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Athletes Racing for $30,000 and Course Records
Boston, Mass. ÛÒ An event-record 5,061 entrants are preparing for
the October 12 B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented
by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Leading the charge on race
day will be one of the strongest elite fields in the event’s eight-year
history.
The race is scheduled to begin at
8:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 12 at Roberto Clemente Field in Boston’s Back Bay Fens
neighborhood. The route will take runners out to the Franklin Park Zoo, and back
again, along Boston’s Emerald Necklace park system. The
field of elite men and women will be competing for a total prize purse of
$30,000 ($5,000 each to the male and female champions). The B.A.A. course
records are 1:02:20 (Tom Nyariki, 2007) and 1:10:57 (Marie Davenport,
2003).
The men’s field boasts a mix of
veterans and newcomers who could challenge Nyariki’s record. Charles Munyeki (KEN) is just 22 years
of age, but already a veteran of the half marathon distance. Consistently a
sub-1:04:00 performer around the globe, Munyeki had a major breakthrough when he
ran 59:44 in Rotterdam just two weeks ago. That time makes
him the 10th-fastest man in the world for 2008.
Munyeki will be challenged by a
group of seasoned road racers, including 2003 and 2005 Running Times Road Racer of the Year John Korir (KEN), who holds a half marathon best of
1:01:00. Though less experienced in the half marathon, Gilbert Okari (KEN) is one of Korir’s
top rivals on the U.S. road circuit, and has won such
races as the World’s Best 10K, Falmouth Road Race, and Beach to Beacon 10K.
Okari has raced the half marathon distance just once and looks poised for a
breakthrough at the distance.
Returning from last year’s field are
Stephen Koech (KEN), who placed
fourth in 2007, and Robert Wade
(IRL), who finished 10th. James
Koskei (KEN) enters the B.A.A. Half Marathon for the first time, though he is familiar with
the B.A.A.’s other event: Koskei was fourth in the 2007 Boston Marathon. A
newcomer to the roads is Iona College alum Abraham Ng’etich (KEN). He’s coming off
of a senior year that saw him earn NCAA All-America honors in cross country and
post a 5,000m best of 13:51.68. This will be just his second half
marathon.
The top returning woman from 2007 is
third-place finisher Kathy Newberry
(VA), who will be challenged by a deep field. Irene Limika (KEN) will be racing the
half marathon distance for just the third time in her career. The second time,
however, was a third-place finish at the Philadelphia Distance Run on September
21, where she posted a 1:10:51 personal best. Neriah Asiba (KEN), who races primarily
in Mexico, is a veteran of
the half marathon and finished just seconds behind Limika in Philadelphia, setting a
new personal best of 1:10:58.
Lioudmila Kortchaguina
(CAN) holds the
fastest half marathon PR in the field, a 1:10:50 run in 2003. She is a
three-time Canadian marathon champion (2005-2007), and was runner-up in the 2003
B.A.A. Half Marathon (1:11:27).
Jane Gakunyi (KEN) was a 2004 Olympian at 5,000m and
placed third at the World Cross Country Championships in 2003. She boasts a half
marathon best of 1:13:40. Janet Kogo
Cherobon (KEN) was a three-time NCAA Division II national champion at
Harding
University who has moved on
to road racing since her 2005 graduation. Alemtseshay Misganaw (ETH), who will be
making her first appearance in Boston, ran sub-1:15 twice this past
summer.
Though just 20 years of age, Azalech Masresha (ETH) ran a
personal-best 1:11:29 last year. Twenty-one-year-old Jane Murage (KEN), winner of the Broad
Street Run 10-mile earlier this year, will be making her half marathon
debut.
