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Nyariki, Ndereba Win Inaugural NYC Half-Marathon presented
by NIKE NEW YORK - (August 27, 2006) - The inaugural running of the NYC Half Marathon Presented by NIKE succeeded beyond the wildest dreams of Mary Wittenberg and her organizing team at the New York Road Runners. Never mind that all 10,000 slots were filled the day entries opened in June. The question remained as to whether the event would be a competitive and logistical success. After all, running through Times Square, in the heart of Manhattan, figured to be a challenge, even early on the last Sunday in August, when most New Yorkers desert their city for one last pre-Labor Day escape. Those who stayed behind were treated to thrilling races from the men and the women, the finish of the latter division turning into almost a carbon copy of last year's ING New York City Marathon. This time, it was Catherine Ndereba answering the closing kick of Benita Johnson, while in the men's division Thomas Nyariki continued his short but successful summer on the U.S. roads by besting Americans Meb Keflezighi and Abdi Abdirahman. And the 10,294 runners who followed them were treated to a course that took them on an ambulatory tour of Manhattan's sightseeing must-sees, from Carnegie Hall to Ground Zero, in weather more typical of mid-autumn than late August. |
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The skies were cool and overcast with a threat of rain that eventually materialized a little more than an hour into the race, but it couldn't dampen the spirits of those who awoke before dawn to assemble to run a little more than a loop of Central Park before exiting onto Seventh Avenue for the run down to Battery Park. By this point, the men's race had already been whittled down to the final top three, who took turns pushing the pace down the West Side Highway into a chilly (for August) headwind. "We were kind of working together," said Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. "Whoever felt good would take the lead for a while." With just under a kilometer to go, it was obviously Nyariki who felt best, as he dropped first two-time Olympian Abdirahman, then 2004 Olympic silver medalist Keflezighi over the final straightaway. The trio, who were all making their debuts over the half-marathon distance (13.1 miles), finished in that order in 1 hour, 1 minute, 22 seconds, 1:01:28 (#3 U.S. individual all-time) and 1:01:34 (#6 U.S. individual all-time). It was Nyariki's second win in three races (after a win at Beach to Beacon 10K and runner-up spot at Falmouth), his first attempt at the distance, and an exclamation point to an amazing comeback story. Three years ago, Nyariki was the victim of a carjacking that cost him the sight in his right eye. As a result, running became difficult for a man who had won a World Championships bronze medal and run 12:55 for 5000 meters. "It was hard to judge when my foot would hit the ground, so balancing was difficult." He considered retirement but stuck with it, finally getting in shape enough to place second at Beach to Beacon last year. Still, Nyariki admitted there was as much surprise as joy in his recent accomplishments, given his relatively ripe age of 34. "I want to run a good marathon, then maybe one or two more years and that's it," he said. The women's race featured three runners in the midst of build-ups for fall marathons - Johnson and Constantina Tomescu-Dita, prepping for Chicago, and Ndereba, who will return to New York for a full 26-mile tour of all five boroughs in November. Dita was the early leader in the park and down Seventh Avenue, before Ndereba caught her on 42nd Street. The four-time Boston Marathon champion seemed to be cruising to an easy victory when Johnson began cutting into her lead, finally drawing alongside with less than 50 meters to go. Finding another gear, Ndereba pulled away, to the narrowest of wins, both of them timed in 1:09:43 after rounding (just 3/10ths of a second separating the pair). "I thought I'd timed my kick pretty well, but obviously it was a little early," said Johnson. Tomescu-Dita was third in 1:10:11, while American Colleen De Reuck, 42, placed fifth in 1:11:48, the fourth fastest masters clocking ever for the distance and just seven seconds off the world best. Each champion took home $10,000. "I'm pleased with the way things came out," said Wittenberg, adding that she felt this event had the potential to become as big as the organization's flagship marathon race. "The half-marathon distance seems to be the hot growth segment of the racing world right now, and this shows New York will be right in the forefront." With over 10,000 finishers, the race was the third largest debut annual half-marathon ever behind the 2004 P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona and the 2001 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach. Inaugural NYC Half-Marathon
presented by NIKE MEN WOMEN Complete results and more at: NYRR.org |
Return to top / Return to main page Kosgei, Ivanova Win 30th Crim
10 Mile FLINT, Mich. - (August 26, 2006) - Kenyan Samuel Kosgei and defending Crim champion Alevtina Ivanova of Russia are the 30th annual Crim 10 Mile race champions and each won a $5000 share of the Crim's $42,550 purse. At the 8:00am start on Saturday, the skies were overcast with a temperature of 66 degrees and 88% humidity. Running in his first Crim and debut U.S. race, Kosgei, 20, won in 46 minutes, 49 seconds. After the three-mile mark, he began to pull away from a group of 20 runners. By the four mile mark, he had a nine second lead over a group of seven runners. Kosgei said, "The first three miles were fairly easy (13:55). I looked around and everyone looked strong. I felt real strong so I just took off." Kosgei said he felt strong at the end of the race, but was a little tired before the race from his trip from Kenya on Thursday. By the five mile mark, he had five second lead over runner-up Wilson Chebet (47:11) of Kenya. Chebet stayed five seconds behind Kosgei through seven miles. At eight miles, Kosgei's lead grew to nine seconds. He finished strongly expanding his lead to 11 seconds at nine miles and was alone as he came around the corner and onto the famed red bricks and sprinted under the arches in downtown Flint to the finish. Countryman Ernest Meli was third at 47:31. Fernando Cabada from Virginia was the top American in 11th (48:59), while Jeff Gaudette, 23, of Rochester Hills, was the top Michigan runner (49:46) finishing 14th overall. Hansons-Brooks teammate Marty Rosendahl, 28, of Rochester Hills finished second (49:54), 15th overall. In the women's race, Ivanova, 31, running her third Crim, won for the second consecutive year with a time of 53:06, 28 seconds better than last year's time. Moroccan Asmae Leghzaoui, 29, finished second in 53:25 and Kenyan Lineth Chepkurui, 29, finished third at 54:00. Top U.S. and Michigan female runner was Dot McMahon, 29, Rochester Hills, in 59:20, ninth overall, followed by Denisa Costescu, 30, Novi, 59:58, tenth overall. Among the Masters runners, Paul Aufdemberge, 41,
of Redford, Mich., earned the 40+ title in 50:34. Sean Wade, 40, of
Houston was second in 52:00 and Albert Okemwa, 40, of Kenya third (52:16).
