** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

2003's Greatest Age-Defying Feat

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA-Imagine leaving a hotel in Philadelphia to drive the 109 miles to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Better yet, instead of picking up the keys to the rental, imagine slipping into your Nikes and running the distance. That's just what San Francisco's Ray Piva did at the 2003 USA 24-Hour Run Championship November 8 and 9 on the track at the University of California San Diego.

This would be an amazing accomplishment for a 20- or 30-year-old Olympic-calibre runner, but Piva is no 20, 30, or even 40-year-old. Ray Piva is 77 years young!

During this 24-hour race Piva covered 109.38 miles, finished twenty-eighth out of 81 much younger competitors, and set three world age-group records in the process. Starting out at noon on Saturday, by midnight he had run 58.66 miles for a new 12-hour age-group world record. On Sunday morning, twenty-one and a half hours into his run, Piva reached 100 miles, breaking his own record from the year before by about one and a half hours.

With no athletic background other than sandlot ball as a youth, Piva started running at age 54 just to get in shape. His first jog around a quarter-mile track left this former smoker gasping for air and thinking that his lungs were "going to explode." With this impetus he started a regular walking regimen which over time evolved into competitive running. 

Ed Mayhew, author of Fitter After 50: Forever Changing Our Beliefs About Aging says, "While most of us will never aspire to run 100-mile races, Ray shows us that we don't have to part ways with our stamina, vigor, and vitality as we age."

Last year, while a mere youngster of 76, Piva ran just over 105 miles at the 2002 USA 24-Hour Run Championship at Olander Park in Sylvania, Ohio. This year, a year older, he increased his distance covered by over 4 miles despite having his "back go out" and having to walk the last two and a half hours.

Just 25 hours after he crossed the finish line this year, Piva told Mayhew, "My back's fine, I'm feeling pretty good. I'd like to try a 48-hour race next." Obviously a 24-hour race is not enough to wear out this septuagenarian. It appears that Ray Piva is getting better with age. For more information about Piva and/or others who are defying old age, pick up a copy of the November/December issue of Marathon And Beyond magazine, visit www.FitterAfter50.com , or call 1-888-280-7715 to order Fitter After 50. ###

For review copies or interviews, contact: Charlene McGlashan, Press Release Coordinator Tel: 800-839-8640 ext. 244 Fax: 812-339-6554 Email: pressreleases@1stbooks.com cmcglashan@1stbooks.com Photo(s) available: Ellie Sanchez, Public Relations 760-942-5545 ellie@sandiego1dayrace.com www.sandiego1dayrace.com