Posted: January 23, 2007

Athletics: Kastor To Make Boston Marathon Debut

From David Monti © 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com Organizers of the Boston Marathon announced today that Deena Kastor, the fastest marathoner of 2006, will make her Boston Marathon debut on Monday, April 16. The 111th edition of the race will also serve as the U.S. Women's Marathon Championship. Kastor, who was ranked #1 in the world in the marathon for 2006 by both Track & Field News and Race Results Weekly, will face the T&FN #2 and #3-ranked marathoners, Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia and Rita Jeptoo of Kenya, both of whom beat her at the ING New York City Marathon last November. Jeptoo won Boston last year and Prokopcuka, the female points leader of the prestigious World Marathon Majors series, was second. At New York Prokopcuka was the winner, while Jeptoo was fourth and Kastor a disappointing sixth. "As the American record holder and an Olympic medalist, Deena now headlines Boston playing host to the USA Women's Marathon Championship," said Guy Morse, executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the marathon. "More important, she could become Boston's first American champion in more than 20 years, but she'll have to defeat one of the strongest fields ever. Rita proved herself here last year, winning the closest women's race in Boston history over Jelena—and with all three women competing in April, the 111th Boston Marathon is already shaping up to be one for the ages." The announcement of Kastor was widely expected, given that her name was absent from the field of the Flora London Marathon, where she is the defending champion, and that Boston was chosen as the USA Marathon Championship for women. Kastor has won 18 national titles in cross country, track and road racing, and was the USA marathon champion in 2001 when she made her debut in New York (2:26:58). She will receive $25,000 of additional prize money if she is the first American woman to cross the finish line in the special all-women's elite race. The overall winner will receive $100,000. Kastor's prize money, however, is likely to pale next to what is certainly a generous appearance fee made possible by the financial support of John Hancock Financial Services, the Boston-based insurance and financial planning company which is the primary sponsor of the event. Appearance fees are closely guarded by race organizers. Kastor, Jeptoo and Prokopcuka all have strong personal best times: 2:19:36, 2:23:38 and 2:22:56, respectively. However, Boston's hilly course and lack of pacemakers make it a tricky race to execute. The last American woman to win the Boston Marathon was Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach, now Lisa Rainsberger, in 1985. Photo Link: CNN. Comment on this story. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest

Check out our FrontPage for all the latest running and triathlon news. Top of News Runner's Web FrontPage