Elite Fields Announced for Seventh Annual B.A.A. Half Marathon
Past champions and newcomers vie for $30,000 purse

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Posted Monday, 1 October, 2007

Boston, Mass. – For the seventh consecutive October thousands of runners will be racing through the streets of Boston and Brookline in the B.A.A. Half Marathon presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. The race is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 7 at Roberto Clemente Field in Boston's Back Bay Fens neighborhood. The route will take runners out to the Franklin Park Zoo, and back again, along Boston's Emerald Necklace park system. Leading the pack will be a field of elite men and women, competing for a total prize purse of $30,000.

Defending champion Samuel Ndereba (KEN), 30, headlines a men's field that will be chasing Luke Metto's 3-year-old course record of 1:02:57. After placing second here in 2005, Ndereba seized control of the 2006 B.A.A. Half Marathon at the 11-mile mark. He crossed the finish line in 1:03:03, tying the fourth fastest time ever run on the course, and falling just short of a new course record. Ndereba made his marathon debut in Boston this past spring, placing ninth in 2:17:04. With that time, he and his sister, four-time Boston Marathon champion and former world-record holder (2:18:47) Catherine, set a unique record: they now own the fastest combined brother/sister marathon time in history at 4:35:51.

Celedonio Rodriguez (Alamosa, CO), 26, the man who beat Ndereba two years ago, and placed fifth last year, will be looking to regain the top spot. Rodriguez took the entire elite field by surprise in 2005, seizing the lead in the first mile and never looking back en route to a 12-second win.

Challenging the two past champions will be Richard Kiplagat (KEN), 26, runner-up in 2006. In his half marathon debut, Kiplagat was the only man who could keep pace with Ndereba. He ultimately finished just 12 seconds back, in 1:03:15, the seventh fastest time ever run on the course. Joining these B.A.A. Half Marathon veterans will be Tom Nyariki (KEN), 36, who boasts a 5,000m best of 12:55.94, won the 2006 New York City Half Marathon with a time of 1:01:22.

Edna Kiplagat (KEN), 28, one of the year's hottest road racers, headlines the women's field. Kiplagat comes to Boston for the first time having already captured three major road racing titles in 2007, winning the Lilac Bloomsday 12K, Bay to Breakers 12K, and Bolder Boulder 10K earlier this year. Though she's a relative newcomer to the half marathon distance, Kiplagat already owns a personal best of 1:09:32.

Kiplagat will be challenged by Volha Krautsova (BLR), 26, who ran a PR of 1:11:33 in Philadelphia just a few weeks ago, and 20-year-old Caroline Chepkorir (KEN). Chepkorir also ran a PR in Philadelphia, finishing in 1:13:07. The top U.S. entrants in the women's field will be three-time World Cross Country Championships competitor Kathy Newberry (Williamsburg, VA), 29, and 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women's Marathon qualifier Caroline Bjune (Andover, MA), 33.

The top three men in last year's push rim wheelchair field will also be returning. In one of the fastest races in event history, Mark Ledo (CAN), 30, won in 56:48, and was followed by Tony Nogueira (Glen Ridge, NJ), 39, in 57:06, and Timothy Kelly (Weymouth, MA), 40, in 1:06:20. No man outside of this group has ever won the B.A.A. Half Marathon. Kelly won the first two editions in 2001 and 2002, Nogueira followed in 2003 and 2004 (setting a course record of 53:07 in the latter), and Ledo is now the two-time defending champion following his 2005 and 2006 victories. In the women's race, Jacqui Kapinowski (Pt. Pleasant, NJ), 44, will face off against Ellie O'Neill (Syracuse, NY), 22.

ELITE FIELDS

Top Men # Age Citizenship Hometown PR

Samuel Ndereba 1 30 Kenya Eldoret, Kenya/Norristown, PA 1:01:50

Richard Kiplagat 2 26 Kenya Iten, Kenya/Boulder, CO 1:03:15

Tom Nyariki 3 36 Kenya Iten, Kenya/Boulder, CO 1:01:22

Linus Maiyo 4 24 Kenya Eldoret, Kenya/Norristown, PA 1:02:40

Celedonio Rodriguez 6 26 USA Alamosa, CO 1:04:09

Martin Fagan 7 24 Ireland Flagstaff, AZ debut

Matt Thull 8 32 USA Milwaukee, WI 1:05:40

Chris Seaton 9 28 USA Raleigh, NC 1:06:22

Nate Jenkins 11 27 USA Lowell, MA 1:04:14

Nathan Wadsworth 13 25 USA Andover, KS 1:06:17

Robbie Wade 14 25 USA Chicago, IL 1:08:54

Charles Ngolepus 24 20 Kenya Easton, MD 1:01:07

Top Women # Age Citizenship Hometown PR

Edna Kiplagat F1 28 Kenya Iten, Kenya/Boulder, CO 1:09:32

Volha Krautsova F2 26 Belarus Grodno, Belarus 1:11:33

Caroline Chepkorir F3 20 Kenya Kericho, Kenya/Norristown, PA 1:13:07

Kathy Newberry F4 29 USA Williamsburg, VA debut

Caroline Bjune F6 33 USA Andover, MA 1:20:52

PRIZE MONEY

Athletes in the elite, wheelchair, and masters division fields will be competing for a total of $30,000 in prize money, to be awarded equally to men and women. The complete prize purse is as follows:

Place Overall Masters (40+) Wheelchair

1st $5,000 $500 $750

2nd $3,000 $300 $500

3rd $1,500 $100 $250

4th $1,000

5th $600

6th $500

7th $400

8th $300

9th $200

10th $100

PAST CHAMPIONS

Men

2001 Wayne Levy (JAM/MA) 1:10:57

2002 David Hinga (KEN/MA) 1:09:47

2003 Laban Kipkemboi (KEN) 1:03:04

2004 Luke Metto (KEN) 1:02:57 (course record)

2005 Celedonio Rodriguez (CO) 1:04:09

2006 Samuel Ndereba (KEN) 1:03:03

Women

2001 Sarah Nixon (MA) 1:21:16

2002 Sarah Nixon (MA) 1:22:34

2003 Marie Davenport (IRL/CT) 1:10:57 (course record)

2004 Lornah Kiplagat (NED) 1:12:05

2005 Nataliya Berkut (UKR) 1:12:21

2006 Marie Davenport (IRL/CT) 1:12:10

Men's Wheelchair

2001 Tim Kelly (MA) 1:06:46

2002 Tim Kelly (MA) 1:06:51

2003 Tony Nogueira (NJ) 57:43

2004 Tony Nogueira (NJ) 53:07 (course record)

2005 Mark Ledo (CAN) 57:18

2006 Mark Ledo (CAN) 56:48

Women's Wheelchair

2001 Jane Raymond Hall (MA) 1:31:06

2002 Nanci Cahalane (MA) 1:30:13

2003 Laurie Stephens (MA) 1:10:43

2004 Laurie Stephens (MA) 1:09:44 (course record)

2005 April Coughlin (NY) 1:22:50

2006 April Coughlin (NY) 1:15:17

*italics = entered in 2007 B.A.A. Half Marathon

Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events, including the B.A.A. Half Marathon presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John Hancock Financial Services.

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