Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Half-Marathon

Indianapolis, IN, May 1, 1999

Top Finishers

Tuttle Continues Hot Streak at Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon

Welzel Wins Women's USA Masters Half-marathon Title

On Saturday, May 1, at the Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, a USA Track & Field masters championship and Indy Life Circuit race, John Tuttle continued his hot streak with another dominant masters victory, while Jane Welzel returned to the ILC winner's circle. For Tuttle, a 1984 Olympic marathoner, it was his third consecutive USATF masters title and Circuit win.

Like his previous races this year, from the gun, Tuttle, 40, from Douglasville, Georgia, went with the younger elite runners. He stayed with the lead pack until eight miles. The Auburn graduate then cruised home in 1:05:11 (5th overall), the second fastest unaided half-marathon by a U.S master. Tuttle, who has already set three pending U.S. masters records at 8K (23:24), 10K (29:26) and 12K (36:12, also world record), earned $1750 ($250 Open and $1500 masters prize money). Craig Young was the second master in 1:07:10 ($800).

In the women's masters race, Patty Valadka, 41, from Houston, TX returned to defend her USATF title. But after building an early lead, she could not hold off Jane Welzel who not only won the U.S. masters crown, but finished third overall in 1:17:56. The Ft. Collins, Colorado resident picked up $2500 ($1000 Open and $1500 masters prize money). Valadka was second master and fifth overall in 1:19:01 ($1050).

For the third consecutive Indy Life Circuit race, Tuttle--surprise--again had the top men's age-graded time (his 1:05:11 equates to a 1:03:34 Open performance). Welzel, 44, the 1997 ILC Grand Prix masters champion, was the best age-graded woman with a 1:12:48 (1:17:56 actual), and each earned $1000 in age-graded money.

Five runners--Tuttle (93.8%), Young, Jack Nelson, Gary Romesser and Welzel--ran world class times (90% or higher based on the 1994 WAVA age-graded tables). Thirty-five (35) men and twenty (20) women scored age-graded Circuit points (70% or higher).

After three Indy Life Circuit races, Tuttle and Bev Docherty lead the masters division standings with 75 and 54 points respectively, while Tuttle and Joan Ottaway top the age-graded standings with 250 and 241 points each. ILC points at the Indy 500 were tripled.

Two U.S. single age records were set at the race by the following:

John Tuttle, 40, Douglasville, GA, 1:05:11 (old mark 1:05:33)
Gary Romesser, 48, Indianapolis, IN, 1:11:11 (old mark 1:12:00)

Under warm, breezy conditions, 22,000 participants enjoyed the 23nd annual Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon, the country's largest half-marathon. The next ILC race is Freihofer's Run for Women 5K in Albany, New York on June 5.

The Indy Life Circuit, sponsored by the Indianapolis Life Insurance Company, features eight races and $90,600 in race prize money (masters overall and age-graded) plus a $50,000 grand prix purse. USA Track & Field coordinates and directs the Indy Life Circuit. For ILC updates and standings, visit the USATF Road Running Information Center's website at www.usaldr.org.

Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon: Indy Life Circuit USA Track & Field Masters Championship Indianapolis, IN, May 1, 1999

Masters Men Time Prize$ 1) John Tuttle, 40, Douglasville, GA 1:05:11 $1750* 2) Craig Young, 42, Colorado Springs, CO 1:07:10 $800 3) Mark Curp, 40, Lee's Summit, MO 1:08:46 $400 4) Steve Winchel, 43, Janesville, WI 1:09:53 $200 5) Charlie Gray, 44, Lee's Summit, MO 1:10:36 $100 6) Gary Romesser, 48, Indianapolis, IN 1:11:11 7) Dick Buerkle, 51, Atlanta, GA 1:14:15 8) David Gardner, 40, Indianapolis, IN 1:14:57 9) Jan Frisby, 55, Grand Junction, CO 1:16:53 10) Jack Nelson, 59, Winnetka, IL 1:17:13

Masters Women Time Prize$ 1) Jane Welzel, 44, Ft. Collins, CO 1:17:56 $2500* 2) Patty Valadka, 41, Houston, TX 1:19:01 $1050* 3) Bev Docherty, 40, St. Paul, MN 1:19:31 $400 4) Diana Fitzpatrick, 41, Larkspur, CA 1:20:04 $200 5) Victoria Crisp, 46, Nashville, TN 1:23:19 $100 6) Jeanne Lasee-Johnson, 41, Chula V., CA 1:24:21 7) Jane Murphy, 40, River Forest, IL 1:24:53 8) Kathy Ward, 44, Carmichael, CA 1:26:13 9) Joan Ottaway, 55, Sonora, CA 1:29:01 10) Gloria Jansen, 51, Edina, MN 1:30:21

