Ritz, Meb, Abdi Headed to NYC Half
Powerhouse
Trio of 2012 U.S. OlympiansÛÓMeb Keflezighi, Abdi Abdirahman, and Dathan
RitzenheinÛÓto Lead U.S. Contingent in NYC Half
March 17 race will feature five 2012 U.S. Olympians, including 10,000-meter runner Janet Bawcom
Event to be broadcast live locally on WABC-TV and nationally on ESPN3
New York, February 27, 2013ÛÓA formidable
trio of 2012 U.S. Olympians Meb Keflezighi, Abdi Abdirahman, and Dathan
Ritzenhein will run the NYC Half 2013 on Sunday, March 17, it was
announced today by New York Road Runners president
and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
“We are positively thrilled to welcome Meb,
Dathan, and AbdiÛÓthree of America’s finest and favorite long distance
runnersÛÓback to NYC as we celebrate the spirit of NYC,” said Wittenberg.
“This NYC Half is more than a run. It’s about the
spirit of our runners of all types, and especially this year, it’s
about the spirit of Lower Manhattan and all of NYC. Meb, Dathan, and
Abdi each have comeback stories of their own to add to the inspiration
of the day.”
The announcement of Keflezighi, Abdirahman, and
Ritzenhein gives the race two members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic men’s
marathon team and one member of its 10,000-meter team, respectively.
Increasing the depth of the American roster are talented
pros Jason Hartmann, Guor Marial, Janet Bawcom, Serena Burla, Maegan
Krifchin, Adriana Nelson, Molly Pritz, Stephanie Rothstein Bruce, and
Lindsey Scherf. Previously announced was Bernard Lagat, a five-time
world champion and international medalist.
Keflezighi, 37, of Mammoth Lakes, CA, finished
fourth (and first American) in the 2012 Olympic Marathon, eight years
after his silver-medal performance in the 2004 Athens Games. He has
competed in the NYC Half three times (2006, 2011, and
2012) and was the top American last year, placing 13th in 1:01:41. The
three-time Olympian is also set to compete in the 2013 ING New York City
Marathon per a two-year contract with NYRR. In 2009, Keflezighi became
the first American since Alberto Salazar
in 1982 to win the New York City Marathon. He has finished in the
race’s top 10 six times, most recently with a sixth-place finish in
2011.
“I am honored to be a part of the great field
NYRR has assembled for this year’s NYC Half,” said Keflezighi. “This
race will serve as a great tune-up as I prepare for the Boston Marathon.
I’m looking forward to racing in front of my New
York City fans and friends.”
Abdirahman, 36, of Tucson, AZ, became a
four-time Olympian by finishing third in the U.S. Marathon Trials in
January 2012. His best performance in the NYC Half was a second-place
finish in 2007 in 1:00:29, which is currently the third-fastest
half-marathon ever run by an American.-
Ritzenhein, 31, of Portland, OR, finished 13th
in the 10,000 meters at the 2012 London Olympics with a time of
27:45:89. He has competed in the NYC Half twice (2008 and 2012), placing
third in 2008 in a time of 1:01:38. In 2009, Ritzenhein
took the bronze medal at the 2009 IAAF World Half-Marathon
Championships. Earlier this month, he finished second in the USA Cross
Country Championships. At the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, he
ran a personal best time of 2:07:47, finishing ninth overall
and first among Americans; the performance put him into third on the
all-time U.S. list behind Khalid Khannouchi and Ryan Hall. “Ritz” is set
to return to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon this year.
“I am very excited to be returning again this
year to the NYC Half!” said Ritzenhein. “I love this race, and it gives
me a great opportunity to test the fitness I have gained from the winter
training, and then transition into the upcoming
racing season. The half-marathon is a distance that has always suited
me well and I hope to use the strength I gained from a healthy 2012 to
have a great race on March 17!”
Bawcom, 34, of Flagstaff, AZ, finished 12th in
the London Olympic 10,000 meters in a personal best of 31:12.68. She has
run the last two editions of the NYC Half, setting her personal best of
1:09:55 with a fifth-place finish last year.
Other top U.S. runners entered in the NYC Half 2013:
·
Jason Hartmann, 31, of Boulder, CO, has a
half-marathon personal best of 1:03:07, which he ran at the 2003 Houston
Half-Marathon. He finished second in NYRR’s 2012 Brooklyn
Half-Marathon. Hartmann was the top American in the 2012
Boston Marathon, finishing fourth in a time of 2:14:31.
·
Guor Marial, 28, of Flagstaff, AZ, will be running
his first race as a U.S. citizen in the NYC Half. Originally from South
Sudan, he was permitted to run in the London Olympic Marathon under the
flag of the IOC because he refused
to represent Sudan whose soldiers killed 28 members of his family.
Serena Burla, 30, of Falls Church, VA, ran her personal-best
half-marathon of 1:10:08 at the 2010 Houston Half-Marathon.
·
Maegan Krifchin, 24, of Ithaca, NY, has a
half-marathon personal best of 1:10:56, which she ran at the 2012 USA
Half-Marathon Championships in Duluth, MN.
·
Adriana Nelson, 33, of Ft. Collins, CO, ran her
half-marathon personal best of 1:09:59 at the2005 Lauwersong
Half-Marathon. She finished 11th in the 2011 NYC Half in a time of
1:12:03.
·
Molly Pritz, 24, of Boulder, CO, has a half-marathon personal best of 1:10:45 from the 2012 San Francisco 2nd Half-Marathon.
·
Stephanie Rothstein Bruce, 29, of Flagstaff, AZ,
ran a half-marathon personal best of 1:12:19 at the 2012 Big Sur Half
Marathon. She finished third at the 2012 Honolulu Marathon. Lindsey
Scherf, 26, of Durham, NC, has a half-marathon
personal best of 1:11:45 from the 2012 NYC Half. She also ran the NYC
Half in 2009 and 2011.
NYRR’s flagship half-marathon, in its eighth
running, will air live locally on WABC-TV from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and
concurrently stream live on ESPN3. NYRR’s
On the Run broadcast will air on www.nyrr.org at 8:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16, with a post-race recap Sunday evening.
The NYC Half will
offer 15,000 runners a spectacular 13.1 mile tour of Manhattan as they
race through Central Park to Times Square, along the Hudson River
waterfront to finish in lower Manhattan.
The race continues to attract prominent professional athletes and thousands of recreational runners from around the world.
This year’s race is “More than a Run,”
offering runners and their family, friends, and fans ways to get
involved, give back, and have fun.
About NYRR
New
York Road Runners was founded in 1958 when a small group of passionate
runners vowed to bring running to the people. Over the past
55 years, NYRR has grown from a local running club to the world’s
premier community running organization. NYRR’s mission is to empower
everyone, of all ages and abilitiesÛÓbeginners and competitive athletes,
the young and the elderly, adult professionals and
underserved schoolchildrenÛÓto improve their health and well-being
through the power of running and fitness.
NYRR’s
races, community events, instruction and training resources, and youth
programs give hundreds of thousands of people each year the motivation,
know-how, and
opportunity to start running and keep running for life. NYRR’s premier
event, the famed ING New York City Marathon, attracts the world’s top
pro runners and committed amateurs alike while also raising millions of
dollars annually for charity and driving economic
impact for the City. But NYRR is equally committed to the runners of
tomorrow, passionately providing youth fitness programs that educate and
inspire more than 150,000 kids in underserved communities in New York
City, all 50 states, and around the world.
Headquartered
in New York City, NYRR implements a unique nonprofit model that teams
contributed and earned income to make all its efforts possible. To learn
more,
please visit www.nyrr.org.