About 5000 runners, led by some top talent at the front, will "run in" the New Year when the clock strikes midnight tonight in New York City's Central Park. The 29th edition of the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run organized by the New York Road Runners allows both runners and spectators to get 2008 off on the right foot, accompanied by a spectacular fireworks show.
"The Emerald Nuts Midnight Run is a quintessential New York City event open to runners from around the world looking to start the year off right," said New York Road Runners president and CEO, Mary Wittenberg through a media release. "Whether your goal is to get started, to get faster, to get fitter or just to have a lot of fun, it's the first and best running party of the year."
Leading the men for this four mile road race will be defending champion, Thomas Morgan representing the ZAP Fitness team from Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Morgan will be joined by his ZAP teammates, Ryan Warrenburg, Jonathan Pierce, and Brendan O'Keefe. Also looking for victory will be 2003 USA steeplechase champion Steve Slattery, two-time winner and course record holder Christian Hesch, Team USA Minnesota's Andy Carlson, and Ethiopians Demesse Tefera and Worku Beyi who represent the Westchester Track Club and live in New York City.
The women's defending champion, Ethiopian Aziza Aliyu who also represents the Westchester Track Club, will be facing strong challenges from Canadian Olympian Carmen Douma-Hussar, a two-time Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile Champion, and 2007 Pan Am Games 10,000m champion Sara Slattery. Also entered are Abeba Tola, the Ethiopian who won the 2000 Amsterdam Marathon, and another young Ethiopian, Buzunesh Deba.
"This race continues to serve as an important kick-off for many of our top runners, and we welcome all of them," Wittenberg added. "What better way to start the Olympic year than by racing at the stroke of midnight?"
The event records, both set in 2004, are 18:28 for the men set by Hesch in 2004 and 21:16 set by Amy Rudolph. Morgan ran 18:31 last year and Aliyu ran 21:56.
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