August 22, 2002

Registration Now Closed for B.A.A. HALF MARATHON, presented by New England Baptist Hospital.

October 13th race reaches field size limit of 4,000 participants.

Registration for the B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by New England Baptist Hospital (NEBH), is now closed. The second annual 13.1-mile road race reached its capacity of 4,000 participants just five weeks after registration began on July 15. Race day is Sunday, October 13 with an 8:00 a.m. start.

The B.A.A. Half Marathon is organized by the Boston Athletic Association, best known for its Boston Marathon, and is the only half marathon road race currently held in either Brookline or Boston. It is one of only eight half marathons scheduled to be held in Massachusetts this year, and with 2,517 finishers in 2001, the B.A.A. Half Marathon was also the largest half marathon in the state.

New England Baptist Hospital, located on Mission Hill just steps away from the Emerald Necklace, is the presenting sponsor for the half marathon. A world leader in orthopedics and sports medicine, NEBH is proud to join with the B.A.A. for this premier event, which benefits its community and caters to athletes of every level.

A portion of the entry fees will be donated to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy for the maintenance, preservation and beautification of the park system.

B.A.A. Half Marathon Course: The course begins and ends at Roberto Clemente Park in Boston9's Back Bay Fens neighborhood. The race proceeds through the Riverway, over Route 9 and into Brookline, and follows Jamaica Pond to the Arborway and Franklin Park.

The course, which returns from Franklin Park along the Arborway, Jamaicaway and Riverway, incorporates much of the Emerald Necklace park system. Renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed the Emerald Necklace from 1878 to 1896 to serve as a pastoral refuge and an urban oasis.

The B.A.A. Half Marathon was conceived to fit Olmsted's vision of active use of one of the Boston-area's most treasured landmarks. In its "Best of Boston" list (August 2002), Boston Magazine named the Riverway, Jamaicaway and Jamaica Pond, venue of the B.A.A. Half Marathon, as the city's Best Running Path. A searchable B.A.A. Half Marathon entrants database is available at B.A.A.

For further information, please contact Jack Fleming or Julia Beeson at the B.A.A. (617-236-1652) or Chris Dwyer at NEBH (617-754-5403).