Additional
Information
Date:
Saturday, August 08, 2009

Time:
07:30 AM

Venue:
Upson - Hwy 77
Address:
Hurley, WI 54534

Brief Description:
Marathon travels point to point paved course along beautiful northwoods
backroads. Chip Timing! Traditional finisher's shirts & great finisher's
medals! Race morning packet pick-up for all PREregistered participants!
Shuttle from downtown FINISH area to START area in Upson on Race Day
morning.

Additional Information
The Paavo also offers two types of relay team competition - the 2 Person &
the 5 Person. The 2 Person Relay offers six divisions: Men's, Women's,
Mixed, Men's Masters, Women's Masters and Mixed Masters. The 5
Person Relay also offers five divisions:Men's, Women's, Men's Masters,
Womens Masters, Mixed and Mixed Masters. The master's teams consist of
racers age 40 and over. Both the 5 Person Mixed & Mixed Masters must
consist of a minimum of 2 women. Relay teams must be registered by
Monday, August 4, 2008 at 5:00pm CST in order to receive a t-shirt. Teams
may register after that date, but will not receive participant's shirts for the
event.  NEW in 2009 --- half marathon!!!!

FINISH LINE Mojakka (Finnish stew), refreshments, fruit and bread are
available at the finish line. The finish line closes at 1:30 pm. AWARDS
Traditional Paavo Marathon finishers T-Shirts and Finisher medals will be
awarded to marathon finishers on race day. Awards will be given to overall
and age groups in the men's and women's divisions in the marathon. Awards
are given to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place teams in each relay division. No duplicate
awards are given. No ties allowed.

PAAVO BACKGROUND INFORMATION Where were you in 1969? If you
were in northern Wisconsin during the summer of '69 you could have seen or
even run in the first-ever Paavo Nurmi Marathon. If you weren't here for that
running-plan now to come to Hurley, Wisconsin for the annual running of the
Paavo Nurmi Marathon, always held on the second Saturday in August. It
was in August of 1969 that Dr. Thomas Rosandich, who ran an intensive
athletic training camp in the northwoods of Iron County, Wisconsin, had
gathered about 70 of his athletes and charted a course that took them 26
miles, 385 yards north to Hurley, Wisconsin's fabled Silver Street. Little did
Rosandich, now President of the U.S. Sports Academy in Daphne, Alabama,
know that 25 years later the marathon he began would grow to become
Wisconsin's longest running marathon, and, in the process, precede and
outlive a running mania that spawned a host of marathons in a host of
communities throughout the nation. The marathon's namesake, Paavo Nurmi,
was the winner of nine Olympic Gold Medals, the greatest Finnish runner in
that nation's history. The name reflects the predominantly Finnish heritage of
the region. The cream of the midwest distance runners traditionally join
forces with hundreds of novice and veteran marathoners for the running of
"The Paavo". The USTAF-sanctioned Marathon begins at 7:30 a.m. on that
Saturday in August, on the main street in the small community of Upson and
conclude several hours later on Silver Street in Hurley, having run its course
through forests and fields, along rivers and lakes. The marathon enjoyed its
zenith in the mid-1970's, when over 1,100 runners would take to the course.
As the national craze in distance running faded by the 1980's, so did the
interest in the Paavo as marathon entrants dwindled and settled at around the
350 mark, but the machine that drives the Paavo kept going, and while
marathons around the nation ceased to run, the Paavo kept churning away,
mile after mile, year after year. The sponsors of the race, the Hurley Area
Lioness, and the Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce, provide the
organizational skills to keep the race running, but it's the runners and the
area resident volunteers who make the race "go". Area residents and
volunteers embrace the runners with their applause and encouragement, and
many continue to open their homes to runners from throughout the region, in
turn creating long-lasting friendships that endure long after the final runner
comes across the finish line. The record for the event stands at 2:19.10, set
by Richard Wilde of England in 1978. The women's record is held by Mary
Bange of La Crosse, Wis., in a time of 2:47.49, set in 1979. The race
weekend begins with a carbo-loaded Spaghetti Feed (location to be
determined) on the Friday afternoon and continues that night with a gala
torchlighting ceremony on Hurley's Silver Street. After the marathon, a
festive "Post Paavo Party" and awards ceremony is held in Hurley, with
music, food and refreshments available for everyone. For more information
on the Paavo Nurmi Marathon, contact Rita Franzoi, Race Director, at the
Hurley Chamber of Commerce (7l5) 56l-4334. Fees go up after July 10th, to
$50 per marathon and $40 per relay participant.

Fees:
Marathon - $45 until 7/10, $50 after.
Relay (Per Participant)- $35 until 7/10, $40 after.

Online Registration Closes:
08/06/09 06:00 PM
Website:
http://www.hurleywi.com