARATHON TRIALS

Brand’s deepest pool of Olympic hopefuls includes world-class contenders and regional standouts

LEXINGTON,
MA (January 10, 2012) – Global
performance running footwear and apparel brand
SauconyÂ®, Inc. today
announced that 2008 U.S. Olympian Magdalena Lewy Boulet will be leading a team of Saucony athletes on January 14^th in
Houston at the 2012
men’s and women’s Olympic Trials Marathon hosted by USA
Track & Field and the Houston Marathon Committee. Lewy Boulet, the
third fastest qualifier for the women’s Marathon Trials, heads up the
brand’s roster of sixteen potential 2012
Olympians that includes world-ranked contenders, as well as Saucony’s
regional Hometown Heroes.

“The whole Saucony family congratulates our team of athletes for qualifying for the Trials,” said Mark Bossardet, vice
president of sports marketing for Saucony and a 1980 Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier.
“Just
getting to the Trials is an accomplishment in itself and marks these
men and women as among the best in the country. We commend them for
their commitment and perseverance
and we’re extremely proud and inspired by each one of them.”

For the first time
ever, USA
Track & Field and the Houston Marathon Committee will host the
men’s and women’s Olympic Trials Marathon on the same day, at the same
site in
Houston. This historic event will determine
the three men and three women who will represent the United States in
the marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Leading the Saucony team on the women’s side is 2008 U.S. Olympian
Magda Lewy Boulet. She ran her marathon PR of 2:26:22 at
Rotterdam in 2010; the time makes her the third
fastest qualifier for the Marathon Trials. This past summer, she set
personal records in the 5000 and 10,000 meters and won the Falmouth Road
Race (a 7-miler) in
Massachusetts. Earlier in 2011 she was part of the
U.S. team that won the bronze medal at the
World Cross Country Championships, and she ran 2:31:22 at the London
Marathon. Lewy Boulet used an early surge to break away from
the 2008 Marathon Trials field, eventually finishing 2^nd to win a spot on the 2008 U.S. team. In 2010 she was ranked the top
U.S. marathoner by
Track and Field News. A native of Poland, Lewy Boulet became a
U.S. citizen on September 11^th, 2001.

The Saucony men’s roster is led by
Jason Lehmkuhle who lives and trains with Team USA Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN. A 5^th
place 2008 Olympic Trials finisher, Lehmkuhle has been one of the most
consistent US road racers of the last five years, finishing in the top
five at 13
different national championship events.

In addition to
Lewy Boulet and Lehmkuhle, the following men and women will be representing the Saucony brand at the 2012
Olympic Trials Marathon on January 14^th:

Men:

Matt Gabrielson, 33, Minneapolis, MN

Following
a stellar track career at Drake University, Gabrielson joined team USA
Minnesota and has become one of the top US performers on the roads,
finishing 2^nd
at the 2008 USA championships. His time of 2:13:28, makes him one of the top contenders in Houston.

Jason Ordway, 24, Bellbrook, OH

Ordway,
24, is from Bellbrook, OH. Jason qualified for his first Olympic Trials
at the Columbus Marathon in 2010 in his debut marathon win.

Ricky Flynn, 24, Damascus, MD

Currently living in Lynchburg, VA, the Olympic Trials will be his debut at the marathon distance.

Women

Michelle Frey, 29, Minneapolis, MN

This
will be the second Olympic Trials appearance for Frey, a former star at
the University of Wisconsin. Frey has a personal best of 2:35:51, good
for 4^th place
at the 2006 U.S. Marathon Championships.

Paige Higgins, 29,
Littleton,
CO

A
graduate of Kansas State University, Higgins was the top American
finisher at the 2010 Boston Marathon. Her marathon best came in Chicago
in 2008 where she ran 2:33:06.

Kelly Chin, 31, Brooklyn, NY

Chin qualified for the Trials with a 2:44:44 at the 2010 Chevron Houston Marathon.

Dana Kelly, 25, West Des Moines, Iowa

Kelly’s
accomplishments include All-American status in cross country and
steeplechase and earning the Olympic Trials B Standard (2:43:54) at
Grandma’s Marathon (2011).

Michele Suszek, 29, Lyons, CO

Suszek qualified for the Olympic Trials twice and has competed at the World Championships in mountain trail running.

Kate DeProsperis, 32, Downers Grove, IL

DeProsperis is coached by 1996 Olympic marathoner Jenny Spangler.

Becky Angeles, 34,
Murphy, TX

Qualified at the 2011 California International Marathon.

Ann Alyanak, 33, Bellbrook, Ohio

Alyanak placed 7th at the 2008 Marathon Trials in Boston.

Melissa Rittenhouse, 35, Harrisonburg, VA

This is the third time Rittenhouse has qualified for the Marathon Trials.

Katie Blackett, 34, Boulder, CO

This is the third time Blackett has qualified for the Marathon Trials.
This year, she won the Eugene Marathon in her quest to qualify.

Jodie Conway, 35, Framingham, MA

In 2011, Conway finished 5th and 3^rd at the Vermont City Marathon and the Philadelphia Marathon.

“I
had the honor to compete in the first Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials
in 1984 and realize the commitment these athletes have made,”
said Sharon Barbano, vice president of public relations for Saucony.
“At Saucony our athletes are our heroes. They inspire all of us to be
better, to find our strong by elevating their own. We’re excited for
each one of them and will be with them every step
of the way on Marathon Trials day.”

Saucony, Inc.:
Saucony, Inc.,
a subsidiary of Collective Brands, Inc., is a leading global running
lifestyle brand that fuses performance, innovation and style to create
compelling footwear and apparel with its widely recognized brands
Saucony and Saucony Originals. Founded in 1898, Saucony
continues to inspire runners everywhere with its award winning
innovations, including ProGridâ„¢, PowerGridâ„¢ and ViZiPROâ„¢ apparel. For
more information, go to
www.saucony.com.

Collective Brands, Inc. (NYSE: PSS)
is a leader in bringing compelling lifestyle, fashion and performance
brands for footwear and related accessories to consumers worldwide. The
company operates three strategic units covering a powerful brand
portfolio, as well as multiple price points and selling
channels including retail, wholesale, ecommerce and licensing.
Collective Brands, Inc. includes Payless ShoeSource, focused on
democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories through its
nearly 4,500-store retail chain, with its brands AirwalkÂ®,
DexterÂ® and ChampionÂ® and designer collections by fashion designers
Christian Siriano, Lela Rose, Isabel Toledo and Silvia Tcherassi;
Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group, focused on lifestyle
and performance branded footwear and high-quality children’s
footwear sold primarily through wholesaling, with its brands including
Stride RiteÂ®, KedsÂ®, Sperry Top-SiderÂ® RobeezÂ®, and SauconyÂ®, among
others; and Collective Licensing International, the brand development,
management and global licensing unit, with such
youth lifestyle brands as AirwalkÂ®, Above The RimÂ®, Vision Street
WearÂ®, STRIKEFORCEâ„¢, Clinch Gearâ„¢, SimsÂ®, LamarÂ® and LTDÂ®, World
Snowboarding Championshipsâ„¢ and HindÂ®. Information about, and links for
shopping on, each of the Collective Brand’s units can
be found at www.collectivebrands.com

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 50-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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