Posted: August 23, 2006

Athletics: Past Champion Returns to Re-claim Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Title

Boston Marathon champion leads women’s field VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (August 23, 2006) -- It was only one small step, but for Haron Toroitich the final step of the 2004 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, Va. was the one of thousands he took that day that earned him thousands. By nipping fellow Kenyan Joshua Chelanga at the finish line with his last stride, the 26-year-old Toroitich earned $12,000 for first place along with a $25,000 musical marathon bonus awarded to the athlete who won both the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon and any of the other musically themed races staged by Elite Racing in 2004. “I will put up a building in Kenya and call it Virginia,” Toroitich said in appreciation to the race’s host state after his 2004 victory. This year, Toroitich leads the men’s field in pursuit of his second Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon title, but he will be vigorously challenged by a younger countryman and an Ethiopian with a kick. James Kwambai, 23, holds the fourth fastest half marathon time (60:22) in this year's field. He finished second here last year to fellow Kenyan James Mwangi in a time of 61:55. His strength will add to Kenya’s chance at victory, but Dejene Berhanu of Ethiopia should be a formidable opponent for the Kenyan one-two punch. Berhanu was built for speed and his numbers prove it. The 26-year-old won the prestigious Carlsbad 5000, home to 26 world best times, three consecutive years beginning in 2003. He holds the fastest half marathon time (59:37) in the men’s field and has used his finishing kick to post impressive personal bests at the 5,000 and 10,000-meter distances of 12:54.15 and 27:12.22 respectively. “If there is any competition along the final miles of the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, look for Berhanu to turn on the afterburners,” said Mike Long, elite athlete coordinator for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. Japan will send a strong men’s field led by the champion of the 2006 Japan Corporate Half Marathon, 20-year-old Arata Fujiwara. Also included in this group are 26-year-old Takashi Ota, 20-year-old Yuki Tanaka, and Tetsuo Nishimura, 23, who all finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively in the Japan Corporate Half Marathon. In the women’s field, eyes will be focused on the 25-year-old Kenyan Rita Jeptoo who won the 2006 Boston Marathon this past April. Her 2:23:38 finish in Boston went down as the eighth fastest time in race history. She set her personal best time of 69:56 in a victory at the Paris Half Marathon a month prior to her tour of Boston. However, where there is an outstanding Kenyan, there is always an Ethiopian ready to challenge. Ethiopian Elfenesh Alemu, 31, is the obvious choice for this role. Alemu relies on strength rather than speed. “She is a runner that logs high mileage at altitude during her training in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), which will make it very hard for any competitor to produce a successful attack,” said Long. “She can wear her competition down.” A strong Belarusian, Olga Kravtsova, 24, has the potential to deliver an upset to the favored Kenyan and Ethiopian. Kravtsova recently became her country’s national champion in the 10,000m (33.03.09) and finished fifth at the European Championships, in the 5,000m. Famed Japanese running star and coach, Hiromi Tanaguchi, who was the gold medalist in the marathon at the 1991 World Championships is sending two of his most talented pupils. Twin sisters Hiroko and Yoko Miyauchi, 24, lead a field of five Japanese women at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon this year. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon celebrates its sixth anniversary in Virginia Beach, Sun., Sept. 3, 2006 with 20,000 runners and walkers. Festivities begin with a two-day Health & Fitness Expo at the Virginia Beach Convention Center on Fri., Sept. 1 and Sat., Sept. 2. The Health & Fitness Expo is free and open to the public, and features over 80 exhibitors with the latest in endurance sports gear and nutrition products. For more information on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon go to www.RnRHalf.com, or call 800-311-12555. 