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Deena Kastor, Mara Yamauchi, Kiyoko Shimahara, and Madaí Pérez Headline Women’s Field at NYC Half-Marathon on March 21
From New York Road Runners
March 9, 2010
New York, NY
2004 Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor (37) of Mammoth Lakes, CA, who is the American marathon record-holder (2:19:36, 2006), will race the NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, March 21 in New York City. Kastor is preparing for the Virgin London Marathon on April 25, where she became the 2006 women's champion and set the American women's record.
The men's and women's professional race will be broadcast live starting at 7:30 a.m. EDT. It will be streamed online at UniversalSports.com, and will also be shown on Universal Sports TV. Veteran sports broadcaster Bruce Beck will host the show.
Deena Kastor will face international talent in New York City: 2008 Olympian Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain, 2009 Hokkaido Marathon champion Kiyoko Shimahara of Japan, and 2008 NYC Half-Marathon runner-up Madaí Pérez of Mexico. Yamauchi is also using the 13.1-mile race as a final tune-up for the Virgin London Marathon in April.
"The women's field features some of the world's greatest runners, including American veteran Deena and international stars like Mara, Kiyoko, and Madaí," commented NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg during the February 24 announcement. The timing of the NYC Half-Marathon, on New York's grand stage, will offer glimpse of the preparations by major players leading into the spring marathons in Boston and London.
Three-time USA Olympian Deena Kastor suffered a broken foot while racing the 2008 Olympic women's marathon in Beijing, China. After a forced layoff to allow her foot to heal, she returned in spring 2009 with impressive wins at Chicago's Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K and the BUPA Great Edinburgh Run 10K in Britain. However, Deena was forced to withdraw from the NYRR Mini 10K in June and the Beach to Beacon 10K in early August to allow tenderness in her foot to subside. She did race on August 16 in the summer edition of the NYC Half-Marathon in 2009, finishing in seventh place (1:13:47); this was followed by her first marathon since the Beijing Olympics, a sixth place (2:28:50) in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 11, 2009. Earlier this year, she opened her 2010 racing season by winning the P.F. Chang's Rock ‘n' Roll Half-Marathon women's race in 1:09:43 in Phoenix, AZ.
This fits perfectly into my preparations. I look forward to testing my fitness on the roads of New York City," stated Deena Kastor. "New York Road Runners always attracts the best distance runners in the world to their events, and the NYC Half-Marathon is no exception."
The Japan-based Yamauchi, 36, who represents Great Britain, will be making her NYC Half-Marathon debut. The 2009 London Marathon runner-up and 2008 Olympian finished sixth in the Marugame Half-Marathon earlier this year in her first race since a foot injury prevented her from competing in the World Championships in Berlin last summer. The injury was a momentary setback for Yamauchi, who scored victories in the 2009 Matsue Half-Marathon and 2009 Marugame Half-Marathon.
"The atmosphere and support in New York is fantastic. I am really looking forward to racing against top-level competitors in this event," said Yamauchi. "This will be my final tune-up, so I can sharpen my race tactics before heading to London."
One of Japan's strongest competitors, Shimahara (33) of Tokyo, will be making her second appearance in the NYC Half-Marathon--she finished 10th in 2008. In 2009, Shimahara won the Hokkaido Marathon and finished second in the Yokohama Marathon and Honolulu Marathon.
Pérez (30) of Mexico City, will be making her third appearance in the NYC Half-Marathon after finishing fifth in 2007 and second in 2008 in a personal best time of 1:10:26. The Mexican record-holder in the marathon (2:22:59), Perez is coming back from maternity leave; she had her second child last year.
On the American side, Sally Meyerhoff (26) of Scottsdale, AZ, who was the 2009 USA 25K Championship runner-up, will make her NYC Half-Marathon debut. Representing ZAP Fitness/Reebok, Jessica Minty (25) of Blowing Rock, NC, who placed 12th at the USA Half-Marathon Championship earlier this year, also joins the field.
The Men's Field Adds More Talent: Marilson Gomes dos Santos, Alistair Cragg, and Gebre Gebremariam
On March 4, NYRR announced additional world class men for the March 21 race: two-time ING New York City Marathon champion (2006, 2008) Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil, two-time Olympian Alistair Cragg of Ireland, and 2009 World Cross Country champion Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia will challenge Haile Gebrselassie, American Meb Keflezighi (2009 ING New York City Marathon champion) and other top Americans in the NYC Half-Marathon.
"The interest continues to build with the addition of World Cross Country champion Gebre Gebremariam and Ireland's best long-distance runner Alistair Cragg as they tackle the half-marathon distance," said Wittenberg. "Marilson is one of our all-time favorite ING New York City Marathon champions and we always enjoy having him race here. The broadcast of the race continues NYRR's strategy of bringing the very best in road racing to a global audience."
These athletes join a previously announced field of Americans, including 2009 ING New York City Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi, three-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman, two-time Olympic steeplechaser Anthony Famiglietti, and 2006 NCAA cross country champion Josh Rohatinsky.
The first South American winner of the ING New York City Marathon, Gomes (32) returns to New York after dropping out in the 23rd mile in last year's ING New York City Marathon. A hero in his home country, Gomes made history when he surprised a stellar field in 2006 to win the ING New York City Marathon. He repeated the victory in 2008, finishing in 2:08:43. In 2007, Gomes ran the fastest half-marathon ever by an athlete from the Western Hemisphere with his 59:33 seventh-place finish at the IAAF World Road Running Championships.
The U.S.-based Cragg (29) will be making his half-marathon debut. A seven-time NCAA champion, Cragg is the Irish national record-holder in the 3000m, 5000m indoors, and 10,000m outdoors.
A 2004 Olympian, Gebremariam (25) will be running in his first road race in the United States. After much success at the 5000m and 10,000m distance, Gebremariam will be participating in only his second half-marathon.
Previously announced, the NYC Half-Marathon will offer the largest half-marathon prize purse in the United States: $100,000. The men's and women's champions will each earn $20,000, the largest first-prize checks for a non-marathon race in the country.
The NYC Half-Marathon continues to attract leading professional athletes and recreational runners from around the world. In 2009, more than 19,000 people applied to run the race, and more than 10,000 finished.
On a course designed to celebrate New York City, the NYC Half-Marathon will take runners on a loop through Central Park, down Seventh Avenue through Times Square, across 42nd Street, and along the expansive West Side Highway to Chambers Street in the heart of the city's financial district.
New York Road Runners, founded in 1958, is dedicated to promoting the sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and responding to community needs. NYRR road races and other fitness programs draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with the NYRR magazine and Web site, support and promote professional and recreational running. A staff of more than 100, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend plus many track and cross country events. NYRR's home base in New York, and its lifelong identification with Central Park, have given many of its events iconic status, attracting the world's top professional runners. NYRR youth programs provide running to nearly 100,000 schoolchildren in New York City, around the country, and in South Africa; these youth would otherwise have few or no fitness opportunities. Learn more at www.nyrr.org.