Posted: September 30, 2004

Athletics: Fourth B.A.A. Half Marathon®, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund, on Sunday, October 10

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

Lornah Kiplagat (Fifth Place Finisher at Athens Olympics) and Valentina Yegorova (Olympic Gold Medalist from Barcelona) headline this year’s elite field.

Race showcasing Boston and Brookline’s Emerald Necklace park system, including Franklin Park Zoo, increases and expands prize purse to $30,000.

BOSTON, Mass. – The fourth B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund, on Sunday, October 10 features an increased prize purse ($30,000) and has drawn both a deep, international field, as well as several of New England’s top runners.

Headlining the women’s elite field are Lornah Kiplagat, of The Netherlands, who was fifth place at 10,000 meters at this summer’s Olympic Games; and Valentina Yegorova, of Russia, who won gold in the marathon at the Barcelona Games in 1992 and silver at the Atlanta Games in 1996. Among the top males are Julius Kibet and Luke Metto, both of Kenya.

Among the top-seeded men in this year’s race are Isaac Arusei, of Kenya; Vinny Mulvey, of Ireland; Jason Woolhouse, of New Zealand; and inaugural B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Wayne Levy, of Newton, Mass. Among the field’s other top women are Americans Milena Glusac, Molly Austin, Rachel Kinsman, and Sylvia Mosqueda; and Galina Alexandrova, Silvia Skvortsova and Zinaida Semenova, all of whom are from Russia. Also entered are Sarah Nixon, of Medfield, Mass. and winner of the first two B.A.A. Half Marathons in 2001 and 2002; and Maria Servin, a Mexican citizen who resides in Middleboro, Mass. and who won the masters division last year.

The prize purse has been expanded from the Top Five to include distributions to the Top Ten overall male and female finishers, and the field size was capped at 4,500 entrants (an increase from the 4,000 entrants who were accepted last year). For the first time, top teams will be awarded prize money.

Several hundred Dana-Farber Runners will be fundraising for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund.

2004 B.A.A. Half Marathon® ELITE WOMEN

Lornah Kiplagat, 30, of The Netherlands, was the fifth place finisher at 10,000 meters (30:31.92) at this summer’s Olympics in Athens. Kiplagat has run 1:06:34 for the half marathon (2001 Lisbon, Portugal; runner-up), and she will be running this year’s New York City Marathon on November 7. Having changed citizenship from Kenya to The Netherlands in 2003, she is currently residing and training in Boulder, Colorado.
Among her other athletic accomplishments:
First place 2000, 2001, 2002 – Three-time champion of the Falmouth Road Race;
Second place 2000 Chicago Marathon;
Fourth place 2001 Boston Marathon (2:27:56);
First place 2002 Osaka (Japan) Ladies Marathon in 2:23:55;
Seventh place 2002 New York City Marathon;
Fourth place 2003 Osaka Ladies Marathon in a personal best time of 2:22:22;
Fourth place 2003 IAAF World Championships at 10,000 meters in a personal best time of 30:12.53;
Fourth place 2003 New York City Marathon.

Valentina Yegorova, 40, of Russia, was the gold medallist at the Barcelona Olympic Marathon in 1992 and the silver medalist (2:28:05) at the Atlanta Games in 1996. Having taken some time off for maternity leave, Yegorova returned to racing in 2003, continuing her prolific road racing career (in the open and masters division). She has a personal best of 1:09:35 for the half marathon distance (St. Petersburg; 1995; first place), and she also ran 1:09:58 for the 13.1 mile distance in 1995 (1995 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships; first place). Currently living and training in Gainesville, Florida, she also has the following accomplishments on her running resume:
First place 1993 and 1994 Tokyo (Japan) Marathon;
Second place 1994 Boston Marathon in 2:23:33, which remains her personal best for the distance;
First place 1995 IAAF World Championships Half Marathon;
Seventh place 1999 IAAF World Championships Half Marathon.
Second place 2000 at the Nagano (Japan) Marathon in 2:26:26;

Also among the top females:

Milena Glusac, 29, Fallbrook, California
Eighth place finisher at the 2003 Boston Marathon; posted personal best time of 1:11:34 at the 2001 IAAF World Half Marathon Championship. She won the 2001 Parkersburg (West Virginia) Half Marathon in 1:12:13. Eighth place at the 2003 Boston Marathon in 2:37:32. All-American while at the University of Oregon.

Molly Austin, 24, Boulder, Colorado
Recent graduate (2003) of the University of Colorado where she was an All-American in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. She was fifth place at the 8-kilometer distance in 2004 and sixth place at the 4-kilometer distance at the US Winter Cross Country Championships. She ran 1:17:38 (14th place female) at the Philadelphia Distance Run in September.

Rachel Kinsman, 30, Archibald, Ohio
Ran a personal best 1:13:55 at the 2003 USA Track & Field Women’s Half Marathon Championship; She has a marathon best of 2:37:54 from last year’s Chicago Marathon (13th place; marathon debut). Attended Auburn University.

