FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Seven Titles will be Defended at the
39th Annual New Balance Falmouth Road Race
Falmouth, Mass. – Winners in seven divisions will be defending their
titles in the upcoming New Balance Falmouth Road Race - overall women,
masters men and women, American men and women as well as wheelchair men and
women. In additon, the men's course record holder will be returning. This
annual Cape Cod summer classic will held at 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 14. A
field of 11,000 runners will race the scenic waterfront seven-mile course
winding from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights.
Ethiopian Wude Ayalew, age 23, won the women's division in 35:46, four
seconds ahead of 2010 Beach to Beacon champion Linenth Chepkirui of Kenya.
In 2011, Ayalew bested Chepkirui at the Crescent City Classic 10K 31:33 to
31:44. Chasing Ayalew will be fellow Ethiopians, 2009 Falmouth winner,
Mamitu Daska, 27, who finished first at 2011 Freihofer's Run for Women 5K
in a personal best of 15:19 and Dire Tune, 26, 2008 Boston Marathon winner
with a 10K best of 31:40. Four-time Falmouth champion and two-time Olympic
Marathon silver medalist, Catherine Ndereba, 38, of Kenya will return after
finishing fourth in 2010.
Two-time Falmouth winner Colleen De Reuck, 47, of Boulder, Colo., who
finished fifth overall in 2010, will defend her American and masters
titles. Other American women to watch are Kenyan-born Janet Cherobon, 32,
of Atlanta, Ga., who holds a 10K