Posted: May 5, 2005

Athletics: Ramaala, Mottram Headline Field at the 2005 Healthy Kidney 10K

NEW YORK - (May 4, 2005) - Hendrik Ramaala, the reigning ING New York City Marathon Champion, will return to New York for the first time since his impressive victory last November for the inaugural Healthy Kidney 10K on Sunday, May 22, in Central Park. The Australian star Craig Mottram, making his New York City debut, will join Ramaala as part of a select international field assembled by New York Road Runners.

The Healthy Kidney 10K is a New York Road Runners Professional Racing Series event, featuring $20,000 in prize money with a $7,500 champion's prize. The race is sponsored by the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, GE and Lockheed Martin. All proceeds will benefit the National Kidney Foundation.

The participation of Ramaala and Mottram was announced on Wednesday by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg. Also competing will be two-time Irish Olympian Mark Carroll, Englishman John Mayock, Kenyan Patrick Ivuti and leading American challenger Ryan Shay.

"We are excited to add the Healthy Kidney 10K to our professional racing series and thrilled to have athletes the caliber of Hendrik and Craig to lead our field," said Wittenberg. "Hendrik is a tried and true veteran in the sport and has shown he can run well at all distances. His victory in New York last year was a long time coming, and while Craig is at the beginning of his journey his successes to date lead us to believe we have a lot to look forward to."

Ramaala, 33, of South Africa, proved himself among the best road runners in the world last year when he won the ING New York City Marathon 2004 (2:09:28), finishing ahead of 2004 Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi. In 2005, he has continued to shine, placing third against top competition at the Flora London Marathon last month (2:08:32).

Mottram, 24, of Australia, is one of the brightest new talents to emerge on the international racing scene in years. A two-time Olympian, he competed in the opening rounds of the 5000 meters in 2000 and finished eighth in the finals at the 2004 Olympic Games (13:21:88). He became only the third non-African-born man to break 13 minutes for 5000 meters (12:55:76) when he raced against the legendary Haile Gebreselassie on July 30, 2004. More recently, Mottram added the 10K to his repertoire, winning the BUPA Great Ireland Run in Dublin, Ireland, last month in 28:35, ahead of both Mayock and Carroll.

Carroll, 33, of Ireland, resides in Providence, Rhode Island. He holds several Irish national records and competed for Ireland at 5000 meters in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. He has enjoyed success in Central Park, setting the Central Park half-marathon record (1:03:11) at a New York Road Runners race in 2002.

Mayock, 34, of Cardiff, Wales, returns to New York after competing several years ago in the Fifth Avenue Mile. He is one of Britain's foremost milers, with a personal best of 3:50, but in recent years has focused on longer distances. He posted a 29:26 for fourth place last month at the BUPA Great Ireland Run.

Shay, 25, of East Jordan, Mich., will lead the American contingent. After winning several USA road titles at the marathon and half-marathon distances, as well as the 2005 USA 15K Championships (43:52), the Team Running USA athlete has emerged as one of America's preeminent distance runners. Shay placed ninth at the ING New York City Marathon 2004 (2:14:08) and 11th at last month's Boston Marathon in 2:18:17.

About New York Road Runners
Founded in 1958 with a membership of 47, New York Road Runners is one of the world's foremost running organizations. NYRR is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the sport of running and walking for health, recreation and competition, and provides full professional services related to all aspects of racing. The organization has a full-time staff of more than 60 employees, supplemented by a network of thousands of volunteers, serving 40,000 members from every state and more than 100 countries.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Services Director
385 Oak View Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93111

(805) 696-6232, fax (805) 967-5958
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.runningusa.org.