Pittsburgh Marathon

DIVERSE WOMEN'S FIELD HEADED FOR UPMC HEALTH SYSTEM/CITY OF PITTSBURGH
MARATHON ON MAY 6
International Athletes Return to Pittsburgh

After serving as the U.S. Men's Marathon Championship and Olympic Trials
for the past four years, the UPMC Health System/City of Pittsburgh Marathon
returns to an all international race for 2001. When the race steps off in
front of the City-County building on May 6 at 7:45 a.m., elite athletes
from Algeria, Kenya, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, United States, and Venezuala will
be vying for over $60,000 in prize money and bonuses.

"Even while we were hosting the U.S. Men's Championships we were able to
maintain an international women's race," explains race director, Larry
Grollman. "But during last year's Olympic Trials we couldn't. It's great
to see the international elites come back to Pittsburgh, especially the
women."

The elite field includes the following athletes (listed by career best times):

Tatiana Pozdnyakova, 46, Ukraine (2:29:25): Possibly the greatest women's
masters runner of all-time, Pozdnyakova has won a number of marathons
outright since turning 40 back in 1995. She set her career best time of
2:29:25 at the age of 42 in Chicago in 1998, the second-fastest marathon
ever by a masters woman. In January of last year --at the age of 44-- she
won the Houston Marathon in 2:32:25, just one of three overall race
victories she managed in a period of just 15 days. She was 15th (2nd
master) at last year's Boston Marathon and fourth (1st master) at Twin
Cities. She lives in Gainesville, Fla. when she stays in the U.S.

Irina Suvorova, 30, Russia (2:29:43 Career Best): Suvorova, who competed
first under her maiden name of Pupaza, will make her Pittsburgh debut
after a strong season last year. She competed in four marathons in 2000,
winning two (Richmond, Va. and Seville, Spain) and placed second in the other two
(Twin Cities and Moscow). At the Twin Cities race she set her personal
best time of 2:29:43. Her victory at Richmond was especially noteworthy.
Spurred by the incentive of winning a new car for running sub-2:35,
Suvorova was not only leading all of the women at the 25 mile mark, but all of the
men, too! She was eventually passed by the men's winner, but was the
second runner to cross the finish line, smashing the course record and beating
her nearest rival in the women's race by more than 20 minutes. She lives in
Moscow.

Alevtina Naoumova, 40, Russia (2:29:49): Now a masters athlete, Naoumova
was a top marathoner in her prime. Her titles include Houston and Twin Cities
in 1994, Cleveland in 1991 and Lille (France) in 1993. But she is still
fast! Last year at the age of 39, she clocked 2:35:30 at Cleveland (third
place) and 2:39:08 at Provicence (4th place). She also won the Appleton
(Wisc.) marathon last year. During her 2001 campaign, she was fourth
overall, and set a masters course record, at the Motorola Austin last
February (2:37:47). This will be her first time competing at Pittsburgh.

Mary Alico, 37, Pittsburgh, Pa. (2:32:42): Alico is an interrupted runner.
Formerly one of America's top marathoners, she competed in the U.S.
Olympic Trials Marathon in 1996 and won Grandma's Marathon (Duluth) the same year,
setting her career best time. She was third at Twin Cities (2:36:07) the
same year, and in 1997 she was third at the U.S. Marathon Championships
which qualified her to compete in the World Championships Marathon in
Athens. But a series of health problems put a halt to Alico's running
career in 1998, and she only recently returned to training. Pittsburgh
will be her first marathon in nearly four years. She works for Mellon in
Private Banking.

Yelena Plastinina, 37, Ukraine (2:33:26): A marathon specialist,
Plastinina has been victorious at the distance from Bermuda to Turkey. Her marathon
titles include Grandma's (Duluth) 1998, Istanbul 1996, Hamilton (Bermuda)
1998 and 1999, Hartford 2000, Apeldoorn (Netherlands) 2000 and Kosice
(Slovakia) 1993. She has already placed second in two marathons during
the 2001 season, in Hamilton (2:46:05) and Austin (2:36:05). She resides in
Sevastopol, Ukraine.

