Running News Daily

Elite Athlete Fields Set for 55th Running of AJC Peachtree Road Race

Two of the top road racers in the world will face off in the 55th Running of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, organizers announced today.

In his first season of competition in the U.S., Sabastian Sawe comes to Atlanta ranked as the #1 road racer in the world, based on distances from 10K to the half marathon. The 29-year-old Kenyan brings a personal best of 26:49, the second-fastest 10K time in the world last year, and the reigning World Half Marathon Champion sits on top of the 2024 leaderboard for fastest half marathon in the world so far this year, 58:24.

In a rematch of those 2023 World Half Marathon Championships, Sawe will face Kenya’s Daniel Ebenyo, 28, who earned a silver medal in that race last fall. Ebenyo was leading until Sawe drew even with a few hundred meters remaining, going on to a four-second victory. “We pushed each other to a good result,” Ebenyo said afterward.

Ebenyo, the 2023 World Championships silver medalist at 10,000 meters on the track, is ranked #1 in the world for 10K on the roads. His personal best of 26:58 is second in the Peachtree field only to Sawe. Both will be making their Peachtree debuts.

Among the other top athletes in the field are Mathew Kimeli of Kenya (27:07) and Boniface Kibiwott (27:13) of Kenya and Jake Robertson of New Zealand (27:28). Returning to the Peachtree for the 10th time is American Elkanah Kibet, 41.

In the Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division, course record-holder Daniel Romanchuk of the USA (right) will have a chance to make history as the first athlete in the men’s open division to win the Peachtree seven times. Romanchuk, 25, has won Peachtree for the past six years in a row, but will have to fend off American Aaron Pike, a six-time Paralympian, and Josh Cassidy of Canada, a two-time Peachtree champion.

he field for the women’s footrace is headlined by 24-year-old Emmaculate Anyango, whose 10K personal best of 28:57 makes her the second-fastest woman in history at the distance. The Kenyan is currently ranked as the #4 road racer in the world.

Countrywoman Chelangat (30:01) will challenge her. Anyango and Chepkoech, who is tied for 8th-fastest woman in history, will be making their Peachtree debuts, while Chelangat is back after finishing second here last year.

Also returning will be Susannah Scaroni (left), the 2020 Paralympic gold medalist at 5,000 meters. The 33-year-old Peachtree course record-holder will be seeking her fourth win here since 2018 and third in a row. Scaroni missed the spring marathon season with an overuse injury but is apparently back to form: She set a World Record for 5,000 meters on the track in early June.

The winner of each professional division will receive $12,500.

For the first time, the Peachtree will feature an Elite High School Division, giving the best young distance runners in Georgia the chance to experience professional road racing first-hand. The field is composed of the top 20 boys and top 20 girls from the classes of 2025, 2026 and 2027 residing in Georgia who accepted an invitation from Atlanta Track Club.

The 55th Running of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race will be held Thursday, July 4, in Atlanta, Georgia, with 50,000 runners and walkers making their way from Lenox Square to Piedmont Park in the world’s largest 10K. The event will be livestreamed on AJC.com and on the AJC News app beginning at 6 a.m., with Lewis Johnson, Carrie Tollefson and Amanda McGrory leading the broadcast team.

More Than 100 Professional Athletes to Race Boston 5K

Fast fields featuring Olympians, Paralympians, rising stars, and recent B.A.A. event winners will take center stage at the Boston 5K presented by Point32Health and B.A.A. Invitational Mile on Saturday, April 13. The deepest professional field in race history will include more than 100 accomplished athletes from 19 nations, set to square off for prize money and awards in the open, wheelchair, and Para Athletics Divisions. 

“More than 40,000 athletes will take part in B.A.A. races across Boston Marathon weekend,” said Jack Fleming, President and Chief Executive Officer of the B.A.A. “Saturday’s Boston 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile fields feature some of the fastest American and international stars, many who are aiming to compete at the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.”

A new champion will be crowned and the stage is set for another close race at the Boston 5K. Ben Flanagan (Canada), Edwin Kurgat (Kenya), and Alex Masai (Kenya) – all top-five finishers a year ago – will return. They were at the front of an exciting finish a year ago that saw the top 13 men come across the line within ten seconds of the winner.

Top Americans Cooper Teare, Zach Panning, and Drew Hunter look to be at the front of the field. Teare is the reigning U.S. club cross country national champion, while Panning led a majority of February’s USA Olympic Team Trials – Marathon and Hunter is a former national champion indoors at 2 miles. B.A.A. High Performance Team members Eric Hamer and Barry Keane will be racing their hometown event.

Also on the start line will be Ben Kigen, an Olympic steeplechase bronze medalist in 2021; Simon Koech, last year’s Diamond League winner in the steeplechase; and Merhawi Mebrahtu, the 5,000m World Junior Championships silver medalist. Ethiopians Getnet Wale and Addisu Yihune are the two fastest men in the field, having gone sub-13:00 on the track for 5,000 meters.

Leading the women’s field is USATF 5K National Champion and B.A.A. High Performance Team member Annie Rodenfels. Joining her are 2024 Team USA Olympic marathoner Dakotah Lindwurm, former American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato, perennial top-American Boston Marathoner Nell Rojas, as well as Team B.A.A. runners Abbey Wheeler, Bethany Hasz Jerde, and Megan Hasz Sailor.

Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat, the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile champion in 2023, and Mercy Chelangat, a former NCAA Cross Country and 10,000m winner, are both entered. Reigning B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Fotyen Tesfay of Ethiopia also comes back to Boston seeking another win.

In the wheelchair division, course record holder and six-time Boston Marathon champion Marcel Hug (Switzerland) will square off against Americans Daniel Romanchuk and Aaron Pike. Brazil’s Vanessa de Souza – the 2018 Boston 5K winner – is the women’s wheelchair division favorite. Perennial Para Athletics Division contenders El Amine Chentouf (T12, vision impairment), Brian Reynolds (T62, lower-limb impairment), and Marko Cheseto (T62, lower-limb impairment) will vie for prize money and podium placings. This will be the largest professional Para Athletics Division field in event history.

Nearly 10,000 participants will take part in the Boston 5K, serving as the first race of the 2024 B.A.A. Distance Medley series.

KRISSY GEAR LOOKS TO REPEAT IN B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE

Krissy Gear earned a hard-fought B.A.A. Invitational Mile win last year and now comes in with the target on her back as defending champion. Four of the top five finishers from 2024 return, including Susan Ejore (Kenya), Jazz Shukla (Canada) and Taryn Rawlings (USA). Micaela Degenero, the 2022 NCAA Indoor Mile champion, and 4:23.94 Helen Schlachtenhaufen are entered as well.

Massachusetts high school standout Ellie Shea will take on the professionals. The Belmont High School student-athlete finished 10th at last year’s B.A.A. Invitational Mile.

Massachusetts native and 3:52.94 miler Johnny Gregorek leads the men’s field of competitors. Melkeneh Azize of Ethiopia, the world junior champion at 3000m in 2022, and Harvard’s Vivien Henz, a national champion in Luxembourg, will each make their B.A.A. road racing debuts.

In addition to the professionals, student-athletes from each of the eight cities and towns that make up the Boston Marathon route will compete in a Scholastic Mile and Middle School 1K.

B.A.A. Announces Expanded Para Athletics Divisions and Enhanced Prize Money Awards for 2024 Events

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced plans for an enhanced prize money structure across B.A.A. events in 2024, as well as the introduction of two new Para Athletics Divisions for athletes competing with coordination impairments (T35-T38) and intellectual impairments (T20) as well as more inclusive upper and lower limb impairment divisions. The changes will provide greater financial rewards for athletes across multiple divisions and expanded opportunities for athletes within the Para Athletics Divisions and Wheelchair Divisions.

“We are always looking at ways to celebrate and reward athletic excellence,” said Jack Fleming, B.A.A. President and CEO. “With these changes, we are recognizing top finishers and aspiring athletes in our Wheelchair and Para Athletics Divisions, while also expanding opportunities for new groups of athletes to be recognized and included in our B.A.A. events.”

He continued, “Boston is a running city, and we’ve made it our goal to elevate Para athletes as they train and compete for the podium at our events, from the 5K through to the marathon.”

“This creates an enormous positive impact for Para athletes and shows how the B.A.A. is leading the way towards greater inclusivity in sports,” said John Jordan, head of The Academy and executive co-sponsor of the Disability Action Network, Bank of America. “As we look across our involvement in sports around the world, we’re committed to help broaden the possibilities available to athletes competing at all levels.”

New prize structures highlights:

The Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America will now feature a cumulative prize fund of more than $1 million.

Wheelchair champions [T53/54/34] at the Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America will now receive a first-place prize of $40,000 (increased from $25,000), and places 2-10 will also receive increases in awards compared to recent years. Wheelchair athletes with T51-T52 classifications will receive awards for places 1-3.

The total wheelchair prize for 2024 will be $313,500 for men and women (previously $125,000). This includes $50,000 each for a course record (equal to the Open course record award)

The top three finishers in all seven Para Athletics Divisions at the Marathon will receive prize money of $2,500; $1,500; $1,000, respectively. 

Additional increases in the Wheelchair Division and Para Athletic Division prize money will be offered for the B.A.A. 5K, B.A.A. 10K, and B.A.A. Half Marathon. The B.A.A. Half Marathon will also feature increased open division prize money for podium finishers.

Para and Wheelchair prize money divisions at the Boston Marathon adhere to World Athletics and World Para Athletics rules of competition. Athletes competing in the Para and Wheelchair divisions must be nationally or internationally classified to be eligible.

Overview of new Para Athletic divisions:

Seven Para Athletics Divisions will now be offered at the Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America, with newly established divisions for athletes with coordination impairments [T35-T38 and intellectual impairments [T20].

Additionally, the T61/63 lower limb impairment will now add the T43 classification, and the T62/64 lower limb impairment division will now add T42/T44 classifications.

The seven divisions are an increase from five divisions offered in 2023 (vision [T11/T12, T13], upper-limb [T45/T46], and lower-limb impairments [T61/T63, T62/T64]).

A Para Athletics Division for athletes with coordination impairments will be offered at the B.A.A. Half Marathon, B.A.A. 10K, and B.A.A. 5K from 2024.  Each of these events will now feature four Para Athletics Divisions namely vision, upper-limb, lower-limb, and coordination impairments.

Athlete Quotes

Marko Cheseto - Kenyan All-American athlete who holds the world record for a double lower leg amputee in the marathon said, “This increased recognition [from the B.A.A.] gives athletes with disabilities more public attention, and we can perform at a higher level given these opportunities.

“Now that we have the world’s oldest marathon leading the way [with prize money for Para divisions] all other marathons should be inclusive. It's about diversifying the sport and creating more avenues for people with disabilities to compete, so we continue to grow the sport for future generations.”

Daniel Romanchuk, US Paralympian and two-time Boston Marathon winner said, “The B.A.A. has championed the wheelchair division for many decades and continues to build on that tradition by including more Para-athlete divisions, allowing an ever-increasing number of athletes to compete.

“Increased prize money makes it possible for emerging athletes to attend elite-level races as well as helping them afford the costly equipment and repairs that are necessary to compete in Para-athletics. The B.A.A. is continually finding ways to elevate the sport, and it's incredibly exciting to imagine the future of Para-athletics!”

Reigning Boston Marathon Champion, and multi-World and Paralympic Champion from Switzerland, Marcel Hug said, “To see how the sport of wheelchair racing has developed in recent years is very gratifying and it is also a credit to the Boston Athletic Association. It is not only about the financial support which enables us to train and compete at a higher level, but it is also about the increased recognition and inclusion of Para-sports.

“As top athletes we try to perform at our best and inspire other people with or without disabilities so the support of the B.A.A. and the entire Abbott World Marathon Major series is more than just rewarding top performing athletes, it shows that we are an equal part of society.”

Tatyana McFadden, 21-time Abbott World Marathon Major winner from America said,“I’m proud to see how far we have come. I’m thankful for past, and for current athletes who have raised their voices to help create change. Change takes more than just one person, it takes a village, and takes people who believe in us. The B.A.A. has been part of that, so I am very thankful.

“The prize money is so important to support the elite Para divisions. The more support, visibility and education we can bring to the sport, the better it can be for all the athletes.”

Susannah Scaroni, Paralympic Gold medalist and the 2023 Boston Marathon Champion from America said, “The legacy of the Boston Marathon and its support of the wheelchair division has impacted me in so many ways.

“As a person with a disability, the legacy of the original 1970 wheelchair athletes has enabled myself and all other Para-athletes of my generation to perceive ourselves and to be perceived publicly, as professional athletes. I cannot express how much this has meant for all of us.

“The provision of prize money indicated that the B.A.A. truly recognized that wheelchair racers are elite athletes, and this support has enabled the sport to grow and improve and subsequently gives more people with disabilities exposure to role models.”

