Jen Rhines of the USA (© Getty Images)
The fifth B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund, on Sunday 9 October, has once again drawn a deep international field that includes many of this year’s top racers on the U.S. roads, as well as some of New England’s best runners.
Headlining the women’s elite field are American Jen Rhines, a two-time Olympian and the reigning national champion at 15km on the roads, and Valentina Yegorova of Russia, who won gold in the marathon at the Barcelona Games in 1992 and silver at the Atlanta Games in 1996. Among the top males are Samuel Ndereba and Linus Maiyo, both of Kenya.
Among the other top-seeded men in this year’s race are Abderrahim Haji and Abdelhadi Habassa of Morocco; Isaac Arusei of Kenya; Vinny Mulvey of Ireland; new American citizen and potential U.S. distance star Celedonio Rodriguez of Alamosa, Colo.; and inaugural B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Wayne Levy of Newton, Mass.
Among the field’s other top women are Firaya Sultanova-Zhdanova of Russia, the Boston Marathon master’s record-holder and four-time World Championships competitor; Leah Malot of Kenya; and American Julia Stamps, who continues her comeback after a career-threatening injury. Also entered is Sarah Nixon, of Medfield, Mass., winner of the B.A.A. Half Marathon in 2001 and 2002.
The Top 10 overall male and female finishers will be awarded prize money from the $30,000 purse, with $5,000 going to both the men’s and women’s winners. Once again, the field size was capped and 4,500 runners, and general entry is closed. Several hundred Dana-Farber Runners will be fundraising for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, and a limited number of entries still remain for those interested in joining the race against cancer.
Barbara Huebner for the IAAF