Sylvia Mosqueda, 38, Los Angeles, California
Ran 1:11:22 at the 2003 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, and she won the 2002 3M (Austin, Texas) Half Marathon in a personal best 1:10:46. She won that same race in 2004 in a time of 1:09:51. She has won the Long Beach (Calif.) Half Marathon (2002; 1:13:22); and America’s Finest City (San Diego, Calif.) Half Marathon (2002; 1:12:34). She has also run 1:11:20 for the half marathon distance, where she has been runner-up at Parkersburg on two occasions (2000 and 2001). Attended California State University at Los Angeles.

Galina Alexandrova, 28, Russia
With a personal best of 1:11:22 for 13.1 miles (Russian Half Marathon Championships, 2000), Alexandrova is also an accomplished speedster on the track (32:11.52, European Championship 10,000 meter final in 2002). She was fifth at the 2003 Dublin (Ireland) Marathon in a personal best time of 2:36:08; and already this year she has been runner-up at three half marathons, including the Parkersburg (West Virginia) Half Marathon in 1:13:13.

Silvia Skvortsova, 29, Russia
Skvortsova has run 1:09:37 for the half marathon (first place; 2001; Novosibirsk, Siberia), and arrives to Boston with extensive marathon experience (2:27:07; seventh place; 2002 London Marathon as her personal record). She has also won America’s Finest City (San Diego) Half Marathon (1:14:24; 2003).

Zinaida Semenova, 42, Russia
She won the 2001 Twin Cities (Minn.) Marathon in a still standing course record of 2:26:51, and she was fourth place at that same race last year (2:33:38). Also, she won Grandma’s Marathon (Duluth, Minn.) in 2:32:21 in 2002.

Sarah Nixon, 40, Medfield, Mass.
Winner of the first two B.A.A. Half Marathons in 2001 and 2002.

Maria Servin, 42, Mexico
A resident of Middleboro, Mass., Servin ran 1:17:49 to win the masters division of the B.A.A. last year and finished fifth place among all women.

2004 B.A.A. Half Marathon® ELITE MEN

Julius Kibet, 22, Kenya, won the Philadelphia Distance Run (half marathon) on September 19 in a thrilling sprint to the finish over three other competitors and recording a personal best time of 1:01:18. Also in September, he was fourth place at the Downtown 5k in Providence in 13:45. When not in Kenya, he lives and trains in West Chester, Penn. Other major accomplishments include:
First place 2003 Bristol (England) Half Marathon in 1:02:51;
First place 2003 Peterborough (Great Britain) Half Marathon in 1:03:07;
First place 2004 Wilmslow (England) Half Marathon in 1:02:23;
First place 2004 Broad Street Run (10 miles; Philadelphia).

Luke Metto, 28, Kenya, ran 1:01:18 for the half marathon at Lisbon (Portugal) in 2001. He has a 10-kilometer PR of 28:08 and a 20k PR of 59:59, both of which were recorded in 2004. In April of this year, he won the Humarathon 21-kilometer road race in Ivry, France in 1:02:45. Also:
First place 2004 Vitoria (Spain) Half Marathon in April in 1:02:35.
First place 2004 Oloron to Sainte Marie (France) in June in 1:01:57.
Second place 2004 Steamboat Classic 4M in June in 17:42;
Second place 2004 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn. in 2:18:38 (he led the race for 25.5 miles);
Second place 2004 U.S. 10-K Classic in Atlanta, Ga. in 29:32;
Fourth place 2004 Philadelphia Distance Run Half-Marathon on September 19 in 1:01:37.
At Philadelphia, he led for nine miles and passed 10 miles in 46:48, before slipping to fourth place by race’s end sprint. His is currently living and training in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Also among the top males are:

Isaac Arusei, 28, Kenya
Arusei has a half marathon best of 1:03:47 from last year’s 13.1 mile run in Hastings (England), a runner-up finish; and this year he won the Parkersburg Half Marathon in 1:04:12. Also, he ran 1:03:53 in Wilmslow (England) last year.

Vinny Mulvey, 26, Ireland
A graduate of Iona College, Mulvey still makes his home in New Rochelle, New York. He comes to the B.A.A. Half with a strong track and cross country background.

Jason Woolhouse, 24, New Zealand
Having just graduated (2004) from Oklahoma State University, Woolhouse specialized at 5,000 and 10,000 meters on the track. He has stated on more than one occasion that his ultimate goal in the sport of running is to one day be the world mountain champion, and he has been a member of his country’s world cross country team. This is his half marathon debut.

Wayne Levy, 39, Newton, Mass.
Inaugural B.A.A. Half Marathon champion in 2001; fifth place at the 2002 B.A.A. Half Marathon.

The race website is at: www.baa.org.