Liz Willis, Paralympian and three-time Boston Marathon Para Champion said, “The support of the B.A.A. for Para divisions is vital to expanding the Para movement. Just as the Boston Marathon was the first Abbott World Marathon Major to open the doors of possibility for women, they are doing the same for amputees and visually impaired athletes.

"It takes time and recognition to build a program, and the B.A.A. is the ONLY reason I currently run marathons.  The Boston Marathon allows others to see their impossible become possible. It has forever impacted my life by breaking down the walls of discrimination and providing pathways for all to push their limits of what's possible.”  

Hellen Obiri dominates Falmouth Road Race; Wesley Kiptoo equals 19-year-old men’s course record

Hellen Obiri is making a habit of winning in Massachusetts this year.

After kicking away from the field to win April’s Boston Marathon and dominated the BAA 10K in June, Obiri made it a triple crown with a win at Sunday’s Falmouth Road Race. After leading the pack through the 5K mark, the two-time Olympic silver medalist built up a 25-second lead through 10K and cruised to the win on the 7-mile course in 35 minutes 13 seconds.

“The uphill was terrible for me,” Obiri said. “But I knew after that it was downhill and it was an incredible finish.”Emily Sisson, the American record holder in the marathon, was the runner-up, 19 seconds behind Obiri.

In the men’s race, Kenya’s Wesley Kiptoo made his move much earlier, setting a strong pace from the gun. Kiptoo was already 12 seconds clear of the field at 5K and 20 seconds up the road at 10K, breaking the tape in 31:08, which matched the course record set by Gilbert Okari in 2004.John Korir and Edwin Kurgat made it a Kenyan sweep on the podium. Former BYU star Clayton Young was the top American, finishing fifth.

Daniel Romanchuk, of Maryland, captured his fifth Falmouth victory in the men’s wheelchair division, taking 25 seconds off his own course record to finish in 21:13.

Susannah Scaroni broke her own women’s wheelchair course record, going practically unchallenged to finish in 24:38, 52 seconds faster than her record-setting time last year.

“I always like pushing things farther and farther,” she said. “I don’t think I have ever done a more beautiful course.”

London Marathon 2023: Kelvin Kiptum and Sifan Hassan win with superb runs

Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum smashed compatriot Eliud Kipchoge's course record to win the men's London Marathon in the second-fastest time ever.

The 23-year-old was just 16 seconds outside Kipchoge's world record, finishing in two hours one minute 25 seconds.

Sifan Hassan also produced a remarkable run to win the women's race.

The Dutch Olympic track champion, 30, suffered with a hip injury but battled to win on her debut at the distance.

“It was really amazing,” she says. She never thought she could win, so can’t believe that she did. The crowd are amazing, she says, and every single kilometre she was grateful to be there.

She’s so happy and it’s beautiful to see; she explains she has a pre-existing hip problem, hence the stretching, and because she was fasting she didn’t practise so didn’t know where to stop for drinks.

At 20km she felt she wasn’t tired and was thinking about getting experience for her next marathon and at every moment she was grateful. She didn’t have confidence because she didn’t practise drinking and she found it really tough; she realised she didn’t have to have as much as she should.

Living in the States, she used to set her alarm to watch this race, and now she’s won it she’ll never forget it. She’d been told she’d hurt, but felt much better after 35km than she thought, and when she saw the line she thought it that really it?!

She needs to decide what race she’ll run at the Paris Olympics next summer but she’s so grateful. What an incredible racer and lovely person.

Kiptum produced the fastest marathon debut in Valencia in December, where he finished in 2:01:53 - the third-fastest time in history.

He went faster still on the streets of London, knocking one minute and 12 seconds off Kipchoge's previous course record to beat second-placed compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor by almost three minutes.

Ethiopia's reigning world champion Tamirat Tola was third, while Britain's Mo Farah finished ninth in what he says will be his last marathon.

Emile Cairess, 25, produced a superb run to finish as the first British man home, taking sixth in 2:08:07 on his marathon debut. 

It was the third-fastest marathon time by a British man - behind Farah and Steve Jones - and the second fastest by a Briton in the London race. 

Four British runners finished in the top 10 in total, with Phil Sesemann eighth and Chris Thompson 10th.

In the women's race, Hassan, who won the 5,000m and 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, appeared out of the race after dropping back early on with a hip problem, but gradually fought back.

She then produced a sprint finish to win in two hours 18 minutes 33 seconds.

Ethiopia's Alemu Megertu was second and Kenya's previously unbeaten Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir third. 

Kenyan world record holder Brigid Kosgei looked to be limping from the start and dropped out after just three minutes, while Ethiopia's defending champion Yalemzerf Yehualaw was fifth. 

Sam Harrison, 27, was the first British woman home, clocking a new personal best of 2:25:59 for the 26.2-mile distance as she claimed 11th. 

It was the fifth-fastest time by a British woman in the event. 

Switzerland's Marcel Hug knocked 50 seconds off his own course record to win a third consecutive London Marathon men's wheelchair race - and fifth in total.

Hug, 37, finished in one hour 23 minutes 48 seconds, well ahead of the Netherlands' Jetze Plat in second, with Japan's Tomoki Suzuki third and the United States' Daniel Romanchuk in fourth.

Britain's David Weir, 43, finished his 24th London Marathon in fifth place.

Australia's Madison de Rozario held off Manuela Schar, of Switzerland, in a sprint finish to win the women's wheelchair race for a second time.

The four women's favourites made it on the Mall together before De Rozario and Schar pulled away.

De Rozario won in one hour 38 minutes 52 seconds, with defending champion Catherine Debrunner, of Switzerland, in third and the United States' Susannah Scaroni fourth.

Eden Rainbow-Cooper, 21, who was third in 2022, was the first Briton home in seventh.

The event has returned to its traditional date in the calendar, in April, for the first time since 2019 after being moved during the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than 47,000 runners are taking part, with huge crowds lining the streets of London despite damp conditions.

Joshua Cheptegei will battle Jacob Kiplimo and Galen Rupp at 2023 United Airlines NYC Half

 The 2023 United Airlines NYC Half on Sunday, March 19 will feature professional athletes from 17 different countries, including 19 Olympians, 11 Paralympians, and seven past event champions, making it one of the most diverse fields in the race’s history.

The men’s open division will be headlined by Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei, half-marathon world-record holder Jacob Kiplimo, and Olympic medalist Galen Rupp. Defending champion Senbere Teferi, Olympic and World Championships medalist Hellen Obiri, and three-time event champion Molly Huddle will lead the women’s open division. A trio of past TCS New York City Marathon and United Airlines NYC Half champions – Susannah Scaroni, Manuela Schär, and Daniel Romanchuk – will feature in the strongest wheelchair field in event history, which will also welcome Paralympic medalists Catherine Debrunner and Jetze Plat for the first time.

These athletes will lead more than 25,000 runners at the United Airlines NYC Half, which goes from Brooklyn to Manhattan, passing historic landmarks, diverse neighborhoods and sweeping views of the city along the way before ending in Central Park.

Men’s Open Division

A pair of Ugandans, two-time Olympic and four-time World Championships medalist Cheptegei and Olympic medalist and two-time World Champion Kiplimo, will race head-to-head in the men’s open division as they take on an NYRR race for the first time. At 26 years old, Cheptegei is the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 5,000 meters and world champion in the 10,000 meters, as well as the world-record holder in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. In November 2021, Kiplimo set the half marathon world record of 57:31 to win the Lisbon Half three months after taking a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in the 10,000 meters. Then last year, the 22-year-old won bronze in the 10,000 meters at the World Championships. He won the gold medal, ahead of Cheptegei’s bronze, at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, on February 18.

“I’m very excited for my first race in New York City, the United Airlines NYC Half,” said Cheptegei. “One of the primary goals for 2023 is to defend my 10,000-meter gold medal from the World Championships, and this half marathon is an important part of those preparations. The race seems like a great tour of New York City and it’s very cool that we get to run through Times Square. There’s so much running history in New York, and the city has seen so many champions battling it out in iconic races. I want to add to that history.”

“It will be my USA road racing debut at the United Airlines NYC Half next month, and I will try hard to become the first champion from Uganda,” Kiplimo said. “My gold medal from the World Cross Country Championships last weekend shows that everybody will need to be at their best to beat me. I have been told that the NYC Half course is difficult, and a record may not be possible, so I will focus on being the first across the finish line in Central Park.”

Challenging the Ugandan pair will be two-time U.S. Olympic medalist and Chicago Marathon champion Rupp, last year’s United Airlines NYC Half runner-up Edward Cheserek of Kenya, and past event champions Ben True of the United States and Belay Tilahun of Ethiopia.

Women’s Open DivisionTwo-time Olympian Huddle will be racing the United Airlines NYC Half for the first time since taking her third consecutive victory in the event in 2017. Huddle won the race in 2015, 2016, and 2017, with her winning time of 1:07:41 from 2016 setting an event record that stood until last year. The former American record-holder in the half marathon was fifth at the Houston Half Marathon in January, nine months after giving birth to her daughter.

“In a lot of ways, my three-straight wins at the United Airlines NYC Half really began my transition to full-time road racing. I’m excited to return to the race for the first time in six years, with a different mindset towards training and racing since the birth of my daughter,” Huddle said. “I’m inspired to teach her the value of hard work and resilience, and where better to do that than the city that has seen some of my career’s greatest successes?”

Huddle will line up against Ethiopia’s two-time Olympian Teferi, who last year broke Huddle’s event record, finishing in a time of 1:07:35 to win the race, and returned to Central Park three months later to win her first Mastercard New York Mini 10K. She is also a two-time World Championships silver medalist and the 5K world-record holder for a women-only race.

Two-time Olympic medalist and seven-time world championships medalist Obiriof Kenya, three-time Olympian and four-time European Championships medalist Eilish McColgan, andtwo-time U.S. Olympian and 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden will also toe the line.

The event will be covered locally in the tri-state area by ABC New York, Channel 7 with live news cut-ins between 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Additionally, the four professional fields will be covered by a livestream, distributed internationally from NYRR’s digital channels, abc7ny.com, and the ESPN App, beginning at 7:00 a.m. ET.

Boston Athletic Association announces 2023 Boston Marathon men´s field

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today the men’s professional field for the 127th Boston Marathon, featuring 15 men who’ve run under 2:07 for the marathon distance, as well as multiple Abbott World Marathon Major race champions, Olympic and Paralympic stars.

Today’s announcement expands upon four previously announced men’s entrants including world record holder and double Olympic gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge, reigning Boston Marathon champion Evans Chebet, 2021 winner Benson Kipruto, and two-time victor Lelisa Desisa. A total of 109 men’s athletes from 21 countries are in this year’s professional field across the men’s Open, Wheelchair, and Para Athletics Divisions.

“The Boston Marathon is known for its competitiveness, with many races decided in the final meters on Boylston Street,” said Mary Kate Shea, B.A.A. Director of Professional Athletes. “This year’s field brings together athletes who’ve excelled at both speed and championship-style racing. Combined with the women’s professional field announced on Monday, this will be the fastest and most decorated Boston Marathon across all of our divisions in race history.”  

Behind Kipchoge and Chebet, the fastest man in the field will be Tanzanian national record holder Gabriel Geay, who finished runner-up at the Valencia Marathon last month in 2:03:00. Geay has had success racing on the roads of Boston, winning the 2018 B.A.A. 10K, placing fourth at last year’s Boston Marathon, and finishing in second and third at the B.A.A. Half Marathon in 2019 and 2018, respectively.

“I am excited to be returning to the Boston Marathon this year,” said Geay. “I fulfilled a dream by racing in Boston last year, but my goal is to one day win the race, and I hope that 2023 will be my year. Thank you, Boston for the opportunity!”

Joining Geay will be past Abbott World Marathon Majors winners including Albert Korir of Kenya (2021 New York City champion), Ghirmay Ghebreslassie of Eritrea (2015 World Championships gold medalist and 2016 New York City champion), and Shura Kitata of Ethiopia (2020 London Marathon champion). Brazilian Olympian and national record holder Daniel Do Nascimento will make his Boston debut, as will Ethiopia’s Herpasa Negasa, a 2:03:40 marathoner.

Last year’s seventh-place finisher and top American, Scott Fauble, returns for his fourth Hopkinton-to-Boston race, and will be joined by 50K world record holder CJ Albertson. After a 2:08:16 marathon debut in Chicago last year, Conner Mantz will take on the Boston course for the first time. He is coached by Olympic marathoner Ed Eyestone.

“I love the Boston Marathon. It’s one of the greatest sporting events in the world,” said Fauble. “It has a way of bringing the best out of people.”

"Boston is such a historic marathon, and I want to be a part of that history,” said Mantz. “I love the aspect of racing with no pacers and hills that break up rhythm, and Boston has both of those. When you add in the competition Boston is bringing this year with Eliud Kipchoge and many others, it makes the race so exciting!"

Ben True, a Maine native and four-time winner of the B.A.A. 5K, also is part of the American field. B.A.A. High Performance Team members Matt McDonald, Paul Hogan, and Jonas Hampton will have the hometown edge; McDonald set a new B.A.A. club record and lifetime best of 2:09:49 in Chicago last fall.

