From race press release.

Boston's Emerald Necklace park system glistened in the mist as Fenway Park and the Franklin Park Zoo played starring roles at the second annual B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by New England Baptist Hospital.

New for 2002, the course included running the inside perimeter of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The participants entered from the centerfield gate, ran clockwise on the warning track, and exited back onto Landsdowne Street through the same gate. The distance run inside the park was _-mile, and runners' images were displayed live on the video board as they ran through Major League Baseball's legendary structure. The Red Sox also played baseball-theme music to inspire the runners and wish them well on their trek.

Leading the pack of 3,055 finishers were two local runners: one was a returning champion and both were late entrants.

Sarah Nixon, 38, of Medfield, Mass. held off a feisty challenge from Simonetta Piergentili mid-way during the race and successfully defended her B.A.A. title with a time of 1:22:34. In the men's race, David Hinga, 26, of Lowell, Mass. made his decisive move at the seven-mile mark, and held on for the remaining six miles as he recorded a course record of 1:09:47.

Nixon, who runs for Merrimack Valley Striders and who also trains regularly with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team, already has her sights set on running next April's London Marathon, but was apprehensive about her chances of retaining her half marathon victor's trophy. A courtesy call from the B.A.A. and Race Director Dave McGillivray, however, convinced her to run. She's glad she did.

With her first mile run in 6:13, Nixon led Piergentili (6:20), Emily Dranov, of Boston; Lynda Andros, of Hampton Bays, New York; and Caitlin O'Connor, of Somerville, Mass. through Fenway Park. From there, it was a two-woman race to the finish with Nixon (31:17) leading Piergentili (31:30) through five miles. She retained the same margin over Piergentili at the farthest-most point of the course -- approaching seven miles and entering the Franklin Park Zoo -- with Dranov still in third. Returning towards the start/finish area at Roberto Clemente Field in the Back Bay Fens, Piergentili caught Nixon at the nine mile mark (56:50), and the pair ran together for a little less than a mile. By 10 miles, Nixon (1:03:10) had begun to pull away again and had opened a five-second lead, which she extended over the remaining 3.1 miles to the finish.

Nixon's winning time was 39 seconds ahead of runner-up Piergentili (1:23:13), and her time was one minute, 18 seconds off her time at the inaugural B.A.A. Half Marathon in 2001. Lizbie Porter, 28, of Brighton, Mass. surged in the late miles to capture third place in 1:28:55.

"Winning last year's half marathon was one of the greatest running experiences of my life, so I just came out to see what I could do this year," said Nixon, who works at a bookstore in Wellesley Square and, coincidentally, at the half marathon mark of the Boston Marathon route. "I felt that I wasn't in as good shape as I was last year at this time, and I really just came to have fun. I'm actually a little surprised I won."

Piergentili, also 38, of Whirlaway Racing Team, recorded her personal best time by more than two minutes. "My previous best was at the New Bedford Half Marathon [in March], but I felt this was a much more challenging course," said Piergentili, who recently moved to Wilmington, Mass. and is a substitute teacher. "Entering Fenway Park, I had goose bumps," she said. "I even ran over to touch the Green Monster as I ran through," she said, referring to the historic ballpark's legendary left-field wall.

Piergentili, who will run either the Cape Cod Marathon on October 27 or the New York City Marathon on November 3, said that she had her goal split-times written on her hand, but Nixon's presence ahead caused her to run a more competitive race.

In the men's race, a lead pack of five ran together for the first seven miles, including last year's champion Wayne Levy; last year's fifth place finisher, Ryan LaFleur, of Boston; Michael Richardson, of Providence, RI; Seth McClennen, of Newton, Mass.; and Hinga.

Exiting Fenway Park after the first mile, the group of five quickly established a 50-yard lead over the next pack of runners. They remained tightly bunched into Brookline, around Jamaica Pond, along the Arborway and over the Forest Hills overpass. Then, just as the heavy mist changed to light drizzle (30 minutes into the race), the group ran its slowest mile of the day from mile five to mile six. Levy, the inaugural men's champion, briefly lost contact in Franklin Park, and that may have been the first indication to the other four contenders that he wasn't destined to repeat. Hinga, perhaps sensing a weakness among them, bolted.

The five - Hinga, LaFleur, Richardson, Levy, McClennen - entered the zoo together, but Hinga emerged with a lead of 50 yards. The approximately half-mile run through the zoo broke the field, and Hinga didn't let up. Self-described "strong on downhills," Hinga made the gradual slope down and out of Franklin Park pay off for him with his fastest split time of the day (4:56 between miles seven and eight). LaFleur and Richardson were left 15 seconds back with Levy and McClennen fractured another few steps behind the pair.

LaFleur would say later: "He [Hinga] just took off. I kept pushing, but he had already broken contact with us. I wouldn't say that I conceded the race to him at that point, I just couldn't catch him."

In fact, Richardson and LaFleur - who, along with Levy, all are members of the Boston Athletic Association's running club - did try to catch Hinga with LaFleur doing the best to close the gap. They had a chance during the race's latter stages and where it has fewer rolling hills. At 10 miles, Hinga's lead was a mere 20 seconds over LaFleur, who by now had a three-second lead over third placer Richardson. Richardson, whose previous longest race was 15-kilometers (9.3 miles), found himself in uncharted territory for the rest of the race and faded slightly during the final three miles. LaFleur, on the other hand, still was only 21 seconds behind Hinga at 12 miles, but he ran out of real estate.

