Strong fields announced for B.A.A. 5-K, Mile Races
By Chris Lotsbom, Race Results Weekly
The Boston Athletic Association announced the professional fields for both the B.A.A. 5-K and Invitational Mile races to be held on Sunday, April 17, the day before the 115th Boston Marathon.
For the first time in its three-year history, the B.A.A. 5-K will feature an elite field vying for a piece of the combined $30,000 prize purse.
Among those entered are Australian Ben St. Lawrence and Americans Bobby Curtis and Nick Arciniaga. Curtis has the fastest 5000m personal best of the eight man elite field at 13:48 [Curtis's 5000 PR on the track is actually 13:18.97 -- BC], just ahead of Kenyan John Korir's time of 13:51. Arciniaga, 27, trains under coach Greg McMillan in Flagstaff, Ariz., and recently set a personal best 2:11:30 at the Chevron Houston Marathon.
The women's field is highlighted by Lineth Chepkurui, the 24-year-old Kenyan who dominated the American road race scene in 2010. Winning seven races on American soil, Chepkurui seems to run especially well on the East coast --she won the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10-K in Maine, the Run Gloucester! 7-Mile Road Race in Massachusetts, and was second at the CIGNA Falmouth Road Race, also in Mass.
The course records for the B.A.A. 5-K are 14:29 by Jarrod Shoemaker (2009) and 16:52 by Jennifer Campbell (2010).
"These athletes have helped quickly grow our Sunday events in three years," said B.A.A. executive director Tom Grilk through a statement. "Our 5-K has proven to be a boost of running energy that primes spectators and competitors alike for Marathon Monday. We can't wait for the competition to begin."
In the Invitational Mile races, last year's champion Andy Baddeley of Great Britain returns, aiming to defend his title on the streets of Boston. Joining him on the line will be Lukas Verzbicas, the highly touted University of Oregon-bound senior from Orland Hills, Ill. The last time Verzbicas was in Boston, he ran 4:03.88 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, missing his goal of four-minutes by less than four seconds.
Anna Pierce, the 2009 Women's Invitational Mile champion, will be racing for the first time in 2011. Treniere Moser, Marina Muncan, and Charlotte Browning are also entered in the race.
The best times for the three-loop course are 4:08.6 by Andy Baddeley (2010) and 4:38.6 by Anna Willard (2009).
The winner of both Invitational Miles will earn $3,000. A complete list of professional athletes is listed below (provided by the B.A.A.).
B.A.A. 5-K
Men's Elite Field (as of 4.12.11)
Name (Citizenship) Age 5K Road Personal Best
BEN ST. LAWRENCE (AUS) 29 14:05
BOBBY CURTIS (USA) 26 13:48
BEN BRUCE (USA) 28 14:00
NICK ARCINIAGA (USA) 27 14:13
JARROD SHOEMAKER (USA) 28 14:12
JON PIERCE (USA) 27 14:04
BEN TRUE (USA) 25 14:04
JOHN KORIR (KEN) 35 13:51
Women's Elite Field (as of 4.12.11)
Name (Citizenship) Age Personal Best
LINETH CHEPKURUI (KEN) 24 15:50
STEPHANIE PEZZULLO (USA) 28 16:11
TERESA McWALTERS (USA) 26 16:12
TONI SALUCCI (USA) 25 15:45
Professional Mile
Men's Field (as of 4.12.11)
Name (Citizenship) Age Personal Best
ANDREW BADDELEY (GBR) 28 03:49.4
BRIAN GAGNON (USA) 27 04:05.5
CRAIG MILLER (USA) 23 03:58.6
KYLE MILLER (USA) 25 04:00.5
LUKAS VERZBICAS (USA) 18 04:03.9 (Not eligible for prize money)
Women's Field (as of 4.12.11)
Name (Citizenship) Age Personal Best
ANNA PIERCE (USA) 27 04:28.4
BRIE FELNAGLE (USA) 24 04:32.2
CHARLOTTE BROWNING (GBR) 23 04:31.2
MARINA MUNCAN (SRB) 28 04:33.2
ERIN BEDELL (USA) 29 04:43.7
TRENIERE MOSER (USA) 23 04:29.9
No comments:
Post a Comment