2010 Boston Marathon Champion Robert Cheruiyot to lead elite field at 15th annual Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
London Olympians Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall and Kim Smith Headline Sunday's Half Marathon
Press Release
June 1, 2012
SAN DIEGO, Calif. Dont confuse the Robert Cheruiyot who won the 2010 Boston Marathon with the Robert Cheruiyot, who won the Boston Marathon in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The first and last names are the same, but thats one of the few resemblances. The more recent Boston winner is 23, the other is 32. The 2010 winners middle name is Kiprono, the others is Kipkoech. The younger Cheruiyot will be heading a strong professional field for Sundays 15th annual Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon. The other Cheruiyot will not be competing.
We are not related, Kiprono said on Friday. Im not the one who won Boston four times. But now I have done it and Im very happy to have done it.
Both Cheruiyots live in Kenya, but a great distance apart. The older one lives in Nairobi, the younger in the village of Sarucha.
When Kiprono returned to his little township two years ago after his Boston triumph, he was greeted like a conquering hero. He estimstes that about 20,000 people from villages all around his home base turned out to greet him and threw him a celebatory party. They also presented him with five cows, which he gave to his mother. Should he win in San Diego on Sunday, the celebration wont be as large, but it will be significant, he said.
Cheruiyot will be fighting some difficult odds in his San Diego debut. One, he still is recovering from a right hip injury that prevented him from running Boston again in April. Secondly, his preparation for the race was disrupted when his luggage was misplaced on the long trip from Nairobi through Amsterdam and Atlanta to San Diego, preventing him from doing his usual workout Friday morning.
Still, he is confident. I dont want to say I will win, but I will do my best to improve my time, he said. If we (the other top runners in the field) run together, maybe we can run 2:07. If the humidity is good, we can run good. If not, I will do my best.
Cheruiyots best marathon time is 2:05:52 from his Boston victory, a clocking that broke the course record at the time. He ran each of his first four marathons in 2:07:30 or better. He made his international marathon debut in 2008 at Frankfurt, Germany, and won in a course record 2:07:21.
Sundays entrants include Pastrick Ivuti of Kenya, a winner at Chicago, Prague and Honolulu, with a best time of 2:07:46; William Kipsang of Kenya, a winner at Rotterdam with a PR of 2:05:49; and Ambesse Tolosa of Ethiopia, the San Diego champion in 2006. The top American is Jeffrey Eggleston of Flagstaff, Ariz., winner of the 2011 Pittsburgh Marathon.
Heading the womens marathon field are Azelosh Woldeslasse of Ethiopia, who has a best of 2:25:23; Alevtiva Ivanova of Russia, a winner of the Nagano (Japan) Marathon; and Woynishet Garma of Ethiopia, last years Honolulu champion. Topping the U.S. list is Ashley Grosse of Palo Alto, Calif.
Famous for lining race routes with live bands and cheerleaders, the original Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon & ½ Marathon will celebrate its 15th birthday on Sunday, June 3, 2012. The 2012 event will feature the men's 1-2 finishers from the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Meb Keflezighi and Ryan Hall, competing in the same event less than two months before the London Games.
"Once they qualified for the Olympic team, I knew they would be focusing on London," said Matt Turnbull, elite athlete recruiter who expects two a highly competitive races Sunday even though the big prize ahead is London. "We identified a couple of the runners who I knew would fit our race. It was good timing. The half-marathon is good timing for their full marathon and San Diego fits in that category. Of course, these guys have London in mind, but knowing their personalities, they don't like to get beat."
The Eritrean-born Keflezighi, 37, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998, is the defending half-marathon champion, outdueling 4-time London Marathon champion Martin Lel of Kenyan, who finished second in London this year, to win his first race in his adopted hometown. Hall, the first American to break the one-hour barrier on a record standard half-marathon course and the U.S. record-holder at 59 minutes, 43 seconds set in 2007, also is anxiously looking forward to the competition.
"Being a native California boy, I am stoked to have the opportunity to race in my backyard at this year's San Diego Half-Marathon," Hall, 29, said. "Having lived and trained in San Diego before, I'm excited to finally race there having seen the race in years past. This year's race fits perfectly with my preparations for this summer's Olympic Games. It will serve as my all-important, last race before the Games. I'm looking at this opportunity as one last chance to learn and tweak my training accordingly before running in what I consider to be the biggest race of my life."
Meanwhile, Kim Smith will be the front-runner in the women's half-marathon. Smith is a New Zealand Olympian and owner of the fastest women's half-marathon ever run in the United States, 1:07:11 set last year at Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia.
The event will kick-off with the wheelchair invitational beginning at 6:10am on Sunday, June 3, followed by the Marathon, ½ Marathon and 2-Person Half Marathon Relay at 6:15am. Further information about Rock 'n' Roll San Diego is available online at: Competitor.com
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