Running USA wire 43, May 28, 2009

Runners from Ethiopia, Kenya, Burundi and South Africa to compete at prestigious road race in Albany, NY on May 30

ALBANY, N.Y. - In the four years the Freihofer's Run for Women has been open to international athletes, only one African athlete (Asmae Leghzaoui, 2005) has ever won the coveted title and the $10,000 first place check.

That may change in 2009, as one of the deepest African fields assembles in Albany, NY for the 31st running of the fabled 5K road race Saturday, May 30 at 10:15am.

The African continent's biggest threat to unseat three-time Run for Women champion Benita Johnson is Teyba Erkesso, 26, who comes to New York's capital city having won 98th ING Bay to Breakers 12K (38:29). She also finished second at the 2009 Bloomsday Run 12K and BolderBOULDER 10K and set a course record (2:24:18) at this year's Chevron Houston Marathon.

"Teyba is definitely a threat at this year's race and has a history of competing against Benita on the Freihofer's course," said Elite Athlete Recruiter John Tope, noting that the Ethiopian finished third in 2007.

Erkesso will be joined on the start line by two countrywomen: Ashu Kasim, 24, the fourth place finisher at this year's Paris Marathon and Mamitu Daska, 25, who won the recent BolderBOULDER 10K on Memorial Day.

Kenya, another nation with a deep running history, will also be well represented. No fewer than five athletes will make the trip to upstate New York, including Jane Gakunyi, 29, who competed for her country at the 2004 Athens Olympics at 5000m; Millicent Gathoni, 22, winner of the 2008 BolderBOULDER 10K; Genoveva Kigen, 29, victor of the 2009 Fifth Third River Bank Run 25K, which doubled as the USA 25K Championship; Rose Kosgei, 27, winner at this year's Hervis Prague Half Marathon; and Salome Kosgei, first place finisher at this year's Bermuda International 10K.

"Once again, Africa is well represented at Freihofer's," added Tope. "The Kenyans and Ethiopians are especially known for their daring hard style of running and are anxious to break the drought of recent years. I am sure they will be right at the front battling Benita for the title."

Other Africans expected to lead the charge include Burundi's Diane Nukuri, 24, who represented her nation at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and René Kalmer, 29, a 2008 Olympian for South Africa at 1500m, who'll be making her debut on U.S. roads at this event.

For the list of professional runners, race stats and more, go to: www.freihofersrun.com/media.htm

Americans Lewy Boulet, Rudolph and Slattery and Japan's Kano to also compete in the original women-only road race

NEW YORK - (May 27, 2009) - Olympic medalists Deena Kastor and Catherine Ndereba will return to the hills of Central Park in search of a victory at the NYRR New York Mini 10K on Sunday, June 7, it was announced by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

An experienced field of American and international stars headline the 38th running of the world's original women-only road race, which also features a solid supporting cast in Americans Magdalena Lewy Boulet, Amy Rudolph and Sara Slattery and Japan's Yuri Kano. Five Olympians are in the field: Kastor, Ndereba, Lewy Boulet, Rudolph and South Africa's René Kalmer.

"For more than three decades the Mini has been the world's premier all-women race, and this year's competitive line-up continues this grand tradition," Wittenberg said. "With Deena being the only former champion in the field, a victory in this year's race could be an exclamation point on somebody's career."

Kastor, 36, of Mammoth Lakes, CA, is the race favorite, having already gotten off to a hot start in 2009 with victories at the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K in March and the BUPA Great Edinburgh 10K in May. A three-time Olympian, Kastor was forced to drop out of the 2008 Olympic Marathon at 5K with a broken foot. She took time off in the fall to heal, and now will be seeking her second NYRR New York Mini 10K title; she first won the race in 2004.

"I am so excited to be returning to New York for what is one of my favorite road races of the season," Kastor said. "The Mini always attracts a great field of elite athletes as well as an empowered field of women ready to take on this challenging Central Park course. As usual, New York Road Runners has put together an impressive field so I'll have my work cut out for me."

Ndereba, 36, who represents Kenya and lives in Nairobi, is a two-time Olympic marathon silver medalist and a two-time world champion in the marathon. One of the most celebrated female international road racers of all time, Ndereba returns to the hills of Central Park with an advantage as the two-time champion in the NYC Half-Marathon. Earlier this year, she finished seventh at the Flora London Marathon.

Lewy Boulet, 35, of Oakland, CA, will be competing in her fifth New York Mini, having narrowly missed the podium in 2008 with a fourth place finish. The 2008 Olympian in the marathon returns to New York just over a month after her victory in the More Magazine | Fitness Magazine Half-Marathon in April. In January, Lewy Boulet won the USA Half-Marathon Championships, her first national title. A native of Poland, Lewy Boulet balances her professional running career while serving as a full-time assistant coach at the University of California at Berkeley and raising her 4-year-old son, Owen, with husband Richie Boulet, a former world class miler.

