Press Release - Easter Island Marathon - 12/27/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                               Contact: Thom Gilligan
                                                             (617) 242-7845

                                                             Patrice Malloy
                                                             (760) 635-2833
									
                 EASTER ISLAND MARATHON EXPLORES GROWTH

EASTER ISLAND, CHILE (December 27, 2002) - With a successful inaugural race 
under its belt, the Easter Island Marathon is actively seeking runners far 
outside its 63-square-mile island for its 2003 edition announced race 
officials today. The second annual Easter Island Marathon, half-marathon 
and 10K is scheduled for June 7, 2003.

"We had a strong response from the islanders and mainland Chile in our 
inaugural year," said Race Director Rodrigo Salas.  "Now we are ready to 
welcome runners from around the world."  Around the world they will come 
but never in large numbers. Due to limited hotel accommodations on the tiny 
island, the event must cap its entries at 150.  Fifty entries have been 
reserved specifically for North American runners for the 2003 event.  

"This is definitely a niche market marathon," explained Thom Gilligan, 
president of Marathon Tours and Travel, the event's official North American 
travel agency.  "Runners will travel to the Easter Island Marathon 
primarily to experience the adventure of running in a mysterious remote 
destination, not to be part of a large crowd."

Situated in the South Pacific Ocean between Chile and Tahiti, Easter Island 
is located more than 2,000 miles from the nearest population center and is 
one of the most isolated inhabited islands in the world. The island is 
primarily known for its mysterious 800-plus stone statues or "Moai," which 
punctuate the landscape and outnumber the race participants by more than 
five to one. On average the stoic Moai stand 13 feet high and weigh 14 
tons. 

The statues' human-like heads featuring heavy foreheads are carved from 
rough hardened volcanic ash. Although the statues abound, nobody really 
knows how or why the massive Moai were built or how they were transported 
to their various perches around the island. The marathon's semi-flat course 
winds by many of the island's fixated Moai.

For more information about the Easter Island Marathon, call Marathon Tours 
and Travel at 1-800-444-4097 or log on to www.MarathonTours.com.
     
Marathon Tours and Travel is the leading marathon tour operator in the U.S. 
and offers comprehensive travel packages to marathons worldwide including 
the Antarctica Marathon and the Safaricom Marathon in Kenya, the only 
marathon run entirely within a game park. 

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