Khannouchi to Make Professional NYC Road Racing Debut By David Monti (c) 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved Editor's Note: David Monti is the elite athlete coordinator for the ING NYC Marathon run by the New York Road Runners
Former
marathon world record holder and the only man to break 2:06 three times
for the distance, Khalid Khannouchi, will make his professional road
racing debut in New York City on Saturday at the third edition of the
Healthy Kidney 10-K, event organizers announced today.
"At long
last, America's fastest marathoner will run here in New York City as
our hometown favorite," commented Mary Wittenberg, the president and
CEO of the New York Road Runners.
At Saturday's race,
Khannouchi, 35, will face a stiff challenge from 2005 IAAF World
Championships 5000m bronze medalist, Craig Mottram of Australia, and
U.S. Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein. The field also contains American
up-and-comers Matt Gonzeles, Patrick Gildea and Justin Young, plus a
group of international challengers led by Michael Aish of New Zealand,
Richard Kiplagat of Kenya and Andrew Letherby of Australia. Some of
the top Tri-State club runners are also expected to take part.
"Central
Park is a hotbed of racing this year," Wittenberg added. "We know the
men will turn on the heat to go for the win. The Americans will get a
bonus: Most of this race is on our Olympic Trials course."
The
U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon will be held in New York City
on Nov. 3, one day before the ING New York City Marathon.
Khannouchi,
a native of Morocco who once washed dishes for a living, failed to
finish the Flora London Marathon last month. He's looking for a
positive experience in New York to get his year back on track.
"I'm
very excited about running in New York City, especially in what has so
far been a disappointing season," said Khannouchi. "I look forward to
competing and doing my best."
Khannouchi has a 10-K personal best of 27:58.
In
addition to a $20,000 prize money purse, a $20,000 bonus is on the line
for a new Central Park record, currently 28:10 by Paul Koech of Kenya
in 1997.
The
Embassy of the United Arab Emirates is sponsoring this race to benefit
the National Kidney Foundation, Inc., in appreciation of American
medical excellence in the kidney transplant field. The late UAE
president Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan benefited from American
expertise, knowledge, and research when he received a kidney transplant
in 2000.