Elite Fields Announced for Seventh Annual B.A.A. Half Marathon
Past champions and newcomers vie for $30,000 purse
by: BAA
October 1, 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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