Sunday: Desi Linden Returns To Boston To Take On Defending Winner Joan Chelimo At The BAA 10k
BAA Press Release
June 20, 2018
BOSTON – The 2018 B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, will feature one of the strongest fields in its eight-year history, bringing together Boston Marathon champions, Olympians, and global medalists on the roads of Boston. The race will be held on Sunday, June 24, at 8:00 a.m., starting and finishing on Charles Street adjacent to Boston Common. The event will showcase Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, as nearly ten thousand participants compete on one of the fastest courses in the world.
For the first time since triumphantly breaking the finish tape on Boylston Street at the 2018 Boston Marathon, Des Linden returns to the roads of Boston for her B.A.A. 10K debut. Linden became the first American woman since 1985 to win the open division at the Boston Marathon. A two-time Olympian, Linden will look to become the first woman to win both the Boston Marathon and the B.A.A. 10K in the same year since 2011.
In addition to Linden, fellow Boston Marathon champions Meb Keflezighi, Buzunesh Deba, and Caroline Rotich will also be running, as will this year’s Boston Marathon Masters winner Abdi Abdirahman. Deba is the Boston Marathon course record holder, having run 2:19:59 in 2014. Now retired from elite racing, Keflezighi will run among the masses.
Other familiar faces set to compete are defending B.A.A. 10K champions Joan Chelimo and Daniel Chebii, as well as past winners Stephen Sambu, Daniel Salel, Mamitu Daska, and Mary Wacera. Chelimo and Chebii earned resounding victories a year ago, finishing in 31:24 and 27:58; with a win this year, Chebii could become the first runner in race history to earn three titles.
Two-time B.A.A. 5K winner Buze Diriba will aim for her first B.A.A. 10K crown and look to improve upon her third-place finish at last year’s race. Olympic silver medalist Sally Kipyego, NCAA champion Betsy Saina, and road racing ace Lineth Chepkurui are all also entered. On the men’s side, last year’s third place finisher Teshome Mekonen returns to Boston.
Joining Linden, Keflezighi, and Abdirahman among the American contingent are Bowerman Track Club’s Chris Derrick and Northern Arizona Elite’s Matt Llano. Sporting the B.A.A.’s traditional adidas unicorn racing uniform will be Katie Matthews, Katie Kellner, and Heather Cappello.
Five-time B.A.A. 10K wheelchair champion Tony Nogueira, as well as reigning women’s winner Hannah Babalola will race for the push-rim wheelchair title. Nogueira holds the B.A.A. 10K course record at 22:55, set in 2016, while Babalola clocked the women’s wheelchair course best of 26:52 a year ago.
Both the men’s and women’s champions of the B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, receive a $10,000 (USD) award. A total prize purse of $48,500 (USD) will be distributed to the top ten men and women overall, the top three in the masters division, and the top three in the push rim wheelchair division. A bonus of $7,500 will be awarded for a men’s or women’s event record in the open division. The men’s event record of 27:19 was set at the inaugural edition of the B.A.A. 10K in 2011, while the women’s event record stands at 30:52, set in 2016 by Shalane Flanagan. Flanagan’s time remains an American record.
The B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, begins on Sunday, June 24, at 8:00 a.m. EDT on Charles Street between Boston Common and the Public Garden. The 6.2-mile course is a flat, fast tour through Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Following the start on Charles Street, the race turns onto Boylston Street and Arlington Street, then winds down picturesque Commonwealth Avenue and Bay State Road as far west as Babcock Street near Boston University. Participants then head back on Commonwealth Avenue, around the Public Garden, and finish on Charles Street. Race registration remains open. For more information on the B.A.A. 10K, please visit www.baa.org.