Rudolph, 35, of Providence, RI, is a two-time Olympian in the 5000 meters. Slattery, 27, of Phoenix, AZ, was the 2007 Pan American Games 10,000m gold medalist. Kano, 30, of Tokyo, is one of Japan's top marathoners and road racers. Kalmer, 28, of Johannesburg, represented South Africa in the 1500 meters at the 2008 Olympic Games. Also entered is Kelly Jaske, 32, of Portland, OR, a Harvard-educated lawyer who just started running competitively; she was the runner-up to Lewy Boulet in the U.S. half-marathon championships.

Four-time race champion Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands was expected to vie for her record-tying fifth Mini title, but a previous injury to her right knee flared up after competing in the World's Best 10K in Puerto Rico in March.

The top female runners will be vying for a prize purse of $35,000 - with the winner taking home $10,000 - in addition to $10,000 in money earmarked for Americans. Founded by NYRR in 1972, the Mini got its name when race founder Fred Lebow convinced the first sponsor to support a six-mile "mini" marathon-named for the miniskirt, which was then in fashion-rather than a full marathon. The first race featured 78 participants; the Mini has been on the NYRR calendar ever since.

For more information, visit: www.NYRR.org

Four past champions return to final Marathon finish at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot

SAN DIEGO - (May 28, 2009) - For its last year finishing at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD), the 2009 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon will feature one of the most exciting professional fields in the history of the event. Headlining this year's professional field is American Dan Browne, who recently moved to Chula Vista, Calif. Browne won his third USA 25K title earlier this month and will lead the U.S. men's marathon team at the 12th IAAF World Championships on Saturday, August 22 in Berlin.

"I'm excited to be running the Rock 'n' Roll this year," said Browne, who represented the U.S. in both the marathon and 10,000m at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. "I've heard it's a great event and a lot of fun. I'm ready to run hard."

Browne, 33, owns a marathon PR of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 35 seconds from a debut victory at the 2002 Twin Cities Marathon and has represented Team USA four times at the World Cross Country Championships. He finished sixth in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in November of 2007 and has an impressive 17 national titles to his name.

The strongest competition for Browne should, most likely, come from Kenya's Samuel Mugo, 23, who has won his last two marathons and also improved his PR on both occasions. Mugo won the Porto Marathon in Portugal last year running 2:11:08 and earlier this year posted an impressive 2:08:51 winning the Xiamen International Marathon (China) in January.

To some though, the favorite should be 29-year-old Ethiopian Dejene Berhanu who won the local Carlsbad 5000, recognized as the world's premier race for the distance, in 2004 and 2005 as well as finishing 5th in the 5000m at the Athens Olympics. Berhanu ran 2:08:46 in his debut marathon in 2006 and won the 2004 Great North Run in 59:37 for the half-marathon, which at the time set the national record.

Browne, Mugo and Berhanu are expected to be joined in the lead pack by a trio of Ethiopians, including 2000 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Tesfaye Tola. Tola owns the fastest PR in the field at 2:06:57. Abiyote Guta set his PR of 2:10:38 five years ago when he was just 19 years old. He ran in Otsu, Japan earlier this year where he posted a time of 2:11:18. Tekeste Nekatibebe has a PR of 2:12:00, which he set last year at the Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands where he finished third. The European challenge will be led by Oleksandr Sitkovskyy of the Ukraine who set his PR of 2:10:16 when finishing second in Turin last year.

"We are looking forward to a fast and competitive race at the 12th running of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon," said Matt Turnbull, Elite Athlete Coordinator for the event. "We have a great mixture of east African talent, both seasoned pros and up-and-coming athletes who will surely make a name for themselves over the next few years."

Former Rock 'n' Roll champions Belay Wolasha of Ethiopia and Philip Tarus of Kenya are returning to the marathon this year. Tarus is the course record holder, whose time of 2:08:33 has now stood as San Diego's best for 9 years. Belay was the winner of the 2000 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and is opening a training camp just outside Addis Ababa, and hopes to encourage runners of all abilities, locations and backgrounds to come over and train like the Ethiopians.

On the women's side, the defending champions from both 2007 and 2008 will return to San Diego this year. 2008 winner Yuliya Gromova of Russia returns to the course where she set her PR of 2:28:23. She will have her hands full with 2007 race champion Hellen Kimutai of Kenya, whose PR of 2:25:52 was set in Hamburg in 2003. In her past two marathons, she ran sub-2:30 times in Beijing and Seoul last year.

"It's great to have the last two female champions on the start line," added Turnbull. "I'm sure both runners will be eager to stand on the top of the podium in 2009."

The women's field includes two other dangerous competitors. Ethiopian Liela Laman has a PR of 2:27:54 set in Berlin in 2004 and San Diego will be her first race after having a baby last year. Albina Mayorova (Ivanova) represented Russia in the 2004 Olympic Games and has a PR of 2:25:35 from Chicago in 2003. She was 7th in Rome earlier this year, finishing in 2:30:21.

The entire field of professional athletes will be introduced during the official media briefing at 11:00am Friday on the Bayside Terrace of the San Diego Convention Center, site of the event's two-day Health and Fitness Expo. The race begins Sunday morning at 6:30am on 6th Avenue at Palm in Balboa Park, with live bands and local high school cheer squads performing along every mile of the 26.2-mile course. For more information about the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon or to view a complete start list, visit: www.rnrmarathon.com