Violetta Kryza, 32, Poland (2:33:44): A prolific marathoner, Kryza is a
veteran of over 20 marathons. Her marathon running has taken her as far
as Bangkok, Sao Paulo, Edinburgh, Taipei, and even Cleveland, where she was
the 2000 champion. "I was hoping for third," she said after that race.
Kryza has 12 career marathon wins, and has won the Echternach Marathon in
Luxemburg for the last four years. During 2000, she competed in six
marathons! She will be making her Pittsburgh debut, and is coming off of
a series of good performances this season, including a 1:13:15 half-marathon
in The Hague.

Tatiana Maslova, 34, Russia (2:36:12): A consistent performer, Maslova won
both the Columbus and Detroit Marathons in 1998, and is a two-time winner
at Helsinki (1998 & '99). She's raced several times this season close to her
U.S. base in Florida, and won three races, including the Reedy River Run
10-K (Greenville, NC). In her one marathon outing this year, she took 6th
in Austin last february in 2:40:14. When training in the U.S., she stays
in Gainesville, Fla.

Tammy Slusser, 36, Monroeville, Pa. (2:37:14): Two-time Pittsburgh winner
Slusser crossed the finish line first in 1994 --when she set her career
best time-- and again last year in very hot conditions. She was also third in
both 1998 and 1999. Another prolific marathoner, Slusser has traveled the
world to compete at her favorite distance. She's won marathons in
Jamaica, Sydney, Bermuda, Marrakesh (Morocco), Memphis, Port of Spain (Trinidad),
and Virginia Beach. She was twice selected for U.S. national teams, running
the Chiba Ekiden in 1992 and the World Cup Marathon in 1993. "I've race on
every continent except Antartica," she recently said. A 1987 graduate of
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Slusser works for a local bank.

Margaret Kagiri, 32, Kenya (2:37:21): A familiar face on the Pennsylvania
road racing scene, Kagiri will be making her Pittsburgh debut. She was
9th in the 1999 New York City Marathon, and set her 2:37:21 personal best at
the 2000 Twin Cities Marathon, where she finished 6th. Her other road racing
credits include two victories at the Fairfield (Conn.) Half-Marathon (1998
and 1999) and a win at the Old Kent River Bank Run 25-K (Grand Rapids,
Mi.) in 1998. When training in the U.S. she resides in West Chester, Pa.

Michelle Simonaitis, 34, Draper, Utah (2:40:35): Racing at Pittsburgh for
the first time, Simonaitis will be joined by her husband and coach,
Dennis, who is a top contender in the men's race. A late bloomer, she set her
marathon personal best earlier this year, placing seventh at the Motorola
Austin Marathon last February. Simonaitis competed in last year's U.S.
Olympic Trials Marathon, and placed 38th. She works as an account manager
for Discover Financial.

Jenae Strader, 24, Lansdale, Pa. (2:49:11): At the age of 22, while still
in college at Temple University, Strader qualified for the 2000 U.S. Olympic
Trials Marathon in her first marathon. She placed an impressive 41st in
that race, on a very hot and humid day. She graduated earlier this year
from Temple with a degree in Political Science. She was born in
Pittsburgh, and has never raced the marathon here.

Kristen White, 29, Fayetteville, N.Y. (2:49:48): A pharmacist in Upstate
New York, White --who first raced under her maiden name of Schiesswohl--
qualified for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Chicago in 1999. A
1999 Cornell graduate in nutrition, she received her pharmacist's degree
from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1996. Her running
club, the Syracuse Chargers, voted her their runner of the year last year. This
will be her first marathon in Pittsburgh.

Laura Hruby, 40, Pittsburgh, Pa. (2:49:53): Hruby had an exciting year in
1999 when she qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon for the first
time by just seven seconds! She finished the hot and humid race in
Columbia, S.C. in just over three hours. A flight attendent and a 1982
Penn State graduate, she will be making her first appearance at Pittsburgh.

The women's race winner will receive at least $7,500, and $10,000 if she
breaks two hours and 35 minutes. The remaining open finishers will
receive $5,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500, $1,000 and $500, respectively. The top
U.S. finishers --who can also win open prize money-- will receive $2,500,
$2,000, $1,500 and $1,000, respectively. Therefore, a U.S. winner running under
2:35:00 will receive $12,500.

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