WOMEN’S ELITE ATHLETE FIELD (as of June 14, 2018)
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY | PERSONAL BEST | ||||
| Joan Chelimo | 27 | Kenya | 30:14 | ||||
| Buze Diriba | 24 | Ethiopia | 31:37 | ||||
| Mamitu Daska | 34 | Ethiopia | 31:04 | ||||
| Sally Kipyego | 32 | Kenya | 33:14 | ||||
| Betsy Saina | 29 | Kenya | 30:46 | ||||
| Mary Wacera | 29 | Kenya | 31:28 | ||||
| Monicah Ngige | 24 | Kenya | 31:55 | ||||
| Buzunesh Deba | 30 | Ethiopia | 32:10 | ||||
| Des Linden | 34 | USA/MI | 33:02 | ||||
| Lineth Chepkurui | 30 | Kenya | 30:45 | ||||
| Caroline Rotich | 34 | Kenya | 31:41 | ||||
| Katie Matthews | 27 | USA/MA | 32:23 | ||||
| Katie Kellner | 26 | USA/MA | 33:05 | ||||
| Juliet Bottorff | 27 | USA/MA | 32:38 | ||||
| Heather Cappello | 38 | USA/MA | 33:32 | ||||
| Nicole Dimercurio | 27 | USA/NC | 34:02 | ||||
| Rosie Donegan | 24 | AUS/MA | 34:06 | ||||
| Holly Rees | 25 | GBR/MA | 34:17 |
MEN’S ELITE ATHLETE FIELD (as of June 14, 2018)
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY | PERSONAL BEST | ||||
| Daniel Chebii | 33 | Kenya | 27:35 | ||||
| Daniel Salel | 27 | Kenya | 27:41 | ||||
| Stephen Sambu | 29 | KEN/AZ | 27:25 | ||||
| Teshome Mekonen | 22 | Ethiopia | 27:50 | ||||
| Daniel Kemoi | 31 | Kenya | 30:00 | ||||
| Philip Langat | 28 | Kenya | 27:28 | ||||
| Abdi Abdirahman | 41 | USA/AZ | 28:11 | ||||
| Meb Keflezighi | 43 | USA/CA | 27:58 | ||||
| Linus Kiplagat | 23 | Kenya | 28:39 | ||||
| Matt Llano | 29 | USA/AZ | 29:45 | ||||
| Gabriel Geay | 21 | Tanzania | 28:39 | ||||
| Chris Derrick | 27 | USA/OR | 28:39 | ||||
| Rob Mullett | 39 | GBR/GA | 29:20 | ||||
| John Crain | 26 | USA/NC | 30:12 |
PRIZE MONEY
A total of $48,500 (USD) in prize money will be awarded equally to men and women based on the time from the starting gun (not by net time). Masters division (40 and older) runners will be eligible for both overall prize money awards and Masters division prize money awards.
| PLACE OVERALL | OPEN | MASTERS (40-AND-OVER) | PUSH-RIM WHEELCHAIR | ||||
| 1st | $10,000 | $300 | $500 | ||||
| 2nd | $5,000 | $200 | $300 | ||||
| 3rd | $3,000 | $100 | $200 | ||||
| 4th | $1,500 | ||||||
| 5th | $1,000 | ||||||
| 6th | $750 | ||||||
| 7th | $500 | ||||||
| 8th | $400 | ||||||
| 9th | $300 | ||||||
| 10th | $200 |
BONUS STRUCTURE FOR 2018
Bonuses for event record times established at B.A.A. Distance Medley events will be $5,000 for the B.A.A. 5K, $7,500 for the B.A.A. 10K, and $10,000 for the B.A.A. Half Marathon. Boston Marathon event record bonuses continue to be provided through John Hancock’s sponsorship of the Boston Marathon. In addition, a runner who wins three of those four events in 2018 will be awarded $50,000. Only the single highest bonus will be awarded to a runner.
BONUS INCENTIVES FOR TOP OVERALL FINISHES IN 2018 B.A.A. EVENTS*
| Win three of the four events: | $50,000 | ||
| Win two of the four events: | $20,000 | ||
| Place among the top two in three of the four events: | $10,000 | ||
| Place among the top three in three of the four events: | $5,000 | ||
| * Includes the Boston Marathon |
EVENT RECORD BONUSES
| B.A.A. 5K: | $5,000 | ||
| B.A.A. 10K: | $7,500 | ||
| B.A.A. Half Marathon: | $10,000 | ||
| Boston Marathon: | $25,000 |