*includes Open prize money

Age-Graded Men AdjT Actual Prize$

1) John Tuttle, 40, Douglasville, GA 1:03:34 1:05:11 $1000 2) Craig Young, 42, Colorado Springs, CO 1:04:34 1:07:10 $600 3) Jack Nelson, 59, Winnetka, IL 1:04:43 1:17:13 $300 4) Gary Romesser, 48, Indianapolis, IN 1:05:26 1:11:11 $100 5) Dick Buerkle, 51, Atlanta, GA 1:06:40 1:14:15 6) Steve Winchel, 43, Janesville, WI 1:06:41 1:09:53 7) Warren Utes, 78, Park Forest, IL 1:06:44 1:39:45 8) Jan Frisby, 55, Grand Junction, CO 1:06:46 1:16:53 9) Charlie Gray, 44, Lee's Summit, MO 1:06:53 1:10:36 10) Mark Curp, 40, Lee's Summit, MO 1:07:03 1:08:46 11) Fay Bradley, 61, Washington, DC 1:07:54 1:22:35 12) Vic Heckler, 56, Chicago, IL 1:09:28 1:20:41 13) Michael Dove, 52, Salinas, CA 1:09:41 1:18:16 14) Jerry Johncock, 71, Grand Rapids, MI 1:12:07 1:37:47 15) Thom Weddle, 60, Minneapolis, MN 1:12:11 1:26:55

Age-Graded Women AdjT Actual Prize$

1) Jane Welzel, 44, Ft. Collins, CO 1:12:48 1:17:56 $1000 2) Joan Ottaway, 55, Sonora, CA 1:15:13 1:29:01 $600 3) Patty Valadka, 41, Houston, TX 1:15:41 1:19:01 $300 4) Victoria Crisp, 46, Nashville, TN 1:16:31 1:23:19 $100 5) Diana Fitzpatrick, 41, Larkspur, CA 1:16:42 1:20:04 6) Bev Docherty, 40, St. Paul, MN 1:16:48 1:19:31 7) Gloria Jansen, 51, Edina, MN 1:19:20 1:30:21 8) Kathy Ward, 44, Carmichael, CA 1:20:22 1:26:13 9) Linda Frisby, 51, Grand Junction, CO 1:20:41 1:31:54 10) Jeanne Lasee-Johnson, 41, Chula V, CA 1:20:47 1:24:21 11) Jane Murphy, 40, River Forest, IL 1:21:59 1:24:53 12) Marilyn Grissom, 57, Greenwood, IN 1:23:14 1:40:32 13) Ellen Nitz, 58, Milford, MI 1:25:26 1:44:17 14) Cathy Dwyer, 43, Greer, SC 1:26:05 1:31:23 15) Barbara Spannaus, 51, Shorewood, MN 1:26:22 1:38:22

Indy Life Circuit Standings after three races

Masters Division: Men 1) John Tuttle, 40, Douglasville, GA 75 2) Craig Young, 42, Colorado Springs, CO 60 3) Steve Winchel, 43, Janesville, WI 32 4) Mark Curp, 40, Lee's Summit, MO 30 5) Charlie Gray, 44, Lee's Summit, MO 28 6) Gary Romesser, 48, Indianapolis, IN 24 7) Dick Buerkle, 51, Atlanta, GA 23 8) Chris Fox, 40, Shepherdstown, WV 10 9) David Gardner, 40, Indianapolis, IN 9 10) Tom Stevens, 43, Middletown, MD 8

Masters Division: Women

1) Bev Docherty, 40, St. Paul, MN 54 2) Patty Valadka, 41, Houston, TX 51 3) Jane Welzel, 44, Ft. Collins, CO 45 4) Jeanne Lasee-Johnson, 41, Chula V., CA 30 Victoria Crisp, 46, Nashville, TN 30 6) Diana Fitzpatrick, 41, Larkspur, CA 24 7) Jane Murphy, 40, River Forest, IL 15 8) Joan Ottaway, 55, Sonora, CA 14 9) Sherri Hall-Curl, 47, Costa Mesa, CA 10 Sue Addison, 42, West Chicago, IL 10

