Tergat, Ndereba to Run Inaugural NYC Half-Marathon
$60,000 prize purse offered, including $10,000 champion's prize

E-mail this page  Printer-friendly page

Posted Friday, 21 July, 2006

Contact: Richard Finn, (212) 423-2229 | rfinn@nyrr.org, Media Relations Department, New York Road Runners

NEW YORK - (July 20, 2006) - Marathon world record-holder Paul Tergat and 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Catherine Ndereba will lead the sold-out field of 10,000 runners in the first-ever NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE on Sunday, August 27, it has been announced by New York Road Runners. Tergat and Ndereba, both of Kenya, are the first professional athletes to be announced for the race, which offers $60,000 in prize money, including $10,000 each to the male and female champion.

"Paul and Catherine are two of the all-time greatest runners at any distance, and we are thrilled to have them help launch this spectacular new race through the streets of Manhattan," said New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg. "With 10,000 runners on board, the first-ever NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE is well on its way to becoming a truly international sporting event."

Tergat, 37, who set the marathon world record of 2 hours, 4 minutes, 55 seconds in Berlin in 2003, returns to New York after finishing fourth in the Lisbon Half-Marathon this past March in 59:42. One of the favorites heading into April's Flora London Marathon, Tergat withdrew the week before the race with a calf injury. He has since fully recovered.

In 2005, Tergat beat South African Hendrick Ramaala by one second with a time of 2:09:30 to win the ING New York City Marathon in the closest finish in race history. Tergat recently announced that he will return to New York in November to defend his title.

"The NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE will be a great chance to check my fitness leading up to the ING New York City Marathon in November," said Tergat.

Ndereba, 33, arguably the greatest all-around road racer ever, opened this year with two strong performances in Japan: a win at the Osaka Ladies International Marathon and a second-place finish at the Sendai Half-Marathon. She has six career victories at two World Marathon Majors series events, having won the BAA Boston Marathon four times (2000-01, 2004-05) and the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon twice (2000-01). Her 2:18:47 finish in Chicago in 2001 made her the first woman to break the 2:19 mark, and she remains the second-fastest female marathoner of all-time. In 2004, Ndereba won the Olympic Marathon silver medal in Athens, and in 2003, she won the IAAF World Marathon Championships.

Ndereba has 14 career victories at the half-marathon distance, including six wins at the Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run, and she captured the bronze medal at the 1999 IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships.

"I know that the new half-marathon will be a big race for New York," said Ndereba. "I know the crowds will be great and it's always so exciting to be in New York City."

With a course designed to celebrate New York City, the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE will take runners on a loop through Central Park, down Seventh Avenue through Times Square, across 42nd Street and along the expansive West Side Highway to Battery Park in the heart of the city's financial district, finishing with a view of the Statue of Liberty.

New York Road Runners is working in collaboration with the Mayor's Office, City of New York Parks & Recreation, NYC & Company, New York City Sports Commission, New York City Police Department, Department of Transportation, Department of Sanitation, New York City Fire Department and all the other city agencies that help throughout the year to produce its world-class events.

For more information, visit: www.NYRR.org

 E-mail this page
 Printer-friendly page