2011 BAA Boston Half Marathon, has strong field, release, note by Larry Eder

2011 BAA Boston Half Marathon is on Sunday, October, 9, in Boston. The fields are full, and here is some notes on the elite fields….

 Monday, October 3,
2011

Talented fields to compete for
$30,000 prize purse in

B.A.A. Half
Marathon^®
presented
by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund on
10.9.11

 World class runners head to
Franklin Park for the 11th annual 13.1-mile
race.

Boston, Mass. – The Boston
Athletic Association today announced its field of elite athletes for the
11^th annual B.A.A. Half Marathon on Sunday, October 9, 2011. The men’s and women’s
list, as of today, is attached to this release. The B.A.A. Half Marathon starts
and finishes at White Stadium in Boston’s Franklin Park beginning at 8:30 a.m.,
and has been annually presented by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Jimmy
Fund since 2003.

The men’s field is highlighted by two past winners.
Defending champion and 35-year-old John Korir of Kenya will
square off against fellow Kenyan and 2007 champion Samuel Ndereba on Sunday.
Korir’s winning time of 1:02:21 in 2010 is tied with Ndereba’s 2007 runner-up
performance as the second fastest in event history. Also in the hunt will be
14-time NCAA All-American Sam Chelanga. The former standout at Liberty University made his professional debut in
June at the B.A.A. 10K, where he finished third. This will be his first half
marathon.

The women’s field is highlighted by defending
champion Caroline Rotich of Kenya. Her 2010 B.A.A. Half Marathon
time of 1:10:23 set an event record by 34 seconds, surpassing Marie Davenport’s
2003 time of 1:10:57. The second and third place finishers from 2010, Janet
Cherobon-Bawcom of Georgia
and Jane Kibii of Kenya are also in the mix.
Cherobon-Bawcom is coming off of a strong summer on the roads, having won the
20K and 10-mile championship within the past month.

“For elite athletes and recreational runners
alike, the B.A.A. Half Marathon has grown into
one of the most popular races of the season,” said B.A.A. Executive Director Tom
Grilk. “Since its beginning in 2001, it’s been a priority of our organization to
attract world-class athletes and a wide range of competitive and recreational
athletes to the beautiful Emerald Necklace park system for our event. With
nearly 7,000 athletes ready to run on Sunday, we hope their experience is one
they remember fondly.”

In the past two editions of the B.A.A. Half
Marathon, the men’s race has come down to the
final stretch. In 2009, Martin Fagan of Ireland held off Philemon Terer of Kenya
to win by three seconds, and last year’s photo finish between Korir and
countryman Alan Kiprono remains the event’s closest yet, with both men finishing
less than a second apart.

Fernando Cabada of Boulder, Colorado enters the race as the top American
male, while New Englanders Katie Dicamillo, Katie Bowser, and Heather Cappello
will vie for the top American position with Cherobon in the women’s race. Top
finishers in the open and masters divisions will vie for a total prize purse of
$30,000.

In the Men’s Wheelchair Division, defending champion
Gary Brendal of Sterling,
Massachusetts will face stiff
competition from five-time champion Tony Noguiera of Glen Ridge, New Jersey, who
last won the race in 2009.

Elite Athletes                                    
           
                       
(as of
10/3/11)

MEN’S
OPEN

Bib # 
   Name                           
           
Citizenship                   
Personal Best

1         
John Korir                     
           
Kenya                          
1:00:47 (2004)

2         
Samuel Ndereba           
           
Kenya                          
1:01:51 (2006)

3         
Sam Chelanga              
           
Kenya                          
debut

4         
John Itati                      
           
Kenya                          
1:02:04 (2004)

5         
Ali Abdosh                   
           
Ethiopia                       
1:04:26 (2010)

6         
Elkanah Kibet               
           
Kenya                          
1:04:24 (2011)

7         
Gilbert Okari                 
           
Kenya                          
1:01:26 (2009)

8         
Fernando Cabada          
           
Boulder, CO                 
1:02:32 (2011)

10        
Timothy Ritchie             
           
Boston,
MA                  
1:07:49 (2010)

WOMEN’S
OPEN

Bib # 
   Name                           
           
Home               
           
Personal Best

F1       
Caroline Rotich             
           
Kenya                          
1:08:52 (2011)

F2        Janet
Cherobon-Bawcom           
Rome,
GA                    
1:10:59 (2010)

F3        Jane
Kibii                     
           
Kenya                          
1:10:23 (2011)

F6       
Heather Cappello          
           
Arlington, MA               
1:15:04 (2010)

F7        Kathleen
Dicamillo                    
Providence, RI              
debut

F8        Diana
Bowser               
           
Needham,
MA              
1:13:13 (2001)

Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association
is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and
promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.’s
Boston Marathon
is the world’s oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local
events and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running
programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been
John Hancock Financial.