American Daniel Romanchuk will return as defending champion in the wheelchair division, coming off a 1:26:58 victory last April. Romanchuk also won Boston in 2019 (1:21:36), though he looks to be challenged by wheelchair marathon world record holder and reigning Paralympic marathon gold medalist Marcel Hug. Hug returns in search of his sixth Boston Marathon title and holds the Boston course record of 1:18:04. In 2022 the Swiss ‘Silver Bullet’ won the B.A.A. 5K in 10 minutes, 5 seconds, a course record time.

“Nothing can compare with the excitement and anticipation at the Boston Marathon,” said Romanchuk. “I’m incredibly excited and honored to be part of what should be a great race through the hills and all the way to Boylston Street.”

Aaron Pike, last year’s wheelchair division runner-up, and Ernst van Dyk, a ten-time Boston winner, are also racing. A $50,000 course record bonus is available to any open division or wheelchair division athlete who breaks a course record.

Paralympians Matthew Felton and Atsbha Gebre Gebremeskel lead the Para Athletics Division in the T46 classification (upper-limb impairment). American record holder and Massachusetts native Chaz Davis will look to defend his T12 (vision impairment) Para title.

Headlining the T62 and T63 classification are Marko Cheseto Lemtukei and Brian Reynolds. Cheseto Lemtukei earned a victory in 2:37:01 last year, while Reynolds set a pending T62 world record of 1:25:46 at the B.A.A. Half Marathon in November.

“A perfect society is one that sees diversity of its members as her strength,” said Cheseto Lemtukei, who returns as a two-time Boston Marathon Para Athletics Division champion.

The 127th Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 17, 2023 – Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts—and will feature 30,000 participants. 

2022 B.A.A. Half Marathon Returns to Franklin Park on Sunday

The 2022 B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, will be held this Sunday, November 13, starting and finishing within Franklin Park. The event returns to an in-person format for the first time since 2019 and features a star-studded professional field leading the charge for 9,000 entrants from the Greater Boston area and beyond.

To support your coverage of this year’s event, please find event storylines and race information below. Media interested in covering the 2022 B.A.A. Half Marathon can submit credential requests here or email media@baa.org for more information. Credential pick-up will occur at the Media Tent within White Stadium on Sunday, beginning at 6:45 a.m. Additional details will be sent in the coming days to those who’ve requested credentials.

The B.A.A. Half Marathon will start at 8:00 a.m. this Sunday, November 13, from Franklin Park. The 13.1-mile course runs along the picturesque Emerald Necklace Park System, past area landmarks such as the Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park Zoo, before finishing at White Stadium in Franklin Park. A detailed course map can be found here.

- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund has partnered with the B.A.A. Half Marathon since 2003 as the race’s presenting sponsor and exclusive charity team. Through this relationship, Dana-Farber runners have collectively raised more than $8 million to support groundbreaking cancer research, and enabled Dana-Farber scientists and clinicians to positively impact the lives of cancer patients around the world. A team of 400 athletes will be part of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Jimmy Fund team for this year’s event, having already raised nearly $350,000 to defy cancer.

- At the front of the field, Olympic and Paralympic medalists, Boston Marathon champions, and top international contenders will square off in pursuit of finishing atop the podium. Among the notable professional athletes entered are Olympic marathon bronze medalist and former Boston resident Molly Seidel, two-time Boston Marathon champions Lelisa Desisa and Daniel Romanchuk, and USA Olympian and former American half marathon record holder Molly Huddle. 

Seven women who’ve run under 1:08:30 and nine men with lifetime bests under 1:01:30 will compete on the roads of Boston. Desisa is also a two-time B.A.A. Half Marathon champion and the event record holder (1:00:34). Romanchuk aims to become the first athlete in history to podium at each of the B.A.A.’s four signature events (B.A.A. 5K, B.A.A. 10K, B.A.A. Half Marathon, and Boston Marathon). On Sunday he finished second at the TCS New York City Marathon in 1:27:38.

- For the first time, the B.A.A. Half Marathon will feature a Para Athletics Division showcasing athletes with lower-limb, upper-limb, and visual impairments. Competitors include Jacky Hunt-Broersma (T64, lower-limb impairment), who finished a Guinness World Record 104 marathons in 104 days this year; Marko Cheseto Lemtukei (T62, lower-limb impairment), who won the Para Athletics Division at the 2021 and 2022 Boston Marathons (timing 2:37:01 in April) and Brian Reynolds (T62, lower-limb impairment), who has run a world best 1:17 for the half marathon. The B.A.A. Half Marathon course is World Para Athletics record eligible, signaling that national or world records may be in jeopardy of falling on race day for wheelchair and Para athletes.

- Among the field of nearly 9,000 participants are 257 athletes also entered in April’s 127th Boston Marathon. Participants in this year’s B.A.A. Half Marathon are from 46 U.S. states (plus Washington, DC) and 95 countries.

- 1,418 participants are aiming to complete the 2022 B.A.A. Distance Medley, a three-race series which includes April’s B.A.A. 5K, June’s B.A.A. 10K, and November’s B.A.A. Half Marathon. The B.A.A. Distance Medley series provides athletes a year-long way to experience training and racing at three different distances, with the aim of improving fitness throughout the calendar year.  

- The B.A.A. Half Marathon is a family-friendly event for athletes and spectators of all ages. Free youth events will be offered on race morning within Franklin Park, including races and medals for all. Youth track races will begin on the White Stadium track at 8:20 a.m. Registration will open at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday.

- Spectators and runners are encouraged to download the B.A.A. Racing App powered by TCS for live race day tracking, leaderboards, results, custom selfie stations, course maps, information, and more. The B.A.A. Racing App is available for free within Apple iOS and Android.

- On display for viewing at the 2022 B.A.A. Half Marathon will be an Indigenous Peoples' Day Banner, created by Boston Art Institute alum Yatika Fields (Osage/Cherokee/Creek) which honors the Boston Marathon's Indigenous runners, past and present. Following the Awards Ceremony on race day, the banner will be blessed as it is sent from Boston to its home with Wings of America in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where it will inspire young Native runners.

The blessing will be given by Hiawatha Brown (Narragansett), the longest serving Tribal Councilman, a Veteran of the United States Navy, and the nephew of two-time Boston Marathon Champion, Ellison 'Tarzan' Brown. Words will be offered from Robert Peters, a Mashpee Wampanoag artist who contributed his talent to the mural, on behalf of himself, Yatika Fields, and Wings of America Executive Director, Dustin Martin (Dine). Also in attendance will be Jordan Marie Daniel (Kul Wicasa Lakota) who is participating in the 2022 B.A.A. Half Marathon and is featured on the banner.

- A prize purse of $96,200 is available for professional athletes in the open, wheelchair, masters, and Para Athletics Divisions.

- Course records for the B.A.A. Half Marathon are:

Open Men: 1:00:34, Lelisa Desisa (Ethiopia), 2013 (Lelisa Desisa is competing in this year’s race, aiming to win his third B.A.A. Half Marathon title)

Open Women: 1:07:40, Brillian Kipkoech (Kenya), 2019

Wheelchair Men: 53:07, Tony Nogueira (New Jersey), 2008 and 2004

Wheelchair Women: 1:00:43, Katrina Gerhard (Massachusetts), 2019.

Lelisa Desisa, Vicoty Chepngeno, Molly Seidel, Molly Huddle Running 2022 BAA Half

The Boston Athletic Association today announced the professional field for the 2022 B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, to be held on Sunday, November 13.

Two-time Boston Marathon champions Lelisa Desisa and Daniel Romanchuk return, while 2021 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel and two-time Olympian Molly Huddle lead the American charge. Seven women who’ve run under 1:07:30 and nine men with lifetime bests under 1:01:30 will compete on the roads of Boston.

The B.A.A. Half Marathon will be run for the first time in-person since 2019, beginning and finishing in Boston’s Franklin Park. The event begins at 8:00 a.m. with a field of nearly 9,000 participants. Open registration is already sold out, however entries remain available through presenting sponsor Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.

Seidel, a former Boston resident, will make her B.A.A. Half Marathon debut as she returns to racing. The 2:24:42 marathoner and former NCAA champion at Notre Dame finished fifth at the 2018 B.A.A. 5K and 10th at the 2019 B.A.A. 10K.

Huddle, a 28-time USA national champion, will race at the B.A.A. Half eight years after placing third in 2014. B.A.A. High Performance team member Erika Kemp –a two-time USA national champion at 20K and 15K— will also compete among the strong American field, fresh off a win at the Boston 10K for Women on October 8.

“The B.A.A. Half Marathon is always a fun fall event, and I’m eager to race again through Boston with hopes of returning to the podium,” said Huddle.

The international women’s contingent is led by 2022 Houston Half Marathon winner Vicoty Chepngeno of Kenya, who owns the fastest lifetime best (1:05:03), though is followed closely by Ethiopia’s Bosena Mulatie (1:05:46). Mulatie was eighth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships 10,000m in Oregon over the summer. Other athletes with world championships experience include Kenya’s Margaret Wangari and Cynthia Limo, and British duo Jess Piasecki and Calli Thackery. Wangari earned a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Marathon, and placed fifth at the B.A.A. Half Marathon in 2018. Limo is the 2016 World Half Marathon Championships silver medalist.

On the men’s side, Desisa, winner of the Boston Marathon in 2013 and 2015, owns a pair of B.A.A. Half Marathon titles from 2013 and 2014, as well as the event record (1:00:34). The Ethiopian fan favorite is also the event record holder (1:00:34), and considers Boston his second home.

“Boston holds a special place in my heart and I’m excited to return again to race in the B.A.A. Half Marathon, where I have had great success before,” said Desisa. “I hope to run very well again!”

Kenyans Josphat Tanui (59:22) and Shadrack Kimining (59:27) have the two fastest personal bests in the field, which includes five men who have run under one hour for the half marathon. Geoffrey Koech, the 2022 Cardiff Half winner, and Ethiopian Tsegay Kidanu, 11th at the Copenhagen Half Marathon, are competing, as is Morocco’s Zouhair Talbi, the third-place finisher at the 2022 B.A.A. 5K. The top American entrant is Teshome Mekonen, who formerly represented Ethiopia internationally, has run 1:00:02, and won this year’s Brooklyn Half.

Daniel Romanchuk, two-time Boston Marathon wheelchair division champion and 2019 B.A.A. 10K winner, looks to win his first B.A.A. Half title, joined by Boston Marathon top-20 finishers Hermin Garic, Dustin Stallberg and Velera Jacob Allen. Jenna Fesemyer and Yen Hoang, both 2021 Paralympians for Team USA, will race as well. Fesemyer won this year’s B.A.A. 5K.

“I’m very much looking forward to racing the B.A.A. Half Marathon for the first time,” said Romanchuk, who finished runner-up at the Chicago Marathon on October 9. “I’ve raced the Boston Marathon, B.A.A. 5K, and B.A.A. 10K, and am excited to add the Half Marathon. I can’t wait to be back in Boston.”

For the first time, the B.A.A. Half Marathon course will be World Para Athletics certified, eligible for world or national records to be set by Para athletes. Marko Cheseto Lemtukei (T62), Brian Reynolds (T62), and Jacky Hunt-Broersma (T64) each have Boston Marathon Para Athletics Divisions experience and are eligible for prize money.

Ben Flanagan wins his third Falmouth Road Race

Kitchener, Ont. native Ben Flanagan has done it again, winning his third Falmouth Road Race in four years. Flanagan finished the seven-mile (11.3 km) course in 32:25, outlasting runner-up Biya Simbassa (32:32) for a second straight year in Falmouth, Mass.

With two Falmouth victories to Flanagan’s name, and his partner, Hannah, growing up in Falmouth, he was the race favourite heading in and was keen to defend his 2021 title. In a pre-race interview, Flanagan chatted about his familiarity with the course and how he was already dreaming of his celebration when he won his third.

Like in previous years, the 27-year-old broke the tape by jumping into it, holding up the “number three” with his hand. 

Flanagan again made his attack at the top of the Scranton Ave. hill at the 5.5-mile marker. Simbassa, who lives and trains in Flagstaff, Ariz., followed Flanagan’s move along with David Bett of Kenya. The Canadian 10K record holder ousted Bett and Simbassa on the final downhill to win, nine seconds shy of his personal best on the course: 32:16 from 2021.

Flanagan now joins an exclusive group of six runners to successfully defended their titles at Falmouth. The group of six features: Alberto Salazar (‘81 and ‘82), Frank Shorter (’75 and ’76), and David Murphy (‘84 and ‘85). Next year, he will have the chance to join Kenya’s Gilbert Okari as the only men to win three straight (2004-06)

The American women’s marathon record holder, Keira D’Amato, won the women’s 11.3 km race in a nail-biting finish (36:14). She managed to hold off a surging 2017 Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat (36:28) to claim the women’s title in her Falmouth debut.