ELITE
FIELDS
Top Men
#
Age
Citizenship
Hometown
PR
Charles Munyeki
1
22
KEN
Nyahuru, KEN / Boulder, CO
59:44
James Koskei
2
39
KEN
Iten, KEN / Boulder,
CO
1:02:07
Stephen Koech
3
31
KEN
Kenya / Westchester, PA
1:02:19
John Korir
4
32
KEN
Nyahuru, KEN / Boulder, CO
1:01:00
Gilbert Okari
5
30
KEN
Nyahuru, KEN / Boulder, CO
1:04:17
Abraham Ng’etich
6
27
KEN
Eldoret KEN / Bronx, NY
1:05:52
Robbie Wade
7
26
IRL
Arlington, VA
1:07:47
James Gale
10
23
USA
Allendale, MI
1:06:23
Top Women
#
Age
Citizenship
Hometown
PR
Lioudmila Kortchaguina
F1
37
CAN
Toronto, ON, CAN
1:10:46
Irene Limika
F2
29
KEN
Ngong, KEN / Philadelphia
1:10:51
Neriah Asiba
F3
27
KEN
Ngong, KEN / Toluca, MEX
1:10:58
Azalech Masresha
F4
20
ETH
Ethiopia
1:11:29
Kathy Newberry
F6
30
USA
Williamsburg, VA
1:12:59
Jane Gakunyi
F7
29
KEN
Nyahuru, KEN / Boulder, CO
1:13:40
Janet Kogo Cherobon
F8
30
KEN
Lawrenceville, GA
1:13:47
Jane Murage
F9
21
KEN
Philadelphia, PA
Debut
Alemtseshay Misganaw
F10
25
ETH
Ethiopia / New York, NY
1:12:48
Masters Women
#
Age
Citizenship
Hometown
PR
Maria Luisa Servin
F21
46
MEX
Mexico
1:13:20
Zola Pieterse
F25
42
RSA
Myrtle
Beach, SC
1:12:39
PRIZE
MONEY
Athletes in the elite, wheelchair,
and masters division fields will be competing for a total of $30,000 in prize
money, to be awarded equally to men and women. The complete prize purse is as
follows:
Place Overall
Masters (40+)
Wheelchair
1st $5,000
$500
$750
2nd $3,000
$300
$500
3rd $1,500
$100
$250
4th
$1,000
5th
$600
6th
$500
7th
$400
8th
$300
9th
$200
10th
$100
PAST
CHAMPIONS
Men
2001 Wayne Levy (JAM/MA)
1:10:57
2002 David Hinga (KEN/MA)
1:09:47
2003 Laban Kipkemboi (KEN)
1:03:04
2004 Luke Metto (KEN)
1:02:57
2005 Celedonio Rodriguez (CO)
1:04:09
2006 Samuel Ndereba (KEN)
1:03:03
2007 Tom Nyariki (KEN)
1:02:20 (course record)
Women
2001 Sarah Nixon (MA)
1:21:16
2002 Sarah Nixon (MA)
1:22:34
2003 Marie Davenport (IRL/CT) 1:10:57
(course record)
2004 Lornah Kiplagat (NED)
1:12:05
2005 Nataliya Berkut (UKR) 1:12:21
2006 Marie Davenport (IRL/CT)
1:12:10
2007 Edna Kiplagat (KEN)
1:13:36
Men’s
Wheelchair
2001 Tim Kelly (MA)
1:06:46
2002 Tim Kelly (MA)
1:06:51
2003 Tony Nogueira (NJ)
57:43
2004 Tony Nogueira (NJ)
53:07 (course record)
2005 Mark Ledo (CAN)
57:18
2006 Mark Ledo (CAN)
56:48
2007 Tony Nogueira (NJ)
54:19
Women’s
Wheelchair
2001 Jane Raymond Hall (MA)
1:31:06
2002 Nanci Cahalane (MA)
1:30:13
2003 Laurie Stephens (MA)
1:10:43
2004 Laurie Stephens (MA)
1:09:44 (course record)
2005 April Coughlin (NY)
1:22:50
2006 April Coughlin (NY)
1:15:17
2007 Jacqui Kapinowski (NJ)
1:22:17
Established
in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit
organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy
lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.’s Boston Marathon is the
world’s oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events
and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs.
