--/ MICHIGAN RUNNER TV SHOW DEBUTS

--/ NEW COURSE MAPS FOR DETROIT FREE PRESS/FLAGSTAR BANK INTERNATIONAL MARATHON

--/ COLUMBUS MARATHON REGISTRATION IS UP

--/ KERMIT AMBROSE STILL GOING STRONG AT 90

--/ NCAA CROSS COUNTRY DIV I CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

--/ MICHIGAN RUNNER TV SHOW DEBUTS

The Michigan Runner TV Show http://michiganrunner.tv debuts today with coverage of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, the Witch's Hat Run, the FIAMM-Heritage Labor Day Race, Cadillac, an interview with Paul and Jill McMullen, and the Adidas Outdoor Championships on June 14-17, 2001. The monthly show will go bi-weekly in May of 2002.

The show is the latest in a series of innovations that the Michigan Runner has made since its inception in 1979. In 1995 the Michigan Runner became the first running publication on the Internet: http:// michiganrunner.com. Currently the publication is averaging 34,762 online readers per issue, or 208,577 for the publishing year, October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2001.

MRTV is the second of three Internet television shows being launched this year by Great Lakes Sports Publications. This past March, GLSP launched the Michigan Golfer Internet Television Show: http:// michigangolfer.tv.

It was the first such program in the world. We had a total of 33 weekly shows this year. Over 25,000 people will have tuned in and spent an average of 15 minutes on the site. Later this month, we will offer our third, the Michigan Skier TV show.

--/ NEW COURSE MAPS FOR DETROIT FREE PRESS/FLAGSTAR BANK INTERNATIONAL MARATHON

Because of heightened security at the Canadian border with Detroit, the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank International Marathon presented by Casino Windsor will be run entirely on American soil for only the second time in its 24-year history. U.S. and Canadian border officials announced that the marathon's route over the Ambassador Bridge into Windsor and back through the Detroit/Windsor tunnel would not be possible in the aftermath of September 11. The new course map is available online at http://ebusiness.matrixti.net/freepalpha/html/2001mapgif.html.

Even if you are not running the marathon, you can still participate; registration for the Compuware 5K is open through race day, Sunday, October 21, 2001 and the Whole Foods Market Health and Fitness Expo is open to the public 3pm to 8pm, Friday, and 10am to 8pm Saturday. Saturday's Runner's Clinic features Doug Kurtis, Greg Meyer, and Michigan Runner columnist and author, Bob Schwartz. For more information see http://ebusiness.matrixti.net/freepalpha/html/ healthexpo.html. Michigan Runner will have a booth at the Expo; be sure to stop by and say "Hi!".

--/ COLUMBUS MARATHON REGISTRATION IS UP

Mike Collins, Race Director for the Columbus Marathon, indicates that the numbers are up from last year. "It got kind of quite after September 11th, but registration really picked up around the first of October," said Collins. The race will be televised throughout the state. This is truly one of America's great marathons. http://columbusmarathon.com

--/ KERMIT AMBROSE STILL GOING STRONG AT 90

The Michigan Runner ran into Kermit Ambrose at the Wolverine Interregional Cross Country meet, this past Sunday. Like so many of the record breaking crowd of over 1500 spectators, he was there to see the home course debut of running phenom and David Letterman guest, Alan Webb.

Kermit is 90 years old and seemingly no where near the finish line. He has an active calendar for 2002, with his next visit at the MAC Championships at EMU's Eagle Crest in a couple of weeks.

--/ NCAA CROSS COUNTRY DIV I CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

It will be a Michigan show at the NCAA Cross Country Division I Championships this year. University of Michigan's Alan Webb has won all three of the meets in which he has appeared this season, including the Wolverine Interregional October 14 at the hilly, slippery, and wet University of Michigan Golf Course. He cruised in more than 30 seconds before teammate-All Americans Mike Wisniewski and Mark Pilja. At the Pre-NCAA meet in Furman, South Carolina the day before, Eastern Michigan University's Boaz Cheboiywo not only won the meet in a course record 23:31; he beat top-ranked Colorado's Dathan Ritzenhein and Jorge Torres. Rockford, Michigan native Ritzenhein took the Footlocker High School Cross Country championship from Webb last December. Now that Cheboiywo is in the mix, the Monday, November 19th, meet in Greenville, SC should be interesting. You can see Cheboiywo in action at the 4pm, Friday, October 19 at the EMU Open, Rolling Hills Country Park and again at Noon, Saturday, October 27, at the MAC Championships, Eagle Crest Golf Course.

Jennie McCafferty, Editor Michigan Running News