Top 3 Boston Marathon Finishers to Run BAA 10K

BOSTON ‰ÛÓ The Boston Athletic Association today announced that the
second- and third-place finishers of the 2011 Boston Marathon, Moses
Mosop, of Kenya and Gebre Gebremariam, of Ethiopia will return to Boston
to compete in the inaugural B.A.A. 10K on June 26.

The addition of Mosop and Gebremariam pares the men in a rematch
against the only person to run faster than them in this year’s marathon,
2011 Boston Marathon Champion Geoffrey Mutai. Mosop ran the
second-fastest marathon ever recorded on April 18. His time of 2:03:06
was just four seconds off of Mutai’s winning time, and 53 seconds ahead
of the world record time of 2:03:59 set by Haile Gebrselassie at the
2008 Berlin Marathon. It was Mosop’s first attempt the marathon
distance, and is the fastest debut ever. Gebremariam, of Ethiopia,
finished his first Boston Marathon in a 2:04:53, and improved his
personal best of 2:08:14 ‰ÛÓ a stunning debut performance in which he won
the 2010 ING New York City Marathon. Gebremariam was the IAAF World
Cross Country Champion in 2009.

Earlier this month, Mutai and Boston Marathon women’s champion
Caroline Kilel of Kenya committed to compete in the new B.A.A. 10K,
which begins and ends at Boston Common.

“The excitement of this year’s Boston Marathon is fresh in our
minds, and we’re pleased to announce that Moses and Gebre will return to
Boston and compete on June 26 in the B.A.A. 10K,” said Tom Grilk,
Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association.  “That they’ll
compete against Geoffrey Mutai is an added bonus for spectators, and
it’s a rematch we’re greatly anticipating. The B.A.A. 10K could be the
fastest 6.2 mile race that Bostonians have witnessed in quite some
time.”

Though from different countries, the similarities between Mosop,
25, and Gebremariam, 26, are extensive. Both come from cross country
backgrounds and have only recently made the transition to road racing.
Both men grew up on farms in their native countries, and are married to
successful distance runners. (Mosop to Florence Kiplagat, who dropped
from the 2011 Boston Marathon after 30K, and Gebremariam to Werknesh
Kidane, who finished seventh at the Boston Marathon with a time of
2:26:15.)

Mosop, Gebremariam, Kiplagat, Kidane, Mutai, and Kilel were all
part of the Elite Team which Boston Marathon principal sponsor John
Hancock Financial Services recruited for this year’s race.

The B.A.A. 10K includes a prize purse of $30,000 with $5,000
awarded to the winners and equally distributed among the top male and
female finishers. Registration remains open at www.baa.org.