Elite Division Leads the Pack for Sun Run
Posted Friday, 18 April, 2008
Vancouver (April 17, 2008) – Who will lead the pack and be the first to cross the finish line at this year’s Sun Run? Elite runners competing Sunday will give it their all as they lead the record breaking number of registrants entered in Sunday’s big run. Here are some of the runners to watch who are expected to compete in the 2008 Sun Run Elite Division.
Fellow Kenyans, Philip Koech and Festus Langat will be two of the top contenders for the Sun Run Men’s title. Koech had a time of 28:52 in the 2008 10K in San Juan, Puerto Rico and had two wins, in Hamilton, Bermuda, one in the Half Marathon and one in the 10k, also both this year. Langat recently placed 6th in the 2008 edition of the very prestigious Cherry Blossom 10 mile in Washington DC.
Another runner on the men’s side to keep an eye on will be Canadian Ryan Hayden of Richmond, BC who finished 3rd in the 2007 Sun Run, is the 2006 BC Cross Country Champion and placed 2nd in the 2006 National 10K Championships in Ottawa.
Sure to be one of the top contenders for the 2008 Sun Run Women’s title is Genet Gebregiorgis of Ethiopia. With a personal 10K best of 32:55 when she won the Brian’s Run in West Chester, PA in 2004 and another win the same year in the 5K at the Syracuse Festival in New York, as well as placing 1st in the 2003 Rome Golden League 3000 metres – a major IAAF track meet, she is expected to be one of the athletes to beat.
Also on the women’s side, some of the runners to watch include Lioudmila Kortchaguina of Toronto and Lisa Harvey of Calgary.
Lioudmila Kortchaguina was 2nd in the 2007 Sun Run Women’s Division and won the 2007 Montreal half-marathon and claiming the win in the 2007 ING Ottawa marathon made her the Canadian Marathon champion.
Lisa Harvey is an Olympian and a former 10,000 metre champion. She is a six time medalist at the Canadian National Cross Country Championships and recently competed with the Canadian Team in the 2008 World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The Vancouver Sun Run is presented by HSBC Bank Canada. The race kicks off at 9 a.m. in downtown Vancouver. Athletes will compete for a prize purse of $21,000 with awards going to the top three male and female overall finishers, top five Canadian male and female finishers, and the top three overall masters male and female. Wheelchair athletes compete for a total prize purse of $2,000. For more information visit www.sunrun.com or call 604-689-9441.
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