(Tumon, Guam) Wayne Blas, first place winner of the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race with a time of 1:13:40, is home on Guam for the first time in four years. �It�s wonderful to be back after four years of being away and seeing family and friends,� Blas said. Blas, who is company commander of the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, has been stationed in Iraq since January 2007. This is Blas� third tour of duty in Iraq since he was commissioned in May 2001.

Blas, who hails from the northern village of Dededo, Guam, heard about the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race while in Iraq and upon realizing that his �R & R,� or rest and relaxation time, coincided with the race, he immediately signed up online. �It�s great that it was online,� Blas said, �It�s a very efficient way to register.� The 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race winner began his training in Iraq, where at 5 am in the morning the temperature was already well in to the 90�s (Fahrenheit). �I was trying to train early in the morning, but it was just too hot,� said Blas. When asked if his brief training stint in Iraq�s heat gave him an edge over other competitors, Blas said, �Iraq is hot but it doesn�t have Guam�s humidity, so I don't think I had an advantage over anyone.�

Living in the scorching heat of Iraq, where average daily temperatures reach 130 degrees, may not have given Blas an advantage, but the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race is not his first race this year, or even this month. Blas recently completed in the Army 10-miler held in Washington DC, an event that has been in the news of late due to the fatal collapse of one of its competitors. Prior to his enlistment in the military service, Blas was also a member of the Guam Running Club, who assisted greatly with the both the 2006 and 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Races, and Blas participated in races on a regular basis.

The Guam Visitors Bureau is extremely proud of this year�s winner of the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race, Wayne Blas, who not only came in first place but beat last year�s winning time by 4:14. GVB and the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race sponsors are equally proud of the exemplary duty to our country that Blas provides along with all of his fellow service men and women.

Once verified, all of the final official results of the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race will be posted on the GVB website, www.visitguam.org GVB would like to thank the nearly 600 competitors who participated in this year�s Guam Ko�ko� Road Race and made the event such a huge success. GVB also extends a very special thank you to Race Director Ernie Galito for the incredible job he did coordinating the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race, which competitors agreed was a wonderful run and very well organized race.

GVB would also like to thank the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race sponsors, including the title sponsor Community First Federal Credit Union; Continental Micronesia, official carrier of the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race; DFS Galleria; Hilton Guam Resort & Spa, official hotel of the 2007 Guam Ko�ko� Road Race; and the Marianas Variety � Guam, the island�s local and regional newspaper.

In closing, GVB, the race sponsors, participants, and the people of Guam would like to thank the Department of Agriculture�s Aquatic & Wildlife Division for bringing one of the Guam Ko�ko� Road Race�s benefactors to the event this morning. �Pugua,� a Guam Rail that has been bred in captivity, was present at the breakfast reception this morning at the finish of the race and many of the race participants were able to have their picture taken with the Ko�ko, as it is called in Guam�s native language of Chamorro. The awards ceremonies will be held this evening as part of the closing ceremonies of the 20th Guam Micronesia Island Fair and more Ko�ko� birds will be present to bolster Guam�s efforts to bring attention to the plight of its territorial bird, the endemic, endangered Guam Rail. If you are interested in learning more about the Ko�ko bird, please visit the GVB website at www.visitguam.org

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Media Contact: Cindy Hanson chanson@visitguam.org +1 671-646-5278