Saturday: Ben True (3-Time Winner) And Molly Huddle (2-Time Winner) Will Defend Their Titles At The BAA 5K

BAA Press Release
April 11, 2016

BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced an elite field of world class competitors for the 2016 B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile, to be held on Saturday, April 16, two days prior to the 2016 Boston Marathon®. Rhode Island’s Molly Huddle and New Hampshire’s Ben True will return to Boston aiming to defend their B.A.A. 5K titles, which they earned in national record time last year.

Ben True and Molly Huddle after winning and setting American road records last year.

Following the B.A.A. 5K, Ethiopia’s Dawit Seyaum and Great Britain’s Chris O’Hare will lead world-class fields at the eighth annual B.A.A. Invitational Mile. The B.A.A. Invitational Mile will also include Middle School 1,000 meter races and Scholastic Mile races featuring youths from the eight cities and towns of the Boston Marathon course.

A $39,900 (USD) prize purse will be distributed to the top finishers of the B.A.A. 5K, while a $14,500 (USD) prize purse will be available in the B.A.A. Invitational Mile.

Huddle and True are veterans on the roads of Boston, having won a total of five B.A.A. 5K races since 2011. Huddle has placed first two years in a row, while True broke the tape out front of the men’s race in 2011, 2012, and 2015. Last year, True won with an American record time of 13:22, while Huddle finished first in a national best 14:50. The pair will be up against a field of accomplished athletes this year, including Olympic and World Championships medalists.

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Dejen Gebremeskel, the reigning B.A.A. Invitational Mile champion, will return to the B.A.A. 5K this year, a race which he won in both 2013 and 2014. Gebremeskel is the 2012 Olympic silver medalist for 5000m on the track. Kenyans Stephen Sambu and Philip Langat, as well as American Diego Estrada, also figure to be in the mix for the $7,500 top prize.

Huddle will be joined on the starting line by a pair of B.A.A. 5K champions in Kim Smith (NZL) and Lineth Chepkurui (KEN). Smith, a two-time B.A.A. Distance Medley victor, is a training partner of Huddle’s in Providence, R.I. Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba, Burundi’s Diane Nukuri, and Americans Emily Sisson and Liz Costello will all be racing as well. Representing the B.A.A. High Performance team are Sarah Pagano, Emma Bates, Juliet Bottorff, and Elaina Balouris.

A field of 10,000 participants will take part in the B.A.A. 5K, the first event of the 2016 B.A.A. Distance Medley. The race starts and finishes on Charles Street adjacent to Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden, and passes the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street approximately 2.4 miles into the race.

European Championships bronze medalist Chris O’Hare will square off against six other sub-four minute milers in the B.A.A. Invitational Mile. Daniel Winn, a member of the B.A.A. High Performance team, will race on the roads of Boston for the first time, boasting a mile personal best of 3:57.36. B.A.A. Mayor’s Cup Cross Country winner Trevor Dunbar is set to race as well.

On the women’s side, defending champion Dawit Seyaum returns to Boston seeking to retain her title. In 2015, Seyaum set an event record of 4:35.4 to win her first B.A.A. Invitational Mile title. Earlier this year she claimed the silver medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon. Road mile ace Heather Kampf, B.A.A. High Performance team member Emily Lipari, and Dartmouth graduate Megan Krumpoch will also race the three-lap course before finishing at the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street.

A detailed start list and schedule of events for both the B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile can be found below. The men’s event record for the B.A.A. 5K stands at 13:22, set by Ben True in 2015. The women’s event record is 14:50, run by Molly Huddle a year ago. The men’s and women’s event records for the B.A.A. Invitational Mile are 4:03.3 (Nick Willis, 2013) and 4:35.4 (Dawit Seyaum, 2015).

The B.A.A. Invitational Mile includes six races, held shortly after the 2016 B.A.A. 5K. The first two races feature middle school age students from the eight cities and towns of the Boston Marathon course – Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston. The girls’ and boys’ Middle School 1,000 meter races include runners between sixth and eighth grade and finish at the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street.

Following the Middle School 1,000 meter races is the Scholastic Mile, which features girls’ and boys’ races for high school students from the eight cities and towns of the Boston Marathon course. The Scholastic Mile follows the same three-lap, USATF-certified course the professional mile athletes run, finishing at the Boston Marathon finish line.

SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2016 – SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

8:00 a.m. B.A.A. 5K, Boston Common
10:30 a.m. Girls’ Middle School 1,000 meters, Copley Square
10:40 a.m. Boys’ Middle School 1,000 meters, Copley Square
10:55 a.m. Girls’ Scholastic Mile, Copley Square
11:05 a.m. Boys’ Scholastic Mile, Copley Square
11:20 a.m. Men’s Invitational Mile, Copley Square
11:30 a.m. Women’s Invitational Mile, Copley Square

B.A.A. 5K ELITE FIELD – MEN

Name Age Citizenship/Residence Road 5K PB/Location
Dejen Gebremeskel 26 ETH 13:11/2012 Carlsbad, CA
Ben True 30 USA/NH 13:22/2015 B.A.A. 5K
Stephen Sambu 27 KEN/AZ 13:21/2015 Alton, IL
Philip Langat 25 KEN 13:32/2015 B.A.A. 5K
Diego Estrada 26 USA/AZ 13:38/2013 San Jose, CA
Tyler Pennel 28 USA/NC 13:42/2014 B.A.A. 5K
Maverick Darling 26 USA/WI 13:58/2014 Providence, RI
Erik Olson 24 USA/CA 13:58/2015 San Jose, CA
Joe Stilin 26 USA/NC 13:59/2015 Armagh, IRL
Jeffrey Eggleston 31 USA/CO 14:15/2011 Providence, RI
Lex Williams 29 USA/MI 14:11/2009 San Jose, CA
Kennedy Kithuka 26 KEN 14:16/2014 Baltimore, MD
John Crain 30 USA/NC 13:39.83 (track)/2015 Portland, OR
Olle Wallerang 31 SWE 13:34.74 (track)/2013 Ninove

B.A.A. 5K ELITE FIELD – WOMEN

Name Age Citizenship/Residence Road 5K PB/Location
Molly Huddle 31 USA/RI 14:50/2015 B.A.A. 5K
Kim Smith 34 NZL/RI 14:48/2013 Westfield, MA
Buze Diriba 22 ETH 15:00/2015 B.A.A. 5K
Caroline Chepkoech 21 KEN 15:13/2016 Carlsbad, CA
Lineth Chepkurui 28 KEN 15:23/2013 B.A.A. 5K
Diane Nukuri 31 BDI 15:41/2012 B.A.A. 5K
Emily Sisson 24 USA/RI 15:44/2014 Providence, RI
Monicah Ngige 22 KEN 15:47/2015 B.A.A. 5K
Sarah Pagano 24 USA/MA 15:54/2014 Syracuse, NY
Liz Costello 28 USA/MA 15:57/2014 Providence, RI
Rachel Hannah 29 CAN 15:58/2014 Ottawa, CAN
Juliet Bottorff 25 USA/MA 15:59/2015 Carlsbad, CA
Elvin Kibet 26 KEN 16:04/2014 San Jose, CA
Elaina Balouris 24 USA/MA 16:07/2015 Providence, RI
Emma Bates 23 USA/MA 15:32.56 (track)/2015 Stanford, CA
Mary Wangui 16 KEN 15:58.05 (track)/2015 Nairobi, Kenya
Joanna Thompson 23 USA/NC 16:03.13 (track)/2015 Geneva, OH

B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE ELITE FIELD – MEN

Name Age Citizenship/Residence Road Mile PB/Track Mile PB
Chris O’Hare 25 GBR/MA 3:56/3:52.91
Duncan Phillips 26 USA/TX 4:05/3:56.10
Julian Matthews 27 NZL 4:04/3:56.91
Matt Hillenbrand 23 USA/WA 4:07/3:57.00
Trevor Dunbar 24 USA/OR 4:04/3:57.19
Daniel Winn 24 USA/MA 4:01/3:57.36
Frezer Legesse 25 USA/OK 4:06/3:57.48
Kemoy Campbell 25 JAM 4:00.98 (Track)

B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE ELITE FIELD – WOMEN

Name Age Citizenship/Residence Road Mile PB/Track Mile PB
Dawit Seyaum 19 ETH 4:35 (Road)
Heather Kampf 29 USA/MN 4:22/4:27.26
Brook Handler 23 USA/MI 4:28/4:36.87
Christy Cazzola 30 USA/GA 4:30/4:36.99
Emily Lipari 23 USA/MA 4:36/4:31.68
Becca Addison 24 USA/MI 4:30.70 (Track)
Megan Krumpoch 23 USA/MA 4:38.51 (Track

B.A.A. 5K PRIZE STRUCTURE (Equal for both men and women)

Place Open Masters Push-Rim Wheelchair
1 $7,500 $300 $300
2 $4,000 $200 $200
3 $2,500 $100 $100
4 $1,500
5 $1,000
6 $750
7 $600
8 $400
9 $300
10 $200
GRAND TOTAL:  $39,900

B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE PRIZE STRUCTURE (Equal for both professional men and women)

Place Professional
1 $3,000
2 $2,000
3 $1,000
4 $750
5 $500
GRAND TOTAL:  $14,500

 

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