17 Olympians Lead the Field for NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K
October 10, 2012 at 10:45am EST | by Barbara Huebner, NYRR News Service
Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, Molly Huddle, Jen Rhines, Julia Bleasdale, Lisa Uhl, Chris Solinsky, Matt Tegenkamp, Lopez Lomong, Evan Jager, Ben True, and Chris Thompson will headline a phenomenally deep field for the second-annual NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K on November 3, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
The race, during ING New York City Marathon weekend, will feature 17 Olympians, seven national record-holders, the U.S. junior record-holder, and the reigning men’s and women’s U.S. 5K champions. Eleven men have personal bests at the distance under 13:20, and eight women have run faster than 15:20.
More than 5,000 runners are expected in the event, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. near the United Nations and crosses 42nd Street before heading north on the Avenue of the Americas to the finish line of the ING New York City Marathon, which will be run the next day.
The women’s field, which includes five of the 10 fastest women in U.S. history, is led by Huddle, the U.S. record-holder at 5000 meters (14:44.76) and two-time U.S. champion at 5K on the roads. A 2012 Olympian at 5000 meters, Huddle claimed the U.S. record from Flanagan, who is a close second on the U.S. all-time list (14:44.80), with Goucher (14:55.02) in sixth place.
Flanagan, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000 meters, and Goucher, the 2007 IAAF World Championships bronze medalist at 10,000 meters, both represented the U.S. at the London Olympic Games in the marathon.
“I'm really looking forward to coming back to New York for the Dash to the Finish Line 5K,” said Goucher. “I always love racing in the Big Apple, and I especially like the idea of experiencing all the fun and excitement of the ING New York City Marathon weekend without having to run the full 26.2!”
Veteran Jen Rhines, a three-time Olympian who ranks as the fifth-fastest American in history at 5000 meters (14:54.29) and Julia Bleasdale of Great Britain, who finished eighth at 5000 meters in London, will be joined by the U.S.’s Kim Conley and Canada’s Sheila Reid, both 2012 Olympians at 5000 meters; Lisa Uhl, a 2012 Olympian at 10,000 meters who ranks seventh (14:55.74) on the U.S. all-time list at 5000 meters; and Neely Spence, an NCAA Division II superstar who in 2012 finished second at the U.S. 5K championships, behind Huddle, and third at the U.S. 10K championships.
Leading a loaded men’s field are Solinsky and Tegenkamp, the second- and fifth-fastest U.S. men in history at 5000 meters. Solinsky, who ranks second on the U.S. all-time lists at both 5000 meters (12:55:53) and 10,000 meters (26:59.60), owns three of the six fastest U.S. 5000-meter times and is a five-time NCAA champion. Tegenkamp, a two-time U.S. Olympian, has posted the fifth-fastest U.S. time at 5000 meters (12:58.56) and is the U.S. record-holder at two miles (8:07.07).
Right with them are Lopez Lomong, a two-time U.S. Olympian who ran 13:11.62 in his 5000-meter debut in April, the third-fastest U.S. time for 2012; Evan Jager, who broke the U.S. record in the 3000-meter steeplechase this year (8:06.81) before going on to finish sixth in the London Olympics; Ben True, the two-time defending U.S. 5K champion; and 2012 Olympian Chris Thompson of Great Britain, who returns to defend his 2011 NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K title.
“New York has always been a great place to run, but last year, experiencing Marathon weekend was something else,” said Thompson. “To have been able to take part in, and win, the first-ever 5K race that weekend was not only a great achievement for me, but so much fun to be a part of. This having been an Olympic year makes this sort of race a real treat you’ve earned.”
They will be challenged by Andrew Bumbalough and Chris Derrick, who both narrowly missed a trip to London when they finished fourth at 5000 meters and 10,000 meters, respectively, at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials; Cam Levins, the double 2012 NCAA champion at 5000 meters and 10,000 meters who made the 2012 Canadian Olympic team at both distances; Italy’s Daniele Meucci, a 2012 Olympian at both 5000 meters and 10,000 meters and the 2012 UAE Healthy Kidney 10K champion; Kenya’s Leonard Korir, a two-time NCAA champion who finished a close second to Meucci at Healthy Kidney; Mexico’s Juan Luis Barrios, a two-time Olympian and the 2011 Pan American Games champion at 5000 meters; and German Fernandez, whose personal best of 13:25.46 at 5000 meters is a U.S. junior record.
Here are the start lists for the women's races:
NAME AGE NAT Angela Bizzarri 24 USA Julia Bleasdale 31 GBR Megan Brown 27 CAN Kim Conley 26 USA Aileen Conlon 30 USA Delilah DiCrescenzo 29 USA Kristine Engeset 23 NOR Shalane Flanagan 31 USA Kara Goucher 34 USA Kate Grace 24 USA Claire Hallissey 29 GBR Ashley Higginson 23 USA Reilly Kiernan 24 USA Molly Huddle 28 USA Leonora Petrina 30 NZL Sarah Porter 23 USA Sheila Reid 23 CAN Jen Rhines 38 USA Melissa Salerno 25 USA Nicole Schappert 26 USA Neely Spence 22 USA Latavia Thomas 23 USA Renee Tomlin 23 USA Lisa Uhl 25 USA Sara Vaughn 26 USA Paula Whiting 24 NZL Heather Wilson 22 USA
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