Ritzenhein, Yoder Begley Lead Team USA for World Half Marathon Championships
U.S. contingent looks to challenge the world's best distance runners in Birmingham, England

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Posted Thursday, 24 September, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS - (September 22, 2009) - 2008 Olympians Dathan Ritzenhein (Portland, Ore.) and Amy Yoder Begley (Portland, Ore.) will lead a strong U.S. contingent at the IAAF / EDF Energy World Half Marathon Championships on Sunday, October 11 in Birmingham, England.

Ritzenhein (left, PhotoRun) and Yoder Begley are both coming off of an impressive track season that saw Ritzenhein finish sixth at the World Championships 10,000 meters, eleven days before setting a new U.S. record of 12:56.27 for 5000 meters in Zurich. Yoder Begley, the 2009 USA champion at 10,000 meters, went on to finish sixth in the women's 10,000 at the Berlin World Championships and won last weekend's USA 5K road title in Providence, R.I.

The U.S. squad for Birmingham will also include several of the top up-and-coming American distance runners, giving Team USA an outstanding chance for a team medal in both the men's and women's events.

The men's team will also include recent USA 20K champion Brett Gotcher (Flagstaff, Ariz.). Gotcher has competed for Team USA on several occasions, including in 2003 when he won the gold medal in the 10,000 meters at the Pan American Junior Championships.

Ritzenhein and Gotcher will join forces with 2008 USA 15K champion Andrew Carlson (Flagstaff, Ariz.); Scott Bauhs (Chico, Calif.), a multiple NCAA Division II Track & Cross Country All-American at Chico State who finished fifth at the USA 20K championships and James Carney (Boulder, Colo.), a past U.S. champion at 20K and the half-marathon.

Joining Yoder Begley will be Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, Mich.), who has had an outstanding summer of her own, running a personal best 2:27:53 to finish 11th at the World Championships Marathon last month. Rounding out the team will be Serena Burla (Baldwin, Mo.), the recent USA 20K Championship runner-up; along with Amy Hastings (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and Elva Dryer (Gunnison, Colo.), who finished fifth and seventh respectively at the USA 20K Championships to earn their berths on the team.

At the 17th edition, a total of $245,000 will be offered in prize money, with $30,000 going to the individual world champions and $15,000 to the respective men's and women's team champions. The top finish for a U.S. team at this event came last year in Rio de Janeiro where the Team USA women finished fourth, while the best U.S. men's team finish was sixth in both 2005 and 2006 (20K). The fastest U.S. times at the Worlds were produced by Bill Reifsnyder in 1992 (1:02:00 / 18th) and Deena Kastor in 2007 (1:09:38 / 16th).

For more information on Team USA at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, visit: USATF.org

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