After the race, runner-up LaFleur (1:10:09) spoke about his one minute, 33 second improvement from the previous year. "Early in the race, no one wanted to take the pace which is why we were running relatively slow," he said. "I was afraid to because I had difficulty over the second half of the course last year. I guess in retrospect that played into Hinga's hands."

Hinga, who is a citizen of Kenya but who has resided in the United States for the last eight years, officially entered the race this past Friday. It's amazing that the Lowell, Mass. resident decided to run at all: two weeks ago he had chicken pox, and he was forced to take an easy week following a week of absolutely no running. With the intention of running the Cape Cod Marathon at the end of October, Hinga was hoping to log a solid "tempo" run as part of his training. The Whirlaway Racing Team member said after the race that he is "more worried about running good races, running smart and running well" than he is about winning. Sunday he did all of the above.

Richardson held on for third place (1:10:45), while McClennen was fourth in 1:12:03.

Men's elapsed time for leader(s): Mile One (inside Fenway Park), 5:30; Mile Two, 10:49; Mile Three, 16:15; Mile Four, 21:52; Mile Five, 27:13; Mile Six, 32:47; Mile Seven (inside Franklin Park Zoo), 38:22; Mile Eight, 43:17; Mile Nine, 48:25; Mile Ten, 53:39; Mile Eleven, 58:49; Mile Twelve, 1:04:03; Finish (13.1 miles), 1:09:47. -- by Jack Fleming

Notes: Last year's men's champion - Wayne Levy, 37, of Newton, Mass. - finished fifth in 1:12:12.

Bill Rodgers, 4-time Boston Marathon champion, returned to run the B.A.A. Half Marathon. Rodgers won is age category in 2001, and repeated the feat this year in a time of 1:16:05, an incredible four minuntes, 26 seconds faster than his age division-winning time of 1:20:31 last year. Rodgers, 54, was not only the first Veteran (age 50 and older), he also was the first 40-and-older finisher. He was eleventh entering the Zoo just prior to the seven mile point, and he held his position to the finish. In 2001, he was 27th overall.

Tim Kelly, of Weymouth, Mass., won the men's wheelchair division for the second straight year with a time of 1:06:51. He beat runner-up Erik Corbett, of Methuen, Mass. (1:14:38) and third place finisher Christopher Ahearn, of Roslindale, Mass. (1:28:59). Ahearn was runner-up last year. There were no female wheelchair division racers who started.

New England Baptist Hospital, located on Mission Hill just steps away from the Emerald Necklace, was the presenting sponsor of the half marathon for the second year. 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. Hundreds of participants attended a complimentary health education seminar series, presented by New England Baptist Hospital experts, on Saturday. Topics included running psychology, nutrition for runners, common running injuries, and selecting proper footwear.

The 2002 B.A.A. Half Marathon was dedicated to Justine Liff, Boston's first female Commissioner of its Parks and Recreation Department and who died on September 11 of this year. Justine was a strong proponent of the B.A.A.'s mission of fostering fitness through athletics, especially among the City's youth. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino was present at the start of the half marathon and welcomed participants to the event.

The Boston Athletic Association won both the men's and women's open team titles, as well as the men's masters division team title, for the second consecutive year.

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

The Franklin Park Zoo once again was a featured aspect of the course and located at the runners' turnaround point. Runners reported that they especially noticed ostriches this year, among other animals such as giraffes.

MEN
1. David Hinga, 26, Lowell MA (CTZ. of KENYA), 1:09:47, Whirlaway Racing Team;
2. Ryan La Fleur, 29, Boston MA, 1:10:09, BAA;
3. Michael Richardson, 29, Providence RI, 1:10:45, BAA;
4. Seth McClennen, 31, Newton Highlands MA,1:12:03, TVF;
5. Wayne Levy, 37, Newton MA, 1:12:12, BAA;
6. Jonathan Fortescue, 35, Wellesley MA; 1:14:26; BAA;
7. Ron Moreau, 37, Natick MA; 1:14:54; BAA;
8. Gary Knight, 23, West Hollywood CA, 1:15:02, BAA;
9. Aj Migonis, 24, Magnolia MA; 1:15:17, NSS;
10. Eric Knapp, 33, Cambridge MA, 1:15:37, BAA.
*New record. Old record 1:10:57 by Wayne Levy in 2001.
NOTEABLE: 11. Bill Rodgers, 54, Sherborn MA, 1:16:05.

WOMEN
1. Sarah Nixon, 38, Medfield MA, 1:22:34, MVS;
2. Simonetta Piergentili, 38, Woburn MA, 1:23:13, WHIRL;
3. Lizbie Porter, 28, Brighton MA; 1:28:55;
4. Lucy Canavan, 35, Marshfield MA; 1:29:04; MRR;
5. Emily Dranov, 28, Boston MA; 1:29:42;
6. Rebecca Renner, 35, Wellesley MA, 1:29:45, BAA;
7. Nanci Cahalane, 43, Norfolk MA, 1:30:13, BAA;
8. Tracey Lembo, 41, Weston MA; 1:30:37;
9. Kerry Hennessy, 29, Roslindale MA; 1:30:42;
10. Mariana Pargana, 24, Boston MA; 1:31:26.
*Record 1:21:16 by Sarah Nixon in 2001.

For more information and results, check out, www.baa.org/HalfMarathon/