This race was a quick bounce back for the 37-year-old, who placed eighth at last month’s 2022 World Athletics Championships marathon for Team USA in 2:23:34. Earlier this year at the Houston Marathon, D’Amato set the U.S. marathon record of 2:19:12.

D’Amato will take another stab at breaking her American marathon record on Sept, 25. at the Berlin Marathon.

Daniel Romanchuk won the men’s wheelchair title in 22:02, and Susannah Scaroni won the women’s division in 25:30.

Defending Champions Set to Return to the 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced today the return of its defending champions as the event continues to build on its comeback to global racing. Ruth Chepngetich (KEN), Seifu Tura (ETH), Tatyana McFadden (USA) and Daniel Romanchuk (USA) will be at the helm of this year’s elite field with a strong contingency of the world’s best athletes vying to dethrone them. The stage will be set for a fierce competition up front, highlighting Chicago’s long tradition of record chases, fast times, and gripping finishes.

“We’re thrilled to welcome our defending champions back to Grant Park this fall,” said Carey Pinkowski, Executive Race Director of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. “Chicago has a storied history of head-to-head competitions, world records and some of the best elite racing in marathon running. This year’s competition, which also includes American half marathon record holder Emily Sisson and American half marathon champion Conner Mantz making his debut, is going to bring much energy and enthusiasm to fans and spectators. We are ready for October 9.”

Defending Champions Return

Chepngetich, the 2019 World Marathon champion and the fourth fastest woman in the history of marathon running, started on a world record pace at the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, dropping her pacer eight miles in while racing against the clock. She decelerated over the second half of the course but had enough to take the crown in 2:22:31. Chepngetich, who is self-coached, kicked off her 2022 season with a win and a course record at the Nagoya Marathon (2:17:18). She recently dropped out the of the World Championships Women’s Marathon due to health issues but is ready to take to the streets of Chicago and defend her title.

Unlike the fast pace set by Chepngetich, Tura ran a controlled strategic race last fall in the elite men’s race, waiting until 38K to pull ahead and win the biggest race of his career so far. Tura, who holds a 2:04:29 personal best, clocked 2:06:12 to win last year. His 2022 season includes a personal best in the half marathon, 58:36, and a second place finish in the Paris Marathon. Following last year’s victory, Tura noted that he was not prepared for warm weather, but that he was “determined to fight to the very end.” Tura’s determination may make him just the fifth man in Chicago’s history to win twice in a row.

In the wheelchair competition, McFadden, whose nine titles make her the most decorated athlete in Bank of America Chicago Marathon history, returns to contend for her 10th win. McFadden boasts 20 Paralympic medals, including eight gold medals, 24 World Marathon Major wins, including four consecutive Grand Slams (first place in Boston, Chicago, New York City and London in the same year) and has broken six world records in track and field.

Romanchuk, a two-time Paralympian, completed the Bank of America Chicago Marathon hat trick with a victory last fall and returns to pursue a fourth title. Romanchuk rose to the top of road racing in 2018 and his campaign continues today. At the 2020 Paralympic Games, he took home a gold on the track and a bronze in the marathon.

Sisson and Mantz Headline Strong American Field

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon has a long history of welcoming America’s best runners across its finish line, stretching back to Joan Benoit Samuelson setting the American record en route to her victory in 1985. Khalid Khannouchi dominated at the turn of the century with four victories, including both world and American records, Deena Kastor clutched the win in 2005, and Galen Rupp stole the show in 2017. Last October saw five American men and seven American women finish in the top 10, a feat that highlights the strength of U.S. distance running. This year’s field includes several top American runners, including Emily Sisson and Conner Mantz.

Sisson, a six-time national champion and the American half marathon record holder (1:07:11), could put the American Marathon record (2:19:12) in jeopardy as she races to break the tape in Chicago. Sisson stands out as one of the most dominant American women on the track and the roads, making her Olympic debut in the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics and her marathon debut in 2019 in London. Sisson ran the fastest ever marathon debut by an American on a record eligible course (2:23:08), and she set an Olympic trials record in the 10,000m on the track (31:09) in 2021, breaking a record that stood for 17 years. This October marks Sisson’s first appearance in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

Mantz, known for his front-running style and capacity to handle pain (referred to as the “Mantz pain chamber”), made a splash on the collegiate level, winning the NCAA Division I Cross Country championships in 2020 and 2021, and earning his first U.S. title in the half marathon in 2021. Mantz’s time in the half marathon, 1:00:55, ranks him ninth on the all-time American list of half marathon performances. Mantz, an exciting newcomer to welcome to the marathon distance, could conquer the American marathon debut record, 2:07:56, set in 2019. Mantz is coached by 1994 Chicago Marathon runner-up, Ed Eyestone.

The Elite Fields

In addition to Sisson, Celestine Chepchirchir (KEN), Vivian Kiplagat (KEN) and Haven Hailu (ETH) are among some of this year’s elite women hoping to prevent a repeat victory from Chepngetich. Chepchirchir, winner of the 2019 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, enters this year’s race fresh off a personal best, 2:20:10, set at the Seoul International Marathon. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon marks her Abbott World Marathon Major (AbbottWMM) debut. Kiplagat, winner of the 2022 Milan Marathon in a personal best, 2:20:18, ran valiantly in Chicago last year, attempting to stay on Chepngetich’s heels before fading to fifth place. Like Chepchirchir, Hailu will be making her first appearance in an AbbottWMM. Hailu made her marathon debut in 2020, set a personal best, 2:20:19, in 2021 to take third in Amsterdam, and claimed her first marathon victory in Rotterdam this past April.

Laura Thweatt (USA), Sarah Sellers (USA) and Sara Vaughn (USA) lead a strong delegation of American women. Thweatt holds a marathon personal best of 2:25:38, and finished eighth in both Chicago (2019) and New York (2021). Sellers initially turned heads in 2018 when she finished second in the Boston Marathon while running from the open field. Sellers smashed her PR to finish second at this spring’s Grandma’s Marathon in 2:25:43. Vaughn, a versatile runner who started her career on the track as a 1500m runner, made her marathon debut in 2021, winning the California International Marathon in 2:26:53. Vaughn’s time stands out as the fifth fastest debut ever by an American woman.

The women’s field also includes Diane Nukuri (USA), Ursula Sanchez (MEX), Carrie Verdon (USA) and local favorite Kristen Heckert (USA).

In the men’s competition, Tura will be chased to the line by compatriots Herpasa Negasa (ETH), Dawit Wolde (ETH), Asrar Abderehman (ETH), Ugandan Olympian Stephen Kissa and Kenyan Benson Kipruto.

Negasa had a career breakthrough in 2019 when he subtracted nearly six minutes from his marathon PR in Dubai to run 2:03:40. He comes to Chicago after a strong second place performance in Seoul, clocking 2:04:49. Wolde initially made a name for himself as a junior competitor on the track. His transition to the roads started in 2014, and he boasts a marathon personal best of 2:04:27, set in 2021 to finish third in Rotterdam. Abderehman made headlines in February when he broke the course record at the Zurich Seville Marathon, taking three minutes off his PR to run 2:04:43. Chicago marks his first appearance in an AbbottWMM.

Kissa, a 2020 Olympian in the 10,000m, stands out as an exciting athlete to watch. He brings years of track speed to the road, recently debuting in the marathon in 2:04:48. In addition to the Olympic Games, he also represented Uganda at the World Championships Half Marathon. The Chicago Marathon marks his first time racing in the United States and his first time racing in an AbbottWMM. Kipruto’s 2:05:13 personal best may not be the fastest in the field, but he has performed well at the marathon distance, winning the Boston and Prague Marathons in 2021 and finishing third in Boston this April. He also finished seventh in London in 2020 and won the Toronto Marathon in 2018.

The men’s field also includes sixth place finisher in 2021 and local elite Colin Mickow, Hiroto Fujimagari (JPN), John Korir (KEN), Frank Lara (USA) and making his debut, Patrick Tiernan (AUS).

Get Ready to Run with Marathon Legends

Run with Abbott World Marathon Major Legends!

The AbbottWMM Global Run Club today launched Legends Week – a new free virtual Challenge taking place from August 15-19.

Runners must complete one challenge a day, for five days, to earn their Legends Week virtual badge and enter a prize draw for a special signed gift from five incredible athletes.

Each daily workout has been chosen by one of the legends to offer a mix of distances and training styles for everyone to enjoy.Edna Kiplagat, the Kenyan superstar who is a former World Champion, three-time AbbottWMM Series Champion and a Six Star finisher. She loves to add some speed and repetitions into her weekly routine and kicks things off with 4 x 1-mile repeats.Deena Kastor, a former American record holder and Olympic Bronze medalist for the marathon but also a 5km champion too! She set the 5km world record on the road at Carlsbad in 2002 (14:54) and she still enjoys racing them today.

Multiple Major winner Daniel Romanchuk is a master of many distances. Representing the United States, he claimed the gold medal and a new World Record at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in the T54 400m in 45:72, coming from behind to win by 0.1 second! His workout is 4 x 400m on the track or road.

British wheelchair racer Johnboy Smith the newly-minted 2022 Commonwealth Games Marathon champion, is also a Six Star finisher! Smith, who took second place in the 2017 New York City Marathon, completed his Six Star journey in Tokyo earlier this year. His challenge is a six-mile run to celebrate this success.

Japanese marathon legend Yuki Kawauchi who ran his final mile of that grueling 2018 Boston Marathon in 5:12! He survived rain, wind, and hail to take the finisher tape on Boylston Street for the Boston Marathon victory. We are closing the week with a 1-mile challenge to celebrate and appreciate that amazing feat.

This is a fun and free challenge to motivate runners before we move into a busy fall calendar with four Abbott World Marathon Majors in close succession. A chance to mix things up, test your limits and enjoy a break from the norm!

Participants can walk or run your way through these workouts:

Monday 15 Aug: 4 x 1-mile with Edna Kiplagat

Tuesday 16 Aug: 5km with Deena Kastor

Wednesday 17 Aug: 4 x 400m with Daniel Romanchuk

Thursday 18 Aug: 6 miles with Johnboy Smith

Friday 19 Aug: 1-mile with Yuki Kawauchi

Rhonex Kipruto and Kibiwott Kandie Added to Fastest Field in Peachtree History

Rhonex Kipruto is returning to Atlanta for two reasons: Vindication and to protect his event record at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race. The 10K world record-holder was announced Thursday by Atlanta Track Club, organizers of the Peachtree, as a late addition to the elite field at Monday’s 53rd Running of the race.

The 2019 Peachtree champion isn’t the only Kenyan superstar joining the field: Also making the trip to Running City USA will be Kibiwott Kandie, whose personal best of 26:50 gives him the second-fastest 10K in the world this year and fifth fastest all time. Kandie, the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon champion and 2022 Kenyan 10,000m champion, will be making his Peachtree debut.

Kipruto’s winning time of 27:01 here in 2019 is not only the Peachtree record but also the fastest 10K ever run in the United States. To hold on to his event record – and perhaps be the first man to ever break 27 minutes on American soil – he’ll have to battle five other men with road personal bests under 27:15. In addition to Kandie who defeated Kipruto when they raced on the track earlier this month, that speedy group includes Bravin Kiptoo, who was the runner-up to Kipruto, his brother, in 2019.

Kipruto was not planning to race the Peachtree this year. As one of the top-ranked 10,000- meter runners in the world, he was expected to make the Kenyan team for the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, later in July. However, he finished a disappointing sixth in the Kenyan Championships and now hopes to redeem himself by making history on the Fourth of July.

“Chasing after the course record, weather permitting, is on my mind, especially as I failed to make Team Kenya this past weekend,” said Kipruto. “What comes after the defeat is always more important than the defeat itself.”

Kirpruto’s 2019 course record came with a $50,000 bonus for the 50th Running of the Peachtree. This year, the bonus is $53,000 to be split among any men or women in the footrace or Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division who set a record. With two other division record-holders returning – Brigid Kosgei in the women’s footrace and Daniel Romanchuk in the men’s wheelchair division – anyone who sets a record this year may find themselves sharing the purse. There will be plenty of competition. For Kosgei – whose 30:22 course record is also the fastest time ever run in the U.S. – the path to victory has become slightly easier, as Sheila Chepkirui withdrew after finishing second in the 10,000 meters at the Kenyan Championships. However, Irene Cheptai, the 2017 World Cross Country champion who finished 6th in the 10,000m in Tokyo last summer, has been added to the field.

There have been several other notable withdrawals from the elite field. Eight-time Peachtree winner Tatyana McFadden, 2017 Peachtree winner Leonard Korir and 2022 Publix Atlanta Half Marathon winner Nicholas Kosimbei are no longer racing on Monday.

Peres Jepchirchir wins Boston in a final sprint and Evans Chebet takes the men's title

 It was not until 1972 that the Boston Marathon’s organizers allowed women to race as official entrants. Before then, those who were brave enough to defy the ban were often jeered or forcibly pulled off the course. Among the rationales cited? That women were “physiologically incapable” of running 26.2 miles.