Age-Graded Division: Men

1) John Tuttle, 40, Douglasville, GA 250 2) Craig Young, 42, Colorado Springs, CO 225 3) Jack Nelson, 59, Winnetka, IL 216 4) Dick Buerkle, 51, Atlanta, GA 214 5) Gary Romesser, 48, Indianapolis, IN 200 6) Jan Frisby, 55, Grand Junction, CO 184 7) Vic Heckler, 56, Chicago, IL 174 Fay Bradley, 61, Washington, DC 174 9) Warren Utes, 78, Park Forest, IL 158 10) Thom Weddle, 60, Burnsville, MN 151 11) Steve Winchel, 43, Janesville, WI 148 12) Charlie Gray, 44, Lee's Summit, MO 141 13) Paul Heitzman, 68, Eudora, KS 138 14) Michael Dove, 51, Salinas, CA 123 15) Jerry Johncock, 71, Grand Rapids, MI 119

Age-Graded Division: Women

1) Joan Ottaway, 55, Sonora, CA 241 2) Victoria Crisp, 46, Nashville, TN 212 3) Bev Docherty, 40, St. Paul, MN 197 4) Linda Frisby, 51, Grand Junction, CO 183 Gloria Jansen, 51, Edina, MN 183 6) Patty Valadka, 41, Houston, TX 179 7) Barbara Spannaus, 51, Shorewood, MN 155 Jeanne Lasee-Johnson, 41, Chula V., CA 152 9) Jane Welzel, 44, Ft. Collins, CO 150 10) Jane Murphy, 40, River Forest, IL 134 11) Ellen Nitz, 58, Milford, MI 129 12) Diana Fitzpatrick, 41, Larkspur, CA 120 13) Christina Nixon, 41, Park Forest, IL 115 14) Patricia Lerch, 51, Des Plaines, IL 111 Kathy Ward, 44, Carmichael, CA 111

To score Indy Life Circuit points, an athlete must be: 1) a member of USA Track & Field prior to the competition, 2) 40 years of age or older and must provide proof of age when requested and 3) either a U.S. citizen or a green card holder (permanent resident status).

Per gender at each event, eligible masters athletes earn grand prix points in two categories: finish place and age-graded performance.

The first ten finishers will earn points as follows: first place (15 points), second (12), third (10), fourth (8), fifth (6), sixth (5), seventh (4), eighth (3), ninth (2) and tenth (1).

The top age-graded finishers--at most to 44th place--will be assigned points as follows: first place (50 points), second (47), third (44), fourth (42), fifth (40), sixth (39), seventh (38) and so on down to possibly 44th place (1). Age-graded scoring will be based on the 1994 WAVA tables and at a level of 70% or higher.

Like the past two ILC editions, the distances range from 5km to the marathon, each Circuit race offers at least $2500 in masters prize money per gender and there will be a $50,000 grand prix purse-$22,000 masters division and $28,000 age-graded division. For 1999, the grand prix prize money will be available to more masters runners-four deep in the masters overall standings and ten deep in the age-graded standings (top eight in 1998).

Last year, Craig Young and Ruth Wysocki won the masters division grand prix titles, while Young and Joan Ottaway earned the age-graded division titles. Young and Ottaway repeated as ILC champions, masters and age-graded respectively. A total of 326 masters athletes (200 men and 126 women) scored points in the 1998 Indy Life Circuit.

Here's the 1999 Indy Life Circuit schedule with contact information.

February 20 Outback Steakhouse Distance Classic 12km, Orlando, FL $5,000 Lorraine Evans, (407) 351-2950 March 28 LaSalle Banks Shamrock Shuffle 8km, Chicago, IL $5,000 David Patt, (312) 666-9836 May 1 Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon*, IN $10,000 Don Carr, (317) 328-1632 June 5 Freihofer's Run for Women 5km, Albany, NY $6,000 George Regan, (518) 273-0267 August 28 Crim Festival of Races 10 Mile, Flint, MI $12,600 Anne Gault, (810) 235-7130 September 11 Riverfest Run by the River 5km, Clarksville, TN $9,000 Tiffany Lanigan, (931) 647-3855 October 3 Twin Cities Marathon*, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN $38,000 John Carnahan, (612) 673-0778 October 30 Tulsa Run 15km, Tulsa, OK $5,000 Jack Wing, (918) 587-8786

*The points--overall and age-graded--earned at the Twin Cities Marathon and Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon will be multiplied by 1.5 and 3.0 respectively.

The Indianapolis Life Insurance Company, the Circuit sponsor, is dedicated to providing the best in insurance coverage and service. Indianapolis Life offers a unique product called Runner'sEdge, which features significant premium discounts for runners. Runner'sEdge 10, 15, 20 or 30-year guaranteed level premium term plans are available to individuals who complete a 5km or longer race within a specified time. Runner'sEdge is not available in all states. For more information, call toll free (888) RUN-EDGE (786-3343) or visit their website (http://www.runnersedge.net).

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services, USATF Road Running Information Center.