Boston Marathon Champion Lelisa Desisa to Run BAA 10k Next Weekend
by: BAA Press Release
June 14, 2013
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced that 2013 Boston Marathon® men’s champion Lelisa Desisa, of Ethiopia, will compete in the 2013 B.A.A. 10K on Sunday, June 23. Desisa will compete among Olympic and World Championship finalists, national record holders, and the defending champions of the B.A.A. Distance Medley. The B.A.A. 10K is the second race of the 2013 B.A.A. Distance Medley, a three-race series which awards $100,000 USD to the male and female with the fastest cumulative time from the three races. In addition, the B.A.A. 10K offers a combined prize purse of nearly $30,000 USD.
For each of the first two years of the B.A.A. 10K, the men’s race produced the world’s leading time to date for that year.
Challenging Desisa in the 2013 B.A.A. 10K will be a talented, international field including 2012 B.A.A. Distance Medley champion Allan Kiprono (KEN); 2012 B.A.A. Distance Medley
Lelisa Desisa (r.), with translator Gemedu Dedefo, was full of smiles and confidence at the Boston Marathon pre-race press conference
runner-up and 2013 Bellin Run (Green Bay, WI) champion Lani Rutto (KEN); and three-time Olympian Alistair Cragg (IRL). Also expected to be among the leaders are 2013 Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run (Washington, D.C.) champion Daniel Salel (KEN); six-time NCAA All-American Stephen Sambu (KEN); 2012 Paris Marathon runner-up Raji Assefa (ETH); and 2013 James Joyce Ramble (Dedham, MA) champion Amos Sang (KEN).
Following the 2013 B.A.A. 5K, American Aaron Braun (AZ) is in first place on the men’s B.A.A. Distance Medley Leader Board. The 2012 Manchester (CT) Road Race champion finished second in the B.A.A. 5K, running 13:40. Braun will be joined in the B.A.A. 10K by Jason Hartmann (CO), the fourth place finisher and top American in the 2012 and 2013 Boston Marathon, andMassachusetts natives Nate Jenkins and Mark Amirault.
In the women’s race, 2012 B.A.A. Distance Medley champion Kim Smith (NZL) will defend her title after setting a course record of 31:36 in last year’s B.A.A. 10K. She won the 2013 B.A.A. 5K on April 14 and is currently in first place on the women’s B.A.A. Distance Medley Leader Board.
Smith, who resides in Providence, RI, will compete against 2011 champion and 2013 runner-up of the B.A.A. 5K Lineth Chepkurui (KEN), and 2013 Crescent City Classic (New Orleans, LA) champion Alice Kimutai (KEN). Rounding out the women’s elite field are 2008 Bolder Boulder (Boulder, CO) and Bellin Run champion Millicent Kuria (KEN); James Joyce Ramble champion Chemtai Rionotukei (KEN); Houston Half Marathon and New York Mini 10K champion Mamitu Daska (ETH); and 2012 B.A.A. Distance Medley runner-up Aheza Kiros (ETH).
The B.A.A. 10K begins on Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 8:00 a.m. ET near the Boston Public Garden. The 6.2-mile course is a scenic tour through Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Starting on Charles Street, the race winds down picturesque Commonwealth Avenue and Bay State Road as far west as Babcock Street near Boston University, before heading back on Commonwealth Avenue, around the Public Garden, and finishing on Charles Street. Registration for the B.A.A. 10K is closed. For more information about the B.A.A. 10K, please visit www.baa.org.
MEN’S ELITE FIELD (as of June 13, 2013)
| NAME | CITIZENSHIP | AGE | 10K PERSONAL BEST |
| Daniel Salel * | KEN | 22 | 28:40 (27:07.85) |
| Lelisa Desisa | ETH | 23 | 27:58 (27:11.98) |
| Raji Assefa | ETH | 27 | 28:33 (27:15.68) |
| Stephen Sambu * | KEN | 24 | 28:02 (27:28.64) |
| Alistair Cragg * | IRL | 33 | 28:33 (27:39.55) |
| Aaron Braun * | USA / AZ | 26 | 29:17 (27:41.54) |
| Allan Kiprono * | KEN | 23 | 27:42 |
| Lani Rutto * | KEN | 24 | 27:46 |
| Jason Hartmann | USA / CO | 32 | 29:04 (28:15.22) |
| Amos Sang | KEN | 27 | 28:47 (28:20.35) |
| Nate Jenkins | USA / MA | 32 | 29:33 (29:59.46) |
| Mark Amirault | USA / MA | 25 | Debut |
WOMEN’S ELITE FIELD (as of June 13, 2013)
| NAME | CITIZENSHIP | AGE | 10K PERSONAL BEST |
| Kim Smith * | NZL | 31 | 31:23 (30:35.54) |
| Lineth Chepkurui * | KEN | 25 | 30:45 (31:24.20) |
| Aheza Kiros | ETH | 31 | 31:57 (31:06.93) |
| Mamitu Daska | ETH | 29 | 32:05 (31:36.88) |
| Alice Kimutai * | KEN | 20 | 31:51 |
| Millicent Kuria * | KEN | 27 | 32:38 |
| Chemtai Rionotukei | KEN | 26 | 33:45 |
* 2013 B.A.A. Distance Medley participant
( ) Track Performance for 10,000 meters
PRIZE PURSE
| PLACE | MEN | WOMEN |
| 1 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| 2 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| 3 | 1,500 | 1,500 |
| 4 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
| 5 | 800 | 800 |
| 6 | 600 | 600 |
| 7 | 500 | 500 |
| 8 | 400 | 400 |
| 9 | 300 | 300 |
| 10 | 200 | 200 |
| TOTAL | $13,500 | $13,500 |