Culpepper and Nyariki to make NYC Marathon debuts
Posted Tuesday, 29 August, 2006
From Press Release
New York, August 28, 2006—U.S. Olympian Alan Culpepper and Kenyan Olympian Tom Nyariki will run their first ING New York City Marathon on November 5, 2006, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO and ING New York City Marathon race director Mary Wittenberg.
Nyariki, 34, won the inaugural NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE on August 27, with the fastest 13.1-mile time ever recorded in New York City (1:01:22). Culpepper was eighth with a time of 1:04:07.
This will be Nyariki’s first marathon. He was the 1998 Commonwealth Games silver medalist and 1996 Olympic fifth-place finisher at 5000 meters. He won the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine on August 5, and finished second at the CIGNA Falmouth Road Race in Cape Cod on August 12.
After a stellar track career highlighted by representing the United States in the 2000 Olympic 10,000 meters, Culpepper has gradually made the move up to the marathon distance. He is currently fifth on the World Marathon Majors Series leaderboard after his fifth-place finish at the Boston Marathon (2:11:02) in April. Culpepper made his marathon debut in 2001 in Chicago, tying Alberto Salazar’s American debut record (2:09:41). He won the 2004 U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials (2:11:42) in a sprint finish against eventual Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, and he finished 12th in the 2004 Olympic Marathon, the second-highest U.S. finish in 20 years.
Culpepper and Nyariki join a men’s field that includes defending champion and marathon world record-holder Paul Tergat of Kenya and American Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein for the 37th running of the ING New York City Marathon.
“I’ve been a fan of Alan’s for a decade and am so pleased to welcome him,” said Wittenberg. “We applaud him as one of America’s best distance runners of all time. Americans will get a charge cheering for one of their own through the streets of New York. As for Tom, it is going to be very exciting to see what he is capable of at this distance.”
Culpepper, who was part of the WNBC-TV broadcast team for the past two ING New York City Marathons, said that having seen the race from that perspective and the fact that the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials men’s race will be held in New York next year were major factors in his decision to run this year.
“I am thrilled to be racing the ING New York City Marathon 2006, which has always been a top priority in my running career,” said Culpepper. “I feel fortunate to have been involved with the event from a broadcast perspective the past two years. Ultimately, this has given me valuable insight into the race. I believe that this year provides the perfect opportunity for me to not only race the ING New York City Marathon at my best, but to gain experience for next year’s Olympic Trials. I can get the mentality of picturing it while running.”
New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners, soon to celebrate its 50th anniversary, is dedicated to promoting the sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and responding to community needs. Our road races and other fitness programs draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with our magazine and website support and promote professional and recreational running. A staff of 60, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend plus many track and cross country events. NYRR’s home base in New York, and its lifelong identification with Central Park, have given many of its events iconic status, attracting the world’s top professional runners. Our youth programs provide running to 15,000 New York City schoolchildren who would otherwise have few or no fitness opportunities. For more information visit www.nyrr.org.
The ING New York City Marathon
The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon is one of the world’s great road races, drawing more than 90,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the more than $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and 312 million worldwide television viewers. As any one of the 672,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime. For more information visit www.ingnycmarathon.org.
World Marathon Majors
The ING New York City Marathon is one of five events in the World Marathon Majors series that showcases the sport’s top athletes and awards an unprecedented $1 million champion’s prize. The WMM series also includes the Boston Marathon, the Flora London Marathon, the real,- Berlin Marathon, and the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. For more information visit www.worldmarathonmajors.com.
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