2006 Men's Elite Open Field (as of Aug. 23, 2006) Name Age Country Best Fact/Comment Haron Toroitich 28 KEN 60:49 1st 2004 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, 2nd P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona James Kwambai 23 KEN 60:22 2nd 2005 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, 1st 2005 San Blas Half Marathon Yusuf Songoka 26 KEN 60:53 3rd 2005 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, 6th 2003 World Half Marathon Evans Cheruiyot 25 KEN 59:23 2nd 2006 Berlin Half Marathon, 2nd 2006 Bix 7 Dejene Berhanu 26 ETH 59:37 Three-time Carlsbad 5000 champion, 4th 2006 Rotterdam Marathon Assefa Mezgebu 28 ETH Debut Bronze Medal 2000 Olympics 10,000m Stephen Biwott 26 KEN 62:48 1st 2005 Maratona d’Italia, 1st 2005 Rio de Janeiro Half Marathon Mohammed Amyn 30 MAR 62:30 5th 2005 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, 5th 2005 Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run David Langat 32 KEN 60:47 5th 2006 Paris Marathon Khalid El Boumlili 28 MAR 61:12 1st 2006 Casablanca Marathon Yuki Tanaka 20 JPN 62:01 5th 2006 Japan Corporate Half Marathon Arata Fujiwara 20 JPN 62:17 1st 2006 Japan Corporate Half Marathon Takashi Ota 26 JPN 61:50 4th 2006 Japan Corporate Half Marathon Tetsuo Nishimura 23 JPN 62:02 6th 2006 Japan Corporate Half Marathon Christopher Cheboiboch 28 KEN 60:33 1st 2005 Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, 5th 2003 Boston Marathon Mario Macias 25 MEX 66:38 Adams State College, 8th 2006 Peachtree Roadrace Alejandro Suarez 26 MEX 63:44 2nd 2006 Bolder Boulder, 4th 2006 Jakarta 10k Benson Barus 26 KEN 60:00 3rd 2006 Coban Half Marathon, 4th 2006 Berlin Half Marathon Charles Kiama 20 KEN 61:34 3rd Bolder Boulder, 2nd Coban Half Marathon Ben Kimutai 25 KEN 61:33 N/A 2006 Women's Elite Open Field Name Age Country Best Fact/Comment Nuta Olaru 35 ROM 69:00 1st 2004 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, 7th 2005 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Rita Jeptoo 25 KEN 69:56 1st 2006 Boston Marathon, 1st 2006 Paris Half Marathon Edna Kiplagat 26 KEN Debut 4th 2006 Crescent City Classic, 2nd 2006 Kenyan Police Championships Olga Kratsova 24 BLR Debut Belarus National Champion 10,000m, 5th 2006 European Championships 5,000m Luminita Talpos 33 ROM 70:08 10th 2005 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon, 4th 2006 Bix 7 Lidia Simon 32 ROM 68:34 2000 Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist, 3rd 2006 Bix 7 Elfenesh Alemu 31 ETH 69:47 3rd Tokyo International Women's Marathon, 4th 2004 Athens Olympic Marathon Hiroko Miyauchi 24 JPN 71:21 1st 2005 Great Scottish Run Yoko Miyauchi 24 JPN 70:15 N/A Miho Ichikawa 26 JPN 71:33 9th 2005 & 5th 2004 Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Kayoko Obata 29 JPN 70:20 2nd 2006 Osaka Marathon Akemi Ozaki 29 JPN 70:31 11th 2004 Olympic 10,000m (Athens) Banuela Katesigwa 28 TAN 70:55 3rd 2004 P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon, 1st 2002 Tokyo Women’s Marathon Nina Rillstone 31 NZL 70:49 3rd 2006 Jakarta 10k, 3rd 2006 Nagano Marathon Askale Tafa 21 ROM Debut 4th 2006 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, 2nd 2006 Berlin 25K Maggie Chan-Roper 30 HKG 74:22 3rd 2004 Salt Lake City Marathon Adriana Pirtea 25 ROM 69:58 3rd 2006 Houston Half Marathon, 2nd 2005 Coban Half Marathon Nicole Johns 31 USA 73:47 2nd Dam to Dam 20K 2006 Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon – Virginia Beach - Prize Money & Record Bonus Schedule Men & Women Overall First man -- $12,000 First woman -- $12,000 Second man -- $7,000 Second woman -- $7,000 Third man -- $5,000 Third woman -- $5,000 Fourth man -- $3,000 Fourth woman -- $3,000 Fifth man -- $2,000 Fifth woman -- $2,000 Sixth man -- $1,500 Sixth woman -- $1,500 Seventh man -- $1,000 Seventh woman -- $1,000 Eighth man -- $750 Eighth woman -- $750 Ninth man -- $600 Ninth woman -- $600 Tenth man -- $500 Tenth woman -- $500 World Record Bonuses* $10,000 for the first finisher better than 58:55 (M) and 66:44 (W) American Record Bonuses* $5,000 for the first finisher better than 60:55 (M) and 67:34 (W) American Soil Record Bonuses* $5,000 for the first finisher better than 58:55 (M) and 67:53 (W) Course Record Bonuses* $1,000 for the first finisher better than 60:42 (M) and 69:17 (W) * Record Bonuses are cumulative. Wheelchair Prize Money (not handcycles) First man under 1:00:00 -- $600 First woman under 1:15:00 -- $600 Second man under 1:00:00 -- $400 Second woman under 1:15:00 -- $400 Third man under 1:00:00 -- $300 Third woman under 1:15:00 -- $300 Fourth man under 1:00:00 -- $200 Fourth woman under 1:15:00 -- $200 Masters (40 and over) Prize Money First man -- $500 First woman -- $500 Second man -- $250 Second woman -- $250 Prize Money for Hampton Roads Residents First man -- $500 First woman -- $500 Second man -- $250 Second woman -- $250

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