CHRIS FILLIO COMPLETES 5TH AND FINAL MARATHON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Arlington, VA, October 30, 2005 -- Vowing that a good showing would make this his final marathon, Chris Fillio kept true to his word, retiring after a personal best 02:57:33 in the 30th running of the Marine Corps Marathon. The race was Fillio's fifth attempt to break the three-hour barrier, having run previously in 2000-2003.

With near ideal weather conditions and almost five months of intense training behind him, Fillio easily surpassed his previous PR of 03:16:51, set in 2002.

More importantly, through his work soliciting donations from numerous, generous friends, Fillio was able to raise almost $3000 for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the National Capial Area.

"I really felt pretty good out there, though admittedly there were some times where coming in under three [hours] was in doubt," noted Fillio. "I give a lot of credit to my focused training and all the support I received. My wife, my training partner, Alex...they were great. And I got tons of excellent advice from my running coach, Nick Panebianco. He's the man!"

While some have speculated that Fillio would come out of retirement to compete in addditional marathons, he all but put those rumors to bed.

"This is it for me, marathon-wise," said an obviously elated Fillio. "I had a lifelong goal of breaking three hours and I did it. It's time to move on. Besides, the time investment...what, five months hard training and an offseason regimen? That takes up ten, twenty hours a week. That's time I could better spend with my family, or even drinking beer."

Later, Fillio noted that he will continue competitive running, and has set a new goal of a sub 1-hour 10-miler. In his only 10-mile race to date, the 2004 Army Ten Miler, Fillio came in at 1:06.

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