Dennis Simonaitis Inducted Into USATF Masters Hall of Fame: Long Distance Utah Runner Receives Lifetime Honor

Salt Lake City, UT, February 15, 2016 (Newswire.com) - The USA Track & Field Utah Association publicly recognizes Dennis Simonaitis’ induction into the national USA Track & Field’s Masters Hall of Fame. This formal recognition occurred at the 2015 USA Track & Field National Convention this past December in Houston, TX. Simonaitis, now 53 years old, has won masters national championship races since 2003 and continues to race in this competitive over 40-year-old category.

“The running talent in our state never ceases to amaze me,” said USATF Utah president Demetrio Cabanillas. “The remarkable wins, national records, and consistent achievements by Dennis show he is a world-class runner.“

Simonaitis currently holds American masters long distance running records for the 5 km (14:45, 45-49 age division), 8 km (24:14, 45-49 age division), and 25 km (1:22:10, 45-49 age division) distances.

Simonaitis won 15 masters national championships since 2003 at the 5 km, 10 km, 20 km, 25 km, half marathon, and marathon distances. He also won a cross country masters national championship. He achieved a 95.06% average age grade score of his 25 best performances. This relatively new scoring model has Simonaitis recognized as a world class runner since 2002. Simonaitis’ notoriety has been highlighted in 2005 and 2011 articles by Runner’s World.

Simonaitis is married to Michelle Simonaitis. In the past, both have qualified for the Olympic marathon trials and have been recognized as one of America’s fastest couples.

The following is a listing of Simonaitis’ fastest long distance running events:

Distance              Time                      Location                               Date
5 km                      13:50                     Boston (USA)                     1992
8 km                      24:14                     Virginia Beach (USA)        03/20/2010
10 km                    28:38                     Dedham (USA)                  06/04/1988
12 km                    38:13                     Spokane (USA)                  05/02/2010
15 km                    46:41                     Jacksonville (USA)             03/08/2003
10 mi                     49:46                     Stockton (USA)                  01/13/2002
20 km                    1:05:20                  New Haven (USA)             09/02/2002
Half marathon     1:06:25                  Carlsbad (USA)                 01/21/2001
25 km                    1:20:26                  Grand Rapids (USA)         05/08/2004
Marathon             2:14:14                  St. Paul (USA)                    10/08/1989

About USTAF Utah
The purposes of the USA Track & Field Utah association are to act as the governing body for Athletics in the state of Utah, and to act as the USATF member in the state of Utah. Resident athletes, coaches and officials of Utah can join the association to receive discounts and members-only content, participate in annual contests, and more by visiting the USATF Utah website at http://utah.usatf.org/.