RITZENHEIN TO CLASH WITH GEBRSELASSIE IN BUPA 30TH GREAT NORTH RUN

World half marathon bronze medallist Dathan Ritzenhein will line up in what should be a very close head-to-head with Haile Gebrselassie at the Bupa 30th Great North Run on Sunday September 19.

The American star will return to the North East of England, where he made his debut over the distance four years ago, to challenge the supremacy of the world's greatest-ever distance runner. Gebrselassie confirmed his participation last week with Ritzenhein immediately being head hunted by Bupa 30th Great North Run organisers and agreeing to challenge the Ethiopian star. Ritzenhein was third in the 2006 Bupa Great North Run where he experimented with the distance for the first time and, although looking a spent force after 11 miles, bounced back to finish third behind South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala and Dejene Berhanu of Ethiopia. The 27-year-old, new to the event's tactics and tipped to become the new face of American distance running, said: “The pace was all over the place. There was a lot of surging and they were running miles between 4:25 and 5 minutes. “I tried to be smart and run an even pace. When they kept surging, I didn’t panic. And at some points I tried to let them know I wasn’t intimidated.” Ritzenhein's career has progressed rapidly since that occasion. On the track he set a USA 5000 metres record in Zurich last summer and this year won a third National cross country title. Last autumn he also took the bronze medal at the World Half Marathon in Birmingham where he ran a time of exactly one hour, which he will be aiming to better when making his return to the North East of England. "We're delighted to get Dathan on board again, he's helping to lead the way in the renaissance of American running and the half marathon distance suits him perfectly," said Peter Riley elite athletes manager of the event. "I'm sure he will give Haile a good run for his money and it's good to have already signed up two world class performers for this year's meeting." Ends For further information call Lynsey Stephenson Lynsey.stephenson@nova-international.com 0191 2263249 07595564266 Editors notes Nova International The Bupa Great North Run is brought to you event organisers Nova International and is sponsored by Bupa. Nova International, headed by Olympic Medallist Brendan Foster is one of the UK’s leading event management and sports marketing agencies. The company’s current brand portfolio also includes some of the biggest running events in the world all based on the Great North Run, the world’s biggest event with over 54,000 entries. Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova have established themselves as a market leader in the world of sports marketing and event management. For more information please visit www.greatrun.org. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run Celebrating the 30th staging of the Bupa Great North Run, this major new exhibition explores this enormously popular event. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run looks at the significant role this event has played in reflecting and shaping the region's cultural identity. As well as the well known stories of elite runners, In The Long Run will also explore the huge organisational effort behind the Bupa Great North Run, documenting the event’s community spirit and creating a powerful piece of social history. Alongside interactive exhibits, memorabilia and star objects, In The Long Run will present artwork from the archives of Bupa Great North Run Culture and new commissions will be presented by Sir Peter Blake and Claire Leona Apps. Bupa Bupa is a leading international healthcare company. Established in 1947, it has over ten million customers in more than 190 countries and employs over 52,000 people around the world. Its main interests are health insurance, care homes for young disabled and older people, workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching and healthcare services in the home. While Bupa’s largest and original business is in the UK, it has significant operations around the world including Sanitas in Spain, MBF, HBA, Mutual Community in Australia, IHI in Denmark and Health Dialog in the US. Bupa also has businesses in Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and Latin America. In addition, Bupa Care Services owns care homes in Spain, Australia and New Zealand. Bupa has no shareholders. We reinvest our money to provide better healthcare for our customers, helping them to live longer, happier, healthier lives.

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