NE Runner dev site
Top Athletes Head to Boston
to compete in
B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Mile on Boston Marathon® weekend
Boston
ÛÓ The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced that some of
the fastest distance runners in the world will be taking part in the fourth
annual B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile races on Sunday, April 15, 2012 ,
one day prior to the 116th Boston Marathon®.
The
B.A.A. 5K begins at 8:00 a.m. at Copley
Square Park
in Boston’s Back Bay
and utilizes the same, famous finish line as the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street.
The top athletes in the B.A.A. 5K will compete for a prize purse of $25,000.
The entry field is closed and is limited to 6,000 entrants. This year,
the B.A.A. 5K marks the beginning of the B.A.A. Distance Medley, a three-race
series which combines the B.A.A. 5K
on April 15, the B.A.A. 10K on June 24, and the B.A.A. Half Marathon on October
7 to crown overall male and female champions. The winners of the B.A.A.
Distance Medley will each receive $100,000 and based on cumulative time. A
schedule of invitational mile races follows the B.A.A. 5K.
“These
athletes have helped our Sunday events grow, in just four years, into a new
tradition and a boost of running energy that primes spectators and competitors
alike for Marathon Monday,” said B.A.A.
Executive Director Tom Grilk. “We can’t wait for the competition to
begin, and we are pleased to present our Sunday races to running enthusiasts in
town during the Patriots’ Day weekend, especially those running our
Boston Marathon®.”
Schedule of Events – Sunday, April 15, 2012
8:00 a.m. – B.A.A. 5K
at Copley Square Park.
9:30 a.m. – B.A.A.
Middle School 1K (Girls, Boys from the
eight cities and towns of the Marathon
course).
9:45 a.m. – B.A.A.
Scholastic Mile (Girls, Boys from the eight cities and towns of the Marathon course).
10:00 a.m. – B.A.A.
Professional Mile (Men, Women. Field list to date below).
B.A.A. 5K
The
B.A.A. 5K women’s field features 2011 Boston Marathon runner-up Desiree Davila, of Michigan, who has
qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in London this summer; Kim Smith, an Olympian at 10,000 meters for
New Zealand; and Werknesh Kidane,
of Ethiopia, a World Champion and two-time Olympian. In addition, 2011
B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Janet Bawcom
is expected to challenge the field for the victory.
Smith,
Kidane and Bawcom all have committed to running the three races which comprise
the B.A.A. Distance Medley in 2012.
The
men’s 5K field is highlighted by the return of last year’s top
three finishers. Returning champion, Ben True,
of New Hampshire,
set a course record of 14:07 last year. Now the reigning US national champion at 5-kilometers, True was
followed closely by former NCAA champion Bobby
Curtis; and Ben St. Lawrence,
from Australia,
running 14:07 and 14:09, respectively. The trio from 2011 surely will be
challenged by 2011 B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Ali Abdosh, of Ethiopia; and multiple-time NCAA champion Sam Chelanga, both of whom have signed-up
to run the entire B.A.A. Distance Medley this year.
A
partial field list of top B.A.A. 5K entrants is included with this release.
B.A.A. MILE
The
women’s section features the last two B.A.A. Mile champions. Track & Field News magazine ranked
American Morgan Uceny #1 in the
world at 1500 meters in 2011, and the B.A.A. welcomes her back to the B.A.A.
Mile in 2012. Uceny won the B.A.A. Mile in 2010. Marina Muncan, of Serbia, has run every B.A.A. Mile
since the event’s inception in 2009, and returns as the defending
champion. She holds her country’s national records at both 1500
meters and the mile. Last year witnessed a photo finish among the top
three finishers, including Treniere Moser,
who also returns in 2012.
Australian
Collis Birmingham is the top
entrant in the men’s section of the B.A.A. Mile with a personal best of
3:54.30. Americans Kyle Miller,
fourth place in last year’s mile, and Ben
Bruce add to the competitive field, but many locals will be
following Tim Ritchie, of Boston. Ritchie was
a standout runner at Boston
College, competes for the
B.A.A., and had a breakthrough indoor track season this winter. A combined
prize purse of $12,000 will be at stake in these fast and exciting miles.
The
men’s and women’s sections are the last of six races in the B.A.A.
Invitational Mile. The four preceding sections are the B.A.A. Middle School
1K and the B.A.A. Scholastic Mile in which high school-aged athletes from the
eight cities and towns along the Boston Marathon race course will participate.
See
field lists below:
Men’s 5K Elite Field (as of 4.5.12)
Name (Citizenship) Age
5K or 5000m Personal Best
Ali Abdosh (ETH) 24
12:56
Adrian Blincoe (NZL) 32
13:10
Sam Chelanga (KEN) 27
13:19
Ben True (USA) 26
13:24
Aaron Braun (USA) 24
13:27
Shawn Forrest (AUS) 28
13:28
Kevin Chelimo (KEN) 29
13:30
Andrew Carlson (USA) 29
13:32
BOBBY CURTIS (USA) 27
13:48
Scott Smith (USA) 25
13:56
Brett Gotcher (USA) 27
13:58
BEN ST. LAWRENCE (AUS) 30
14:05
Women’s 5K Elite Field (as of 4.5.12)
Name (Citizenship) Age
5K or 5000m Personal Best
WERKNESH KIDANE (ETH) 31
14:33
KIM SMITH (NZL) 30
14:45
BENITA WILLIS (AUS) 32
14:47
AHEZA KIROS (ETH) 26
14:56
DESIREE DAVILA (USA) 28
15:09
JELLIAH TINEGA (KEN) 26
15:25
KELLYN JOHNSON (USA) 25
15:45
TERESA McWALTERS (USA) 27
15:49
SARAH PORTER (USA) 22
16:00
STEPHANIE ROTHSTEIN (USA) 28
16:10
Indicates committed to three-race B.A.A. Distance Medley (B.A.A. 5K,
B.A.A. 10K, B.A.A. Half Marathon).
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