It all seems so painfully misguided now, of course, but that pockmarked piece of the event’s history was worth remembering Monday as Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya and Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia charged through Kenmore Square, in the shadow of Fenway Park, not far from the finish line. The rest of a decorated women’s field had splintered in their wake, and now Jepchirchir and Yeshaneh went back and forth, trading the lead several times as they staged a memorable duel.

Finally, with one last push, Jepchirchir lengthened her stride to create some separation as she sprinted to the finish, her narrow win coming 50 years after women first vied for Boston Marathon glory. Perhaps the only person surprised by the outcome was Jepchirchir herself.

“I was not expecting to win,” said Jepchirchir, the reigning Olympic champion. “But I’m feeling grateful, and now I can say that I believe in myself more.”

 For the first time since 2019, the Boston Marathon returned to its traditional slot on the calendar. Until the coronavirus pandemic, the marathon had been staged every April since 1897. But in 2020, the race was canceled for the first time in its history. And last year, the race was pushed to October, when it competed for elite entrants with a cluster of other marathons.

Order was restored this year, as a full field of about 30,000 participants — runners, wheelchair racers, para athletes, hand cyclists — formed a giant wave from Hopkinton, Mass., to Boston on a cool, sun-splashed day.

No one shined brighter than Jepchirchir, 28, who finished in 2 hours 21 minutes 1 second, just four seconds ahead of Yeshaneh. Mary Ngugi of Kenya placed third after running a smart race: She knew enough to pace herself when Jepchirchir and Yeshaneh pounded the gas, blowing away the field.

“I’m glad I didn’t follow them and just die,” Ngugi said.

Establishing herself as the most formidable female marathoner on the planet, Jepchirchir has now won her last five marathons and three in the last eight months: After surviving extraordinarily hot conditions to win at the Tokyo Games in August, Jepchirchir won the New York City Marathon in November. Now, after another triumph, she is already looking ahead.

“I still have more to do,” she said.

Kenyans swept the men’s podium. Evans Chebet, 33, won his first world marathon major when he broke clear of a large pack, finishing in 2:06:51. Lawrence Cherono was second, and Benson Kipruto, last year’s winner, was third.

The pack began to dissolve behind Chebet after he covered the 22nd mile in 4:27, a preposterous tempo. Crushing his opposition only seemed to spur him forward.

“My counterparts were nowhere close to me,” he said through a translator, “and that gave me the motivation and the determination to hit it off and seize the win.”

On Monday, fortune largely favored the brave — but not everyone. CJ Albertson, a 28-year-old Californian who trains for marathons by doing marathons, pushed the pace from the start.

“My only chance to really win or be up there in the top is to kind of break some people,” he said. “I had the mind-set that I’m invincible, and you kind of have to run like that.”

The problem: “There are limits,” he said.

Albertson faded to a 13th-place finish in 2:10:23, which was still a personal best. Scott Fauble, 30, was the top American man, in seventh. “I think I do well with hills,” he said.

Molly Seidel, a crowd favorite and a former Boston-area resident, struggled in her Boston debut, dropping out at Mile 16. She said in a statement that she had been dealing with a hip injury.

“I had to make the difficult call to stop at a medical tent to avoid really damaging anything,” she said.

Seidel, the bronze medalist in the women’s marathon at the Tokyo Games, was coming off a fourth-place finish at the New York City Marathon with broken ribs.

Nell Rojas was the fastest American woman, finishing 10th in 2:25:57.

Manuela Schӓr of Switzerland won the women’s wheelchair race, cruising to her fourth victory in the event, and Daniel Romanchuk of the United States won the men’s title for a second time in Boston.

Many runners were drawn to this year’s race by the opportunity to accomplish a one-of-a-kind feat: running back-to-back Boston Marathons mere months apart.

“It feels almost a little bit too soon,” said Joyce Lee, who was running her sixth Boston Marathon after serving as guide for a visually impaired runner in the October race.

Many were also grateful for the chance to compete on the 50th anniversary of women’s official inclusion in the marathon. “It’s incredible to think that was a thing back then and women had to work so hard to participate in this event,” said Christine Valdes, 46. “They paved the way for us.”

Sport is seldom immune from global politics, and this year’s marathon was no different. Amid the war in Ukraine, runners from Russia and Belarus were barred from competing by the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the race. (Citizens of Russia and Belarus who are residents of other countries were still allowed to take part.)

And there were, as always, reminders of the terror that tore through the marathon nine years ago. Henry Richard, 20, crossed the finish line at 2:52 p.m., and the timing could not have been more poignant: It was around that time in 2013 when two bombs exploded and killed his 8-year-old brother, Martin, and two other people, and wounded 264 others.

“I know Martin would have been doing it with me,” Richard said after the race on Monday. “That’s all I could think about.”

Richard finished in 4:02:20. “I did it for both of us, and my sister and the rest of our family,” he said. “I couldn’t be more happy now. I’m going to do it again.”

In her own subtle way, Jepchirchir offered a counterpoint to some of the world’s divisions. In the race’s late stages, she and Yeshaneh appeared to work together to extend their lead. At one point, Jepchirchir offered Yeshaneh some of her water.

It all seemed straight from the Jepchirchir playbook. Consider her performance in New York last year, when she encouraged Viola Cheptoo, a fellow Kenyan, to stick with her as they entered Central Park side by side. Jepchirchir eventually pulled away, but Cheptoo lauded her sportsmanship.

On Monday, it was more of the same, all those years after eight women broke the gender barrier by racing against more than a thousand men.

“I love my competitors,” Jepchirchir said, “because I can’t do it by myself.”

Kenyans Evans Chebet, Peres Jepchirchir win men's and women's titles

Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir outlasted Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh in the final stretch down Boylston Street to capture the women's crown at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

The Kenyan star crossed the finish line in two hours 21 minutes and one second, four seconds ahead of Yeshaneh, who dueled with Jepchirchir in the final few hundred meters. Jepchirchir's win gave Kenya both the men's and women's titles as Evans Chebet topped the men's race in 2:06:51 — his first major marathon win.

He led a 1-2-3 finish for Kenya with countrymen Lawrence Cherono second in 2:07:21 and Benson Kipruto, the defending champion, third in 2:07:27.

The fastest Americans have crossed the finish line: Scott Fauble finished seventh among the men in 2 hours 8 minutes 52 seconds and Nell Rojas came in 10th among the women at 2:25:57.

American Daniel Romanchuk, who captured Boston in 2019, won the men's wheelchair event in 1:26:58. Defending champion Marcel Hug of Switzerland pulled out just before the start of the race due to medical reasons.

On the women's wheelchair side, Manuela Schar of Switzerland captured her fourth Boston title in 1:41:08.

The marathon returned to its traditional Patriot's Day timeslot after a three-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The in-person event was canceled in 2020 for the first time in history. It returned in 2021 but was held in October with a smaller field of around 20,000 runners. More than 30,000 competitors were registered for Monday's event.

World Record Holders, Olympians, National Champions set to Race B.A.A. 5K

The B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile will make a triumphant return to Patriots’ Day weekend, with professional fields featuring world record holders, Olympians, Paralympians, national champions, and local standouts. Held on Saturday, April 16, the B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile will kick-off festivities leading up to the 126th Boston Marathon on April 18.

“The B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile are two events entrenched in the fabric of Boston Marathon weekend, and each features a field which will lead to fast competition,” said Tom Grilk, President and Chief Executive Officer of the B.A.A. “With three years having passed since our last in-person edition of these races, we’re eager to return to the roads to crown champions.”

In the B.A.A. 5K, Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi will make her Boston road racing debut. A two-time Olympian and two-time World Athletics Championships silver medalist, Teferi holds the women’s-only 5K world record of 14:29. She’ll be up against recently crowned American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato, 2021 U.S. Olympians Emily Sisson and Rachel Schneider, reigning U.S. 5K national champion Weini Kelati, and B.A.A. High Performance Team member Erika Kemp. The B.A.A. 5K course and American record of 14:50 –set by Molly Huddle in 2015—could very well be in jeopardy.

On the men’s side, 2019 B.A.A. 10K champion David Bett and 17-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek, both of Kenya, will square off against New Zealand 5,000m indoor national record holder Geordie Beamish and 2021 U.S. Olympians Mason Ferlic and Joe Klecker. Stanley Kebenei, a World Athletics Championships finalist in the 3000m steeplechase, will also be part of the strong American charge. The B.A.A. 5K course and American record is 13:20, established by Ben True in 2017.

Boston Marathon wheelchair division champions Marcel Hug, Daniel Romanchuk, and Joshua Cassidy will all compete in the B.A.A. 5K less than 48 hours in advance of racing the 126th Boston Marathon. Vanessa de Souza, Shelly Oxley-Woods, and Jenna Fesemyer are top women’s wheelchair entrants.

Following the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. Invitational Mile will take center stage on Boylston Street. U.S. Olympian, Bostonian, and reigning indoor 1,500m national champion Heather MacLean will race for the first time on the three-lap course that finishes at the Boston Marathon finish line. Among her competitors are B.A.A. High Performance Team member Annie Rodenfels, 2019 runner-up Emily Lipari, and Great Britain Olympian Katie Snowden. MacLean and Rodenfels won’t be the only Massachusetts residents toeing the line, as Belmont High School standout Ellie Shea will race among the professionals. Shea ran 9:08.54 for 3,000m during the indoor season, a time that stands as No. 5 on the all-time high school list and is a Massachusetts state record.

Shane Streich, fresh off an indoor American record at 1,000m, will lead the American men in the B.A.A. Invitational Mile along with 3:54 miler Colby Alexander. Neil Gourley of Great Britain is entered, as are Canadian William Paulson, the 2019 Pan-Am 1500m bronze medalist, B.A.A. racing team member Kevin Kelly of Ireland, and local standout James Randon of Rhode Island.

A complete professional field list for the B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile can be found below. Preceding the professional divisions of the B.A.A. Invitational Mile will be a scholastic mile and middle school 1K featuring student-athletes from the eight cities and towns along the Boston Marathon route. Entries for the high school and middle school events will be available on race weekend.

2022 B.A.A. 5K WOMEN’S FIELD (NAME, COUNTRY, ROAD 5K PB, TRACK 5000M PB)

Carmela Cardama-Baez, Spain, N/A, 15:25.41 (NR)

Kim Conley, USA, 15:29, 15:05.20

Keira D’Amato, USA, 15:08, 16:09.86

Emily Durgin, USA, 16:05, 15:24.19

Annie Frisbie, USA, 16:35, 16:05.78

Sammy George, USA, 15:53, 15:19.66

Tori Gerlach, USA, 15:56, 15:44.13

Marielle Hall, USA, 15:08, 15:02.27

Elly Henes, USA, N/A, 15:03.27i

Emma Grace Hurley, USA, 16:13, 15:57.23

Katie Izzo, USA, 16:00, 15:41.33

Weini Kelati, USA, 15:18, 14:58.24

Erika Kemp, USA, 15:45, 15:10.10

Melissa Lodge, USA, N/A, 15:53.81i

Sharon Lokedi, Kenya, 15:48, 15:13.04i

Betty Sigei, Kenya, N/A, 15:37.80

Emily Sisson, USA, 15:38, 14:53.84

Rachel Smith (Schneider), USA, N/A, 14:52.04

Emma Spencer, USA, 16:41, 16:04.95

Susanna Sullivan, USA, 16:35, 15:42.59i

Senbere Teferi, Ethiopia, 14:29 (WR), 14:15.29

Abbey Wheeler, USA, N/A, 15:40.67i

2022 B.A.A. 5K MEN’S FIELD (NAME, COUNTRY, ROAD 5K PB, TRACK 5000M PB)

Eric Avila, USA, 13:55, 13:18.68

Geordie Beamish, New Zealand, N/A, 13:12.53i (NR)

David Bett, Kenya, 13:54, 13:06.06

Ben Blankenship, USA, 13:56, 13:33.07

Robert Brandt, USA, N/A, 13:19.11

Sam Chelanga, USA, 13:43, 13:09.67

Edward Cheserek, Kenya, 13:29, 13:04.44

Adam Clarke, Great Britain, 13:42, 13:39.21

Graham Crawford, USA, 13:54, 13:22.68i

Aaron Dinzeo, USA, 14:25, 13:58.37

Brandon Doughty, USA, N/A, 13:39.06

Mason Ferlic, USA, 13:52, 13:24.94

Sydney Gidabuday, USA, 13:53, 13:22.66

Eric Hamer, USA, 14:43, 13:29.60

Brian Harvey, USA, 14:01, 14:13.93

Stanley Kebenei, USA, 13:53, 13:45.87

Joe Klecker, USA, N/A, 13:06.67

Kasey Knevelbaard, USA, 13:56, 13:24.98i

Lawi Lalang, USA, 13:30, 13:00.95

Matt McClintock, USA, 13:49, 13:47.68

Tim McGowan, USA, 14:11, 13:54.20

Reuben Mosip, Kenya, 13:34, 13:50.80a

Charles Philbert-Thiboutot, Canada, 14:04, 13:22.44

Brian Shrader, USA, 13:57, 13:29.13

Zouhair Talbi, Morocco, N/A, 13:18.17i

Aaron Templeton, USA, 13:48, 13:39.39

Josef Tessema, USA, 14:05, 13:22.28.

