The Vision

It was John Lennon who implored the world in 1969 "to give peace a chance." Six years later in 1975, with the country still reeling from the effects of Viet Nam and with the cold war continuing to escalate, a runner and activist from Youngstown, Ohio took the first step in acting on Lennon's plea. That was the year that Jack Cessna founded the Youngstown Peace Race. Cessna's vision was that of an event which would bring together athletes from around the world to America's midwest for a day of competition, friendship and understanding.

The History

Today, the Peace Race has hosted many of the world's most celebrated runners and has fulfilled the vision of its founder. That first year, the race was a 25k run though Youngstown's bucolic Mill Creek Park. In 1979 an additional race, the 10k, was added. The 25k was eliminated in 1989 and today this world-class event remains a 10k with an additional 2 mile fun run/walk.

The Mission

To provide a community event that celebrates the sport of running, the spirit of the athlete and the momentary heartbeat of peace.

The Athletes

They come from all over the world. They come for the competition. They come to celebrate peace. For the last 32 years, champions have come to Youngstown, Ohio to be a part of this exciting event. The Peace Race has drawn such outstanding athletes as:

Lasse Viren Finland 1972&1976 Olympic Champion in the 5k and 10k
Frank Shorter USA '72 Olympic Marathon Champ.,'76 Olymic Marathon Runner-Up
Rob DeCastella Austrailia '83 World Marathon Champ., '86 Boston Marathon Champ., former WR holder in marathon w/ 2:08:18 in '81 (Fukuoka, Japan Marathon)
Liz McColgan Scotland 1991 World 10,000m Champ., 1991 NYC Marathon Champ.
Bill Rodgers USA 4-time Boston Marathon Champion, 4-time NYC Marathon Champion
Olga Markova USSR 1992 and 1993 Boston Marathon Champion
Steve Jones Great Britain 1988 NYC Marathon Champ.,former world record holder in marathon with 2:08:05 in 1985 (Chicago Marathon)
Salvatore Garcia Mexico 1992 NYC Marathon Champion
Jack Fultz USA 1976 Boston Marathon Champion
Jerome Drayton Canada 1977 Boston Marathon Champion
Tom Fleming USA 1973 and 1975 NYC Marathon Champion
Orlando Pizzolato Italy 1984 and 1985 NYC Marathon Champion
Julie Brown USA 1975 World Cross Country Champion
John Treacy Ireland '78,'79 World CC Champion, '84 Olympic Marathon Runner-Up

The Records

25k Men	25k Women
1 1981 - Randy Thomas (USA) - 1:15:27 2 1980 - Kyle Heffner (USA) - 1:16:05 3 1978 - Malcolm East (GBR) - 1:16:14 4 1984 - Pete Pfitzinger (USA) - 1:17:34 5 1977 - Bill Rodgers (USA) - 1:17:37	1 1982 - Jane Buch (USA)- 1:33:16 2 1981 - Sissel Grottenberg (NOR) - 1:35:01 3 1983 - Barb Filutze (USA) - 1:35:07 4 1984 - Michelle Rupe (USA) - 1:35:19 5 1980 - Nancy Mieszezak - 1:36:05
10k Men	10k Women
1 1989 - Salvatore Garcia (MEX) - 27:54 2 1989 - John Halversen (NOR) - 27:59 3 1989 - Eugeni Ignatov (BUL) - 28:03 4 1989 - Pat Porter (USA) - 28:06 5 1991 - Keith Brantley (USA) - 28:09	1 1991 - Liz McColgean (SCOT) - 31:35 2 1991 - Elaine Van Blunk (USA) - 31:56 3 1991 - Albirm Galljamoutul - 32:30 4 1991 - Olga Markova - (USSR) - 32:34 5 1991 - Anne-Marie Lefko - 32:39

The 10K Youngstown Peace Race Winners

2005	29:44	Matt Folk (USA)	35:21	Jessica Kuhr (USA)
2004	29:36	Gareth Price (USA)	34:05	Brianna Shook (USA)
2003	29:15	Jim Jurcevich (USA)	34:27	Anjanette Arabian (USA)
10-06-2002	29:55	Henry Dennis (USA)	35:23	Debbi Kilpatrick (USA)
10-07-2001	28:33	Moses Macharia (KEN)	34:20	Jackline Torori (KEN)
10-08-2000	28:33	Thomas Omwenga (KEN)	33:07	Lucia Subano (KEN)
10-10-1999	29:12	Julius Gwako (KEN)	34:57	Karen Harvey-2
10-11-1998	29:16	Jared Segura (KEN)	33:56	Michelle King (CAN)
10-12-1997	28:38	Charleyrd Mulinga (ZAM)	33:54	Karen Harvey (CAN)
10-06-1996	29:32	Paul aufdemBerge (USA)	35:28	Terri Lemke (USA)
10-08-1995	28:20	Sean Dollman (IRL)	33:42	Lioudmila Alexeeff (CAN)
10-09-1994	28:39	James Hearld (USA)	33:14	Danuta Bartoszek (CAN)
10-03-1993	29:43	Mike Michno (USA)	33:49	Jennifer Martin (USA)
1992	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
10-13-1991	28:09	Keith Brantly (USA)	31:35	Liz McColgan (SCO)
10-21-1990	28:21	Salvador Garcia-2	32:31	Elaine vanBlunk-2
10-22-1989	27:54	Salvador Garcia (MEX)	31:56	Elaine vanBlunk (USA)
10-22-1988	29:38	Evgeni Ignatov (BUL)	34:47	May Allison (CAN)
10-24-1987	29:09	Zackariah Barie-3	33:47	Susan Wightman (WAL)
10-18-1986	28:55	Rob deCastella (AUS)	n/a	n/a
11-02-1985	29:54	Colin Peddie (USA)	35:26	Cyndie Brown (USA)
1984	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
11-05-1983	29:23	Zackariah Barie-2	33:51	Anne Audain (NZL)
11-06-1982	29:27	Jose Gomez (MEX)	32:52	Julie Brown (USA)
11-07-1981	29:13	Domingo Tibaduiza (COL	35:21	Merernett Bean (BER)
11-08-1980	29:52	Zackariah Barie (TAN)	36:05	Sissel Grottenberg (NOR)

Most Wins (1980/date)

Men

Women