DATELINE April 6, 2002, Alameda, California

Barbara Lannin, well- known hiker, adventurer, cousin of winemakers, real estate maven, French speaker, Stanford and Cal backer, president of the Izzy for President Committee, post-gourmet meal custodial engineer, and (last but not least) banker extraordinaire, finished a robust sixth (6th) in the first annual Hike For Alameda held on Saturday, April 6.  Rivals and friends alike were astounded at Lannin's 6th place finish since she announced as she crossed the Starting Line of the Hike, "I'm just looking to finish."

Two hours before race time, Las Vegas oddsmakers had Lannin at 100 to 1 odds to not finish the Hike since there were early press reports that she was going to cancel in favor of attending a Healdsburg based Homeowners Association Meeting but those reports proved false.  When Lannin arrived at the Hike starting line, bookies scurried to cover their potential losses particularly when it was reported that Lannin had demonstrated incredible zeal during the car-washing phase of the competition.

Thousands of Alamedans lined the hike course.  Dave Kurrasch, a local resident and Lannin confidant who tracked the Hike using Global Positioning Technology, remarked that "Barbara is a hero to everyone who has an AARP membership card in his or her wallet."  He went on to say that "we're elated that Barbara finished 6th and that those persons alleging that she knee-capped 2 hikers and drugged 2 other hikers are just poor sports."

Lannin also announced a new promotional agreement with the Alameda Fosters Freeze to which she attributed the extra energy needed to put on a "closing kick" near the end of the Hike.  Observers noticed that Lannin had consumed large quantities of Fosters Freeze soft ice cream and posed for pictures with owners of the Fosters Freeze franchise in Alameda.  Lannin was quoted as saying "whenever I need some extra energy and want to have my senses razor sharp, I stop by for a Dip Cone and there's nothing I can't do."  Terms of the promotional agreement were not announced but informed sources close to Lannin say that she will receive consideration worth $2.50 for linking her name and image to the Fosters Freeze ad campaign slated to start in the Alameda Journal in May.

At a post Hike news conference, Lannin was asked, given her remarkable results in Alameda, whether she now planned to compete in the upcoming Provence Hike.  Short of a full commitment, Lannin did say that the adrenaline was running through her veins and the thrill of competition and the excitement of placing 6th had her thinking seriously about giving up banking and devoting her full energies to hiking.  Weekend options trading of Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) stock showed unusual volatility after news of Lannin's potential career change hit the news wires.

One brave reporter from the New York Times asked Lannin if she would have been happier to have finished first, or perhaps second.  Her response was, "If my employer can issue a press release expressing pleasure at being the 6th best On-Line Brokerage Company, why can't I enjoy similar success in the Hike?"  Showing her anger at the reporter's question, Lannin charged off the winner's podium and proceeded to put a straw in a bottle of Murphy Goode Chardonnay and lapse into a drunken stupor.  Lannin confidant Kurrasch proceeded to issue repeated denials that Lannin doesn't have a drinking problem.

For more on the race and Barbara Lannin's Hiking Career, please visit www.sixthplacefinishes.com.