Amazing Wins and an Event Record at the 2022 United Airlines NYC Half

The United Airlines NYC Half made a spectacular return to the streets of New York City today as the first major NYRR race back at full scale since the onset of the pandemic.

This year’s event featured the strongest professional athlete field in event history, including 23 Olympians, eight Paralympians, six half-marathon national record holders, and the defending wheelchair division champions. In ideal racing conditions, the pro races played out thrillingly over 13.1 miles of New York City streets.

In the men’s wheelchair division, Daniel Romanchuk of the United States defended his title in a time of 49:22, more than two minutes faster than his winning time from 2019 and four minutes up on the rest of the field today. “I’m really happy to be back in New York racing and see the city so alive,” said Romanchuk a two-time Paralympic medalist and two-time TCS New York City Marathon winner.

 For the women open race,  Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia and Irene Cheptai of Kenya pulled ahead early and ran shoulder to shoulder in Brooklyn, across the Manhattan Bridge, and through Manhattan.

Teferi prevailed in the end, setting an event record of 1:07:35 and breaking Molly Huddle’s record by six seconds. Cheptai was also under the old record in a time of 1:07:37. “I was being very careful throughout the race and watching my pace,” said Teferi through a translator. “I’m very happy to have won.” Her victory is all the more remarkable given that she briefly took a wrong turn in the race’s final 100 meters. Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal of Norway was third in 1:08:07. 

The men’s open division saw 22-year-old Rhonex Kipruto outlast a lead pack of four runners and break the tape in 1:00:30, just over a minute off the event record of 59:24, held by Haile Gebrselassie. Edward Cheserek of Kenya was second in 1:00:37 and Teshome Mekonen of Ethiopia finished third in 1:00:40.

“I feel good because I’ve come back again to win, and my first win was in New York,” said Kipruto, referring to his 2018 victory in the Healthy Kidney 10K in Central Park. “It was not an easy win today because the course was very hilly. It was about the win, not about the time.”

Today’s events also included the return of the Times Square Kids Run at the United Airlines NYC Half for hundreds of youth ages 8–18. 

Galen Rupp, Rhonex Kipruto, Molly Seidel and Sara Hall will headline 2022 united airlines NYC Half

The 2022 NYC Half Marathon scheduled for March 20 will boast its most impressive field of professional athletes ever, the New York Road Runners announced Tuesday.

In total, 24 Olympians, eight Paralympians, and six open division athletes who hold national half-marathon records in their respective countries will descend upon the big apple next month in the race’s first running since 2019. The last two years saw the NYC Half Marathon canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The men’s open division will see US Olympic medalist Galen Rupp try his hand in the half marathon. He is the American record-holder in the 10,000 meters while winning the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London at that race. He also has a bronze medal in the marathon at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio. 

Rupp will be racing the NYC Half Marathon for just the second time ever after finishing third in 2011.

“The NYC Half was my debut at the distance, and was only the second road race of my professional career,” Rupp said. “I can’t believe that more than a decade has passed since then. It’s wild that the race will be more than double the size it was when I ran in 2011, and I’ve heard the Brooklyn-to-Manhattan course is challenging, but a great tour of the Big Apple. With the World Championships taking place in my home state of Oregon later this summer, I’m looking for the race to be a great stepping stone to everything else I want to achieve in 2022.”

He’ll have plenty of top-notch competition, however. Rhonex Kipruto of Kenya is the 10K world-record holder while Ben True was the first American man to win the NYC Half Marathon in the open division back in 2018.

Five-time US Olympian Abdi Abdirahman will be making his 10th appearance at this event next month — a stark contrast to US Army officer Elkanah Kibet, who makes his debut at the NYC Half Marathon after finishing in fourth place at the 2021 New York City Marathon back in November.

The women’s opened division is headlined by half-marathon American record holder Sara Hall, who is a two-time defending champion at the New York Mini 10K.

She ran a record 1:07:15 half marathon just last month in Houston.

“My NYC racing career started with my win at the Fifth Avenue Mile way back in 2006 and along the way I’ve broken the tape at… the New York City Marathon weekend and twice won the New York Mini 10K in Central Park,” Hall said. “Until now, though, I’ve never stepped to the line at the NYC Half. Setting the American record over that distance last month gives me a ton of confidence as I train for this new challenge.”

She’ll be joined by Molly Seidel, who won bronze in the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics before setting an American course record in a fourth-place finish at the 2021 NYC Marathon.

Both the women’s and men’s wheelchair division champions from last year’s half marathon return in U.S. Paralympic medalists Tatyana McFadden and Daniel Romanchuk.

Romanchuk is a two-time NYC Marathon winner, including a title in 2018 that saw him become the first American and youngest athlete ever to win the men’s wheelchair division.

McFadden is one of the most decorated Paralympians there is, winning 20 medals over six Games.

“I love this race. We get to run by all the great NYC iconic spots,” McFadden said. “It’s fun seeing all the kids running in Times Square as we go by; it will be great to be back after so long.”

Next up is the Boston Marathon and here is everything you need to know

Wow,  so many big time marathons being held over just a few weeks.  Next up is the Boston Marathon.

This year’s race on October 11 will be the first fall edition of the Boston Marathon, and first time the race is held outside of its traditional Patriots’ Day date in April. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the race was postponed from its usual third-Monday-in-April date to October 11. This will be the first in-person Boston Marathon in 910 days, as the 2020 edition was held as a virtual experience in September, 2020. This year’s race falls on October 11, which is International Day of the Girl and also increasingly recognized as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in cities and towns along the marathon route.

Here is everything you need to know:

COMPOSITION OF THE FIELD

18,252 total entrants of the in-person 125th Boston Marathon

3,492 entrants from Massachusetts 

16,441 entrants residing in the United States of America 

104 countries represented by participants in the Boston Marathon

All 50 U.S. states represented by participants in the Boston Marathon

Youngest entrants: 18 years old, Enchee Xu, Conor Beswick, Rachel Calderone, and Angel Robles, all of Massachusetts

Oldest entrant: 84 years old, Volkert Bobeldijk of Canada

28,612 total entrants of the Virtual 125th Boston Marathon (October 8-10)

HEALTH & SAFETY

This year’s field size has been reduced by 36% compared to recent years (from 31,500 entrants to 20,000) 

In an effort to enhance social distancing and minimize wait times, Athletes’ Village has been eliminated in Hopkinton this year and a rolling start has been introduced for the first time in race history.

95% of all Boston Marathon volunteers are vaccinated.

100% of Boston Marathon medical volunteers are vaccinated. 

All participants are required to provide proof of a WHO-recognized vaccination OR a produce a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of bus loading. 

A health and safety bracelet will be provided after proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results are verified. The bracelet must be worn throughout race weekend and through the finish line. 

Masks are required indoors, on event transportation, and within the start area until participants cross the starting line. 

BY THE NUMBERS 

$876,500 in prize money will be awarded to top finishers by principal sponsor John Hancock. Included among the prize awards is $27,500 for Para Athletes. 

8,500 B.A.A. volunteers will contribute to this year’s Boston Marathon and race related events

26.2 miles (26 miles and 385 yards; 42.195 kilometers) will be run through eight cities and towns (Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, and Boston)

An estimated $20 million (USD) will be raised through the 125th Boston Marathon for charities as part of the B.A.A.’s Boston Marathon Official Charity Program and the John Hancock Non-Profit Program

FACES IN THE FIELD

13 Boston Marathon champions will be competing as part of the John Hancock Professional Athlete Team: Des Linden (USA/MI), Geoffrey Kirui (KEN), Edna Kiplagat (KEN), Lemi Berhanu (ETH), Lelisa Desisa (ETH), Atsede Baysa (ETH), Caroline Rotich (KEN), Daniel Romanchuk (USA/IL/Won the Chicago Marathon on Sunday), Manuela Schär (SUI), Marcel Hug (SUI), Tatyana McFadden (USA/MD/Won the Chicago Marathon on Sunday), Ernst van Dyk (RSA), and Joshua Cassidy (CAN). Additionally, 1968 winner Amby Burfoot will be running and serving as an official starter in Hopkinton.

Five 2020 Tokyo Paralympic gold medalists will be competing in Boston: reigning men’s wheelchair champion Daniel Romanchuk (gold in the 400m); two-time Boston winner and wheelchair course record holder Marcel Hug (800m, 1500m, 5000m, marathon); reigning women’s wheelchair champion and course record holder Manuela Schär (400m, 800m); five-time winner Tatyana McFadden (4x100m Universal Relay); and Japan’s Misato Michishita (T12 marathon).

Danica Patrick, NASCAR and Indy Car driver, will run for the Matt Light Foundation

James Develin, former New England Patriots fullback and Super Bowl champion, will run as part of the Joe Andruzzi Foundation 

Chris Nikic, the ESPY-award winning Ironman triathlete who in 2020 became the first person with Down syndrome to finish an Ironman triathlon, will race his first Boston Marathon.

Brian d’Arcy James, Broadway star in Shrek the Musical and Hamilton and actor in Spotlight, will race his first Boston Marathon. 

Ceremonial 125th Boston Marathon Grand Marshals include Boston Marathon champions Sara Mae Berman, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Jack Fultz, and Meb Keflezighi, as well as healthcare workers from members of the Boston Marathon Official Charity Program and John Hancock Non-Profit Program. Frontline workers being honored include Meg Femino of Beth Israel Lahey Health; Martha Kaniaru of Spaulding Rehabilitation; Loren Aiello of Boston Children’s Hospital; Eric Goralnick of Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Christopher S. Lathan of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Mark Mullins of Tufts Medical Center; Anely Lopes of Boston Medical Center; and Susan Wilcox of Massachusetts General Hospital. The Grand Marshals will be driven the entire 26.2 miles in two Boston DUCK Boats, Back Bay Bertha and Catie Copley.

Chicago Marathon organizers have required participants to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test

Chicago Marathon participants required to prove vaccination or negative test.

Organizers confirmed the move as part of updated COVID-19 guidelines published for the annual event.

Around 35,000 people have registered for the 2021 Chicago Marathon, which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Registered participants are required to provide proof of a complete COVID-19 vaccination series or a negative COVID-19 test result to participate in the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon," organizers said.

"Registered participants who are not fully vaccinated are required to provide a negative COVID-19 test result for a test administered within 72 hours of attending the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

"The event defines 'fully vaccinated' as individuals who are two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose vaccine series or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine.

"Proof of vaccination (hard copy, photocopy or digital version of an immunization record) or a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of attending the event is required for entrance to the Abbott Health & Fitness Expo.

"Individuals unable to prove full vaccination or negative test will be barred from entering the Health and Fitness Expo and unable to pick up the necessary race materials that allow for participation in the event."

Organizers say RT-PCR, RT-LAMP, lateral flow, and rapid antigen tests are approved.

Attendees will be required to wear face coverings while at indoor event venues, while participants are encouraged to wear face coverings in Grant Park prior to starting the race.

Ethiopia’s Getaneh Molla and Seifu Tura, Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich, and Americans Keira D’Amato and Emma Bates have become the latest elite athletes to join the start list for this year’s event.

Two-times Olympic medallist Galen Rupp and Sara Hall were announced earlier this year, with the pair expected to lead the United States’ challenge in the men’s and women’s events, respectively.

Molla has the fastest personal best in the men’s field as he clocked 2 hours 3min 34sec to win the 2019 Dubai Marathon.

Chepngetich is the reigning women’s world champion, with the Kenyan poised to make her Chicago Marathon debut.

She set the world record in the half marathon this spring in 1:04:02, while her marathon personal best of 2:17:08 makes her the fourth fastest woman in history.

Daniel Romanchuk and Tatyana McFadden are among the US stars set to feature in the elite wheelchair races, with Switzerland’s Marcel Hug also included on the start list.

Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich and Galen Rupp will headline the elite field at the Chicago Marathon

A number of the world’s top distance runners will be at the 2021 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 10, organizers announced today, joining headliners Galen Rupp and Sara Hall. So far, there are no Canadians featured in the Chicago Marathon elite field.

Ruth Chepngetich (Kenya), Diane Nukuri (USA) and Keira D’Amato (USA) are among the names to watch in the women’s race for the 43rd running of the Chicago Marathon. Chepngetich, who dropped out of the Olympic marathon at around 30 km, is the reigning world champion and comes to Chicago as the pre-race favourite. Hall ousted Chepngetich in a sprint for second place at the 2020 London Marathon, but all eyes will be on their Oct. 10 rematch. Chepngetich is the only East African runner in an elite field that’s deep with American talent.