With a time of 59:00, evergreen Tatyana Pozdnyakova, 51, from Ukraine
won her eighth Crim title. Russian Tatiana Titova, 41, finished second
at 1:01:52 with Krys Brish, 42, of Milford, third (1:05:20). 30th Crim 10 Mile MEN Top U.S. MASTERS Men (40+) WOMEN MASTERS Women (40+) Complete results at: Crim.org Return to top / Return to main page Contact: Elite Racing, Inc., Susan Reid / Ian Monahan, (800) 311-1255 Past Champion Returns to Re-claim Rock 'n' Roll
Half Marathon Title VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - (August 23, 2006) - It was only one small step, but for Haron Toroitich the final step of the 2004 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach was the one of thousands he took that day that earned him thousands. By nipping fellow Kenyan Joshua Chelanga at the finish line with his last stride, the 26-year-old Toroitich earned $12,000 for first place along with a $25,000 musical marathon bonus awarded to the athlete who won both the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon and any of the other musically themed races staged by Elite Racing in 2004. "I will put up a building in Kenya and call it Virginia," Toroitich said in appreciation to the race's host state after his 2004 victory. This year, Toroitich leads the men's field in pursuit of his second Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon title, but he will be vigorously challenged by a younger countryman and an Ethiopian with a kick. James Kwambai, 23, holds the fourth fastest half-marathon time (60:22) in this year's field. He finished second here last year to fellow Kenyan James Mwangi in a time of 61:55. His strength will add to Kenya's chance at victory, but Dejene Berhanu of Ethiopia should be a formidable opponent for the Kenyan one-two punch. Berhanu was built for speed and his numbers prove it. The 26-year-old won the prestigious Carlsbad 5000, home to 26 world records, three consecutive years beginning in 2003. He holds the fastest half-marathon time (59:37) in the men's field and has used his finishing kick to post impressive personal bests at the 5000 and 10,000 meter distances of 12:54.15 and 27:12.22 respectively. "If there is any competition along the final miles of the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, look for Berhanu to turn on the afterburners," said Mike Long, elite athlete coordinator for the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon. Japan will send a strong men's field led by the champion of the 2006 Japan Corporate Half Marathon, 20-year-old Arata Fujiwara. Also included in this group are 26-year-old Takashi Ota, 20-year-old Yuki Tanaka and Tetsuo Nishimura, 23, who all finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively in the Japan Corporate Half Marathon. In the women's field, eyes will be focused on the 25-year-old Kenyan Rita Jeptoo who won the 2006 Boston Marathon this past April. Her 2:23:38 finish in Boston went down as the eighth fastest time in race history. She set her personal best time of 69:56 in a victory at the Paris Half Marathon a month prior to her tour of Boston. However, where there is an outstanding Kenyan, there is always an Ethiopian ready to challenge. Ethiopian Elfenesh Alemu, 31, is the obvious choice for this role. Alemu relies on strength rather than speed. "She is a runner that logs high mileage at altitude during her training in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), which will make it very hard for any competitor to produce a successful attack," said Long. "She can wear her competition down." A strong Belarusian, Olga Kravtsova, 24, has the potential to deliver an upset to the favored Kenyan and Ethiopian. Kravtsova recently became her country's national champion in the 10,000m (33:03.09) and finished fifth at the European Championships, in the 5000m. Famed Japanese running star and coach, Hiromi Tanaguchi, who was the gold medalist in the marathon at the 1991 World Championships, is sending two of his most talented pupils. Twin sisters Hiroko and Yoko Miyauchi, 24, lead a field of five Japanese women at the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon this year. The athletes will compete for nearly $70,000 in guaranteed prize money with $12,000 each for the champions plus world, U.S. All-Comers and course record bonuses are also available. The Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon celebrates its sixth anniversary in Virginia Beach, Sun., Sept. 3 with 20,000 runners and walkers. Festivities begin with a two-day Health & Fitness Expo at the Virginia Beach Convention Center on Fri., Sept. 1 and Sat., Sept. 2. The Health & Fitness Expo is free and open to the public and features over 80 exhibitors with the latest in endurance sports gear and nutrition products. For more information on the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, go to RnRHalf.com or call (800) 311-1255. Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon
Professional Field MEN WOMEN Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director |