The men’s field features three athletes who have run under 2:05, as well Rupp, who won in 2017. Rupp is the only individual in the field with an Abbott World Major Marathons victory under his belt. Getaneh Molla (ETH) has won the Dubai Marathon, and Hassan El Abbassi (BRN) was the runner-up at the 2018 Valencia Marathon. Rupp had a sub-par Olympic Games, finishing a disappointing eighth in Tokyo (2:11:41) after many thought he would challenge Eliud Kipchoge for a medal. Rupp will enter Chicago as the pre-race favorite, thanks to his previous success on the course.

Past champions Daniel Romanchuk and Marcel Hug will battle it out in the elite wheelchair competition. Romanchuk is the defending two-time champion (2018 and 2019) and world record holder, while Hug won this race in 2016 and 2017. Hug and Romanchuk will compete on back-to-back days, in Chicago on Oct. 10 and at the Boston Marathon on Oct. 11.

With the cancellation of the New Jersey Marathon, larger mass races are putting together strict Covid protocols to avoid transmission of the virus, including face coverings at the start and finish and either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test within 72 hours of the race.

B.A.A. Announces Participants In John Hancock Professional Athlete Team For Boston Marathon

The Boston Athletic Association announced on Wednesday that more than 140 athletes will participate as part of the John Hancock Professional Athlete Team in the 125th Boston Marathon on Oct. 11.

Included in that field are eight of the top 12 finishers in the Olympic trials marathon, including Abdi Abdirahman, Scott Fauble, Matt McDonald, and Jonas Hampton. Elsewhere in the men’s open field, Kenya’s Leonard Barsoton and Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer will both make their long awaited marathon debuts in Boston. Dejene Debela and Asefa Mengstu will be making their Boston debuts.

For the women, five of the top seven finishers from the 2019 Boston Marathon will return: Edna Kiplagat (Kenya), Jordan Hasay (USA), Des Linden (USA), Caroline Rotich (Kenya), and Mary Ngugi (Kenya). Two-time Olympian and Providence resident Molly Huddle will also be running.

The women’s wheelchair race will include Team USA wheelchair Paralympians Susannah Scaroni and Jenna Fesemyer, along with course record holder Manuela Schär and five-time champion Tatyana McFadden. For the men’s wheelchair division, Aaron Pike will compete in the field that includes four champions – Daniel Romanchuk, Marcel Hug, Ernst van Dyk, and Josh Cassidy – with a combined 16 Boston Marathon titles.

As part of the inaugural Para Athletics Divisions at the Boston Marathon, many athletes will compete for prize money and awards within the vision impaired and lower-limb impaired divisions. Among those competing are 2016 Paralympians Chaz Davis (T12), Liz Willis (T64), and marathon silver medalist and current world record holder Misato Michishita (T12) of Japan. Davis, a Massachusetts native, holds the T12 American record of 2:31:48 for the marathon, while Willis is a converted sprinter-turned-distance runner for Team USA. Also competing is Marko Cheseto Lemtukei, the world best holder for the T62 marathon having run 2:37:23 in 2019. The Boston Marathon is the first major marathon to offer prize money and awards for athletes with vision, lower-limb, and upper-limb impairments.

“In October, many of the world’s best athletes will look to etch their names in the history books by winning the 125th Boston Marathon,” said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. President and Chief Executive Officer. “We very much look forward to October’s competition, bringing together winners from more than one hundred global marathons. The B.A.A. is eager to continue the tradition of athletic excellence as we return to the roads leading to Boston.”

“John Hancock is proud to support this year’s professional field for the monumental, 125th running of the Boston Marathon,” said Kate Ardini, Chief Marketing Officer at John Hancock. “In our 36th year as principal sponsor, John Hancock is committed to supporting the world’s top athletes as they aim for greatness in Boston. We look forward to cheering on every athlete as they make their way to the finish.”

Elite field for 125th Boston Marathon will include 13 former champions

The field for the 125th Boston Marathon will include 13 former champions with a combined 30 first-place Boston finishes, the Boston Athletic Association announced on Wednesday. The group competing on Oct. 11 includes World Athletics Marathon champions, Paralympic medalists, Abbott World Marathon Majors winners, and Olympians.

Four of the last five women’s open champions are scheduled to run: American Desiree Linden (2018), a two-time Olympian; Kenyan Edna Kiplagat (2017), a two-time World Athletics Marathon Championships gold medalist; Kenyan Caroline Rotich (2015); and Atsede Baysa (2016).

Two-time champion and course record holder Manuela Schär returns to defend her title in the women’s wheelchair race. Schär, a three-time Paralympic medalist from Switzerland, won Boston in 2017 and 2019 and is the only woman to have clocked a sub-1:30 marathon. Also among the wheelchair contenders is five-time Boston champion and 17-time Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden, who will race the 400 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, 5000 meters, and the marathon at the Tokyo Paralympic Games for Team USA.

The three returning men’s champions have all posted lifetime bests under 2:07:30. They are Kenya’s Geoffrey Kirui (2017), Ethiopia’s Lemi Berhanu (2016), and Yuki Kawauchi (2018), who will attempt to become the first man from Japan since Toshihiko Seiko in 1987 to earn two Boston Marathon titles.

Four men’s wheelchair champions with a combined 16 titles will return, including defending champion Daniel Romanchuk of Illinois. The 2016 and 2021 Paralympian for Team USA made history by winning the 2019 race and Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XII at just 20 years old. Course record holder Marcel Hug of Switzerland, who had four straight wins from 2015-18, is back. Ernst van Dyk of South Africa, the most decorated champion in race history with 10 titles, also will compete, as will 2012 winner and former course record holder Josh Cassidy of Canada.

The race also features restructured prize money awards that will include equal course record bonuses for the open and wheelchair divisions and the introduction of prize money for the inaugural para athletics divisions. Boston will be the first Abbott World Marathon Major event to offer equal $50,000 course record bonuses across open and wheelchair divisions, and the first event to provide a designated prize purse for athletes with upper limb, lower limb, and visual impairments.

“We are delighted to welcome so many champions from such a diverse range of competition back to Boston for the 125th running of the Boston Marathon,” said Tom Grilk, BAA president and CEO. “While October’s race marks a long-awaited return to racing, it will also recognize and celebrate the many world-class athletes competing for an historic prize purse across multiple divisions.”

Atlanta Track Club will be hosting this year’s Running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race virtually for the first time in its 51-year history

With a long and respected legacy of hosting Atlanta's most prestigious endurance events, Atlanta Track Club will be hosting this year’s Running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race virtually for the first time in its 51-year history. Despite not running or walking down Peachtree Road with 60,000 other participants in 2020, race organizers are building a virtual experience that will deliver an unforgettable and authentic Peachtree.

To launch this premier virtual event to participants in all 50 states and 31 countries, Atlanta Track Club looked to their partner haku for fully unique and completely customized technology solutions. haku, the Miami-based technology company, has become the industry leader in bringing the world’s most prestigious endurance events to life, such as the recent 124th Boston Marathon Virtual Experience.

"While we all will miss the sights and sounds of the Peachtree, we are confident haku will help us keep the storied Peachtree tradition going another year," said Rich Kenah, Atlanta Track Club’s Executive Director and Race Director of the AJC Peachtree Road Race. "We saw it through haku's work with the Boston Marathon that they understand the deep-seeded rituals associated with this race and have the ability to build unique and successful virtual events for thousands of runners at a time."

Creating an immersive event app for the Virtual Running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race with haku was an important focus in bringing this event to thousands of participants around the world. The app will have many innovative features to drive a memorable and engaging experience. Participants will be able to track their progress on the course, upload and compare results, engage with their community, and much more. To stay true to tradition, the Club also worked with haku to incorporate audio cues into the app’s race day experience to simulate the sounds that a runner would typically hear during the annual road race and provide encouraging messages from Olympian Meb Keflezighi, 2017 Peachtree Champion and U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon Champion Aliphine Tuliamuk and World Record Holder Daniel Romanchuk.

"Building the app with haku was a collaborative process. There were no rigid set of features that we had to adhere to. The app is fully customized for the AJC Peachtree Road Race participants," said Kenah. "haku has been great about meeting our particular needs and the whole process couldn't have been easier."

Atlanta Track Club and haku are excited to kick off this spectacular event at the end of November, which will deliver a unique Atlanta-centric experience rooted in tradition.

"The passion and dedication that the Atlanta Track Club has shown for this event are immeasurable," said haku Founder and CEO, Carlos Escobar. "The Virtual Running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race will make every participant and spectator feel like they're truly still a part of this 50-year long tradition."

After an extensive search, ATC chose to move forward with haku as its new technology partner in late 2019 after seeing haku’s unique capability of providing truly bespoke technology for its partners. Through their partnership, the organizations are looking forward to introducing new innovative event technology that will drive significant participant engagement, streamline operations, and provide extraordinary experiences for Running City USA.

"We're excited to be able to provide a more user-friendly, clean, and elevated experience for our members and volunteers," said Kenah. "In working with haku, we’re now able to have a better understanding of the people who interact with the Club, which will enable us to deliver more unique and personalized experiences."

The Virtual Running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race will begin on Thanksgiving Day, November 26. Participants can submit their results between 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, November 26 and 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 29.

Elite athletes will be protected in bio secure bubble for 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon

The Virgin Money London Marathon today announced plans for the biosecure bubble for the historic elite-only races on Sunday 4 October.

The races will take place on a closed-loop circuit around St James’s Park in central London on Sunday 4 October. The elite men’s race will see one of the most eagerly anticipated match-ups in marathon history with world record holder and defending champion Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) going head-to-head with Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), the man who came within two seconds of his world record last year.

In the elite women’s race, defending champion and world record holder Brigid Kosgei (KEN) will return, as will the two best marathon wheelchair athletes in the world: Daniel Romanchuk (USA) and Manuela Schar (SUI).

Special permission has been granted by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to allow athletes and support staff to travel and compete in the biosecure bubble, with strict guidelines on testing, travel, accommodation and competition.

Flora also announced that Paula Radcliffe, who famously won three London Marathon titles and broke two world records when Flora was headline sponsor of the event, has become an official Flora Running Ambassador to mark the partnership.

In order to create and preserve a biosecure bubble around the athletes, the following measures will be put in place:

Testing: Athletes will be tested for Covid-19 in their country of origin/home four days prior to travel and again on arrival at the hotel. Testing will continue at the hotel until the Friday before the event. Anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 or displays symptoms will be placed in quarantine immediately and, in the case of athletes, will not be able to participate in the race.

Athlete-only hotel: The athletes will stay in a hotel outside London which will be used exclusively by athletes and support staff, plus a team from the Virgin Money London Marathon. The hotel was chosen for its 40 acres of grounds where athletes will be able to train during Race Week inside the bubble. An extensive hygiene protocol will be in place in the hotel and it will be mandatory for everyone inside the bubble to observe social distancing rules and to wear face coverings at all times, apart from when training, while dining and in their own rooms. All athletes and their support staff will have single rooms.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the Virgin Money London Marathon, said: “We are extremely grateful to the Government, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), The Mayor of London, The Royal Parks and all our stakeholders for helping us put on the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon for elite athletes. Sports fans all over the world are eagerly anticipating these great races in this unique environment.

“It is our duty and responsibility to ensure this event is held in a safe and secure environment. We have looked at other examples and taken learnings from other sports which have returned to action as we developed our detailed plans for this biosecure bubble around the event.

“By finding a hotel for exclusive use and putting in place the strict testing, hygiene and security measures to protect the bubble, we are confident we have created the safest environment possible for everyone.”

The Virgin Money London Marathon also revealed details of the course for the elite races at the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon.

Each race will comprise 19 x 2.15 kilometre clockwise laps of St James’s Park plus an extra 1345m with the Finish Line in its traditional place on The Mall.

2020 Virgin Money London Marathon elite race route map

The course will be sealed off from the public to maintain the integrity of the biosecure bubble. There is no spectator access and there will be no public viewing points along the course.

London Marathon releases race day schedule

A series of elite events will take place in St James’s Park on October 4

The race schedule for the elite-only Virgin Money London Marathon has been announced, with a series of events taking place throughout the day on Sunday October 4.

The action will kick off with the elite women’s race at 07:15 before the elite men’s race at 10:15 and the wheelchair races at 13:10.

As announced earlier this month, the 2020 London Marathon will not feature a mass race and the elite racing will take place within a “secure biosphere” in St James’s Park.

As recently confirmed by World Athletics, the times recorded in London will be eligible for Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification.

ELITE RACE SCHEDULE

07:15 – Elite women’s race

10:15 – Elite men’s race

13:10 – Wheelchair races

The elite men’s field features distance running greats Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele in a highly-anticipated clash, together with Mosinet Geremew and Mule Wasihun, who placed second and third in 2019.

Britain’s Mo Farah will be a pacemaker to athletes looking to achieve the Olympic marathon qualifying standard of 2:11:30, with his compatriots Jonny Mellor, Chris Thompson and debutants Ross Millington and Ben Connor all set to run.

World record-holder and defending London Marathon champion Brigid Kosgei leads the women’s field and is joined by five other women who have run inside 2:20: Ruth Chepngetich, Roza Dereje, Vivian Cheruiyot, Valary Jemeli and Degitu Azimeraw.

Among the leading British women confirmed to race are Steph Twell and Lily Partridge.

In the wheelchair races, both Daniel Romanchuk and Manuela Schär will defend their titles.

Athletes will cross the same traditional finish line on The Mall after each completing 19.8 laps of the St James’s Park course, while mass runners will take on their 26.2 miles from home or anywhere in the world as part of the event’s first virtual edition.

2020 Virtual TCS New York City Marathon will be Featuring Elite and Celebrity Athletes

Although the long-planned 50th edition of the TCS New York City Marathon cannot take place this year due to the COVID pandemic, the virtual version will still offer some of the usual star power of the in-person race. Race founders and organizers New York Road Runners announced today that national champions Steph Bruce (Hoka Northern Arizona Elite) and Emily Sisson (Team New Balance) will among those running their own 42.195-kilometer race during the October 17 to November 1 Virtual TCS New York City Marathon event window.

"New York is a dream goal of mine," said Bruce in a video message from her home in Flagstaff, Ariz. "And even though 2020 looks different I still need a reason to get out there to train and race."

Bruce, the 36 year-old mother of two boys, finished sixth at the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta last February. She has a personal best of 2:27:47 and has won national road running titles at 10 km (2018) and the half-marathon (2019). She has run the TCS New York City Marathon twice, finishing 10th in 2017 and 11th in 2018. Despite the pandemic, she's done a pair of 5000-meter track races this year, running 15:29.95 and 15:19.21. She has run 11 career marathons.

"At every level we all need something tangible to train for," Bruce recently wrote on Twitter. "Something that gets us out the door and fired up. I've been training for some big opportunities coming up. I'm not gonna waste them."

Sisson, 28, made an excellent marathon debut in London in April, 2019, clocking 2:23:08, despite falling during her warm-up and banging her knee. In her second marathon, the 2020 USA Olympic Trials, she failed to finish. The hilly course left her legs trashed, she said.

"It sounds dramatic, but that was probably the most disappointing race I've had in my career," she told NBC Sports recently.

Sisson had planned to run the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon before it was cancelled on June 24. She's hoping that the virtual race --which does not offer any prize money-- will fill some of the void in her training and racing schedule.

"Nothing gets me as fit as marathon training," Sisson said in a video statement today. "I'm hoping to use this as a springboard into the new Olympic year of 2021."

New York Road Runners also announced that 17-time Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden would be competing as a wheelchair racer. McFadden, 31, has won the women's wheelchair division of the TCS New York City Marathon five times.

"I'm so excited to be running the virtual TCS New York City Marathon this fall," McFadden said through a video statement.

Other noteworthy participants include American Olympic marathon medalists Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi, former pro tennis player James Blake, reigning TCS New York City Marathon men's wheelchair division champion Daniel Romanchuk, and former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber.

"Virtual racing continues to redefine the runner experience by creating an innovative and safe way to participate during these challenging times while also providing an opportunity for runners from all over the world to stay connected through running," said New York Road Runners president and CEO Michael Capiraso through a statement. "We are excited to welcome an inspiring group of prominent runners to our third-annual Virtual TCS New York City Marathon."

Defending Champions Joyciline Jepkosgei and Belay Tilahun will Return for the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon

All four defending champions – Joyciline Jepkosgei, Tatyana McFadden, Belay Tilahun, and Daniel Romanchuk – will return for the 2020 United Airlines NYC Half, which will feature a world-class professional athlete field that includes 14 Olympians and eight Paralympians leading 25,000 runners from Prospect Park in Brooklyn to Central Park in Manhattan.

The 15th running of the event will take place on Sunday, March 15, leading the athletes on a 13.1-mile tour through neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan and past iconic New York City landmarks, including Grand Army Plaza, the United Nations, Grand Central Terminal, and Times Square. Coverage of the race, including features, interviews, and pro race look-ins will be available on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York area from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET on race day, while a pro race livestream will begin at 7:00 a.m. ET on multiple ABC7 and NYRR social media channels.

“This year’s United Airlines NYC Half will feature all four defending champions leading an exciting array of international stars and rising American talent,” said Michael Capiraso, president and CEO of NYRR. “Olympians and Paralympians from 18 different countries will join our defending champions in a race that will be followed all around the world, as New York again becomes the focal point of the global running community this March.”

Jepkosgei, who won the United Airlines NYC Half and TCS New York City Marathon last year in her first two trips to the United States, will look to defend her event title against a stacked international field. 

At the 2019 United Airlines NYC Half, during her first-ever trip to the United States, Jepkosgei won on a solo run to the finish in a time of 1:10:07. The world championships silver medalist in the distance became the sixth woman from Kenya to win the United Airlines NYC Half, and the first to do so since 2014. She then made her marathon debut at the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon and finished in first place with a time of 2:22:38.

She was just seven seconds off the course record and registered the second-fastest time in the women’s open’s division in New York City Marathon history. The time was also the fastest ever by a woman making her New York City Marathon debut. Jepkosgei is the world-record holder in the half marathon, having run a 1:04:51 to win the 2017 Valencia Half-Marathon in Spain.

“In my first two trips to the U.S. – for the United Airlines NYC Half and TCS New York City Marathon last year – I was so excited to cross the finish line first in Central Park to win both races,” Jepkosgei said. “I cannot wait to return to New York to defend my NYC Half title.”

Challenging Jepkosgei will be two-time NYC Half champion Caroline Rotich, 2018 NYC Half champion Buze Diriba and last year’s runner-up, Mary Ngugi. Olympians Milly Clark, Susan Krumins, Steph Twell, and Natasha Wodak will join them in the field, along with the United States’ Jess Tonn, who finished as the runner-up at the 2019 USATF 5K Championships and will be making her half-marathon debut.

Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei was voted the 2019 New York Road Runners Pro Performer of the Year after winning the TCS New York City Marathon

Joyciline Jepkosgei Voted 2019 New York Road Runners Pro Performer of the Year, in the second-fastest time in event history in her marathon debut and also winning the United Airlines NYC Half. The NYRR Pro Performer of the Year award recognizes the top athlete for his or her outstanding achievements at NYRR races over the entire year.

“Joyciline had an incredible year, becoming the first athlete ever to win an open division title at the TCS New York City Marathon and the United Airlines NYC Half in the same year,” said Chris Weiller, NYRR senior vice president of media, public relations and professional athletics. “She’s one of the world’s best runners and she showed it on streets of New York in her first two trips to the United States. We are extremely grateful at NYRR to have had Joyciline inspire our running community twice this year with her historic runs through the five boroughs.”

Jepkosgei, 26, won the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon in 2:22:38, just seven seconds off the women’s open division course record. It was the fastest time ever by a woman making her New York City Marathon debut. At the 2019 United Airlines NYC Half, during her first-ever trip to the United States, she won on a solo run to the finish in a time of 1:10:07. The world championship silver medalist in the distance became the sixth woman from Kenya to win the event, and the first to do so since 2014.

The finalists for the award were chosen based off their performances at the following NYRR races in the NYRR Pro Racing Series: NYRR Wanamaker Mile, United Airlines NYC Half, UAE Healthy Kidney 10K, NYRR New York Mini 10K and USATF 10 km Championships, New Balance 5th Avenue Mile, Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K and USATF 5 km Championships, and TCS New York City Marathon.

The other nominees for 2019 NYRR Pro Performer of the Year included: Geoffrey Kamworor (Kenya), Daniel Romanchuk (USA), Manuela Schär (Switzerland), Jenny Simpson (USA), and Nick Willis (New Zealand). The public vote accounted for one-third of the final tally, the media vote counted for one third, and an NYRR committee counted for one third.

John Hancock and the Boston Athletic Association announced 16 Boston marathon champions will be running the 2020 Boston Marathon

In a joint statement this morning, John Hancock and the Boston Athletic Association announced that sixteen prior race champions, including 2018 winner Desiree Linden, would run the 2020 Boston Marathon scheduled for Monday, April 20.  The 2020 race, always held on the third Monday in April, will be the 124th running of the world’s oldest marathon.

“In our 35th year as principal sponsor of this historic race, we are excited to welcome back our accomplished champions,” said John Hancock chief marketing officer Barbara Goose through a statement.  “Their return is a testimony to the tradition and legacy that is the Boston Marathon. These champions are not just racing each other, they are chasing history.”

While today’s announcement included the race’s four open and wheelchair division champions from 2019 –Lawrence Cherono of Kenya, Worknesh Degefa of Ethiopia, Manuela Schär of Switzerland and Daniel Romanchuk of the United States– it is the inclusion of Linden, a two-time Olympian, which will likely get the most attention, at least domestically.  Linden, 36, who won the bitterly cold and rain-soaked edition of the race in 2018 where three quarters of the elite field couldn’t finish, will run Boston for the eight time.  Moreover, she plans to double back from the USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon which will take place 51 days earlier in Atlanta on February 29.  A top-3 finish there would put her on her third Olympic team.

“Running the Boston Marathon seven weeks after the U.S. Olympic Trials is a plan that has been in the works for roughly a year,” Linden explained in a written statement.  “I crossed the finish line in 2019 and knew if my body was capable, I wanted to return to Boston in 2020. My coach, Walt Drenth, and I had some long conversations on doing the double, how we would tailor the training, and if it was reasonable to expect to run well in both races.  We were both excited about the challenge.”

Linden’s marathon career began inauspiciously in Boston in 2007 when she finished 18th in 2:44:56, a time which would only have qualified her for next year’s Olympic Trials by four seconds.  But when she returned to the race in 2011, she was a different athlete, nearly winning in a personal best 2:22:38 after a thrilling three-way battle against Kenya’s Caroline Kilel and Sharon Cherop on Boylston Street.  Kilel got the win in 2:22:36, just two seconds ahead of Linden and six seconds ahead of Cherop.

Other prior race champions in the open division announced for the 2020 marathon were Yuki Kawauchi of Japan (first in 2018); Edna Kiplagat (2017), Geoffrey Kirui (2017), and Caroline Rotich of Kenya (2015); and Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia (2013 and 2015), the reigning World Athletics marathon champion.  Prior wheelchair division champions who have entered were Tatyana McFadden of the United States (2013 – 2016, 2018), Marcel Hug of Switzerland (2015 – 2018), Ernst van Dyk of South Africa (2011 – 2016, 2008 – 2010, 2014), Hiroyuki Yamamoto (2013) and Masazumi Soejima (2007 and 2011) of Japan, and Josh Cassidy of Canada (2012).

“The race for the tape on Patriots’ Day will surely be both competitive and compelling, as John Hancock has fielded a tremendous team of champions,” said Tom Grilk, the B.A.A. CEO.  “With 16 returning champions, the roads leading to Boston will be filled with many of the most decorated runners and wheelchair racers in history. Another memorable chapter in Boston Marathon history will surely unfold on April 20.”

The Boston Marathon –which recorded 26,632 finishers in 2019– is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a confederation of the world’s top marathons, and is also a World Athletics Platinum Label road race.  The Platinum Label is new for 2020 and has been given only to a super-elite group of eight marathons so far: Tokyo, Nagoya Women’s, Seoul, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York (two to four more may be added, according to World Athletics).

Nine-time U.S. champion Aliphine Tuliamuk has been added to the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon

Aliphine Tuliamuk will race her second TCS New York City Marathon and has had previous success in Central Park with three consecutive podium finishes at the 2016, 2017, and 2018 NYRR New York Mini 10K.

Earlier this year, she finished third at the Rotterdam Marathon in 2:26:48, becoming the first American woman to hit the Olympic qualifying standard for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Ethiopia’s Worknesh Degefa, winner of the 2019 Boston Marathon, has scratched from the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon after suffering from metatarsalgia in her left foot which caused her to lose too much training time.

This year’s professional athlete field will include all four previously announced defending champions: Kenya’s Mary Keitany, Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa, the United States’ Daniel Romanchuk, and Switzerland’s Manuela Schär. Keitany will go for her fifth career title in New York, Schär will race for her third consecutive crown, and Desisa and Romanchuk will look to post back-to-back victories.

In total, 13 Olympians and 18 Paralympians will toe the line, including Rio 2016 U.S. Olympians Des Linden and Jared Ward and 17-time U.S. Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden.

The 2019 TCS New York City Marathon will be televised live on Sunday, November 3, on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York tristate area, throughout the rest of the nation on ESPN2, and around the world through various international broadcasters.

The TCS New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world and the signature event of New York Road Runners (NYRR), the world’s premier community running organization.

The race is held annually on the first Sunday of November and includes over 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to runners of all ages and abilities, including over 9,000 charity runners. Participants from over 125 countries tour the diverse neighborhoods of New York City’s five boroughs—Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Race morning also features the Rising New York Road Runners Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City Marathon, a race within Central Park that ends at the marathon finish line.

More than one million spectators and 10,000 volunteers line the city’s streets in support of the runners, while millions more watch the globally televised broadcast. The race is a founding member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, which features the world’s top marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.  Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the premier partner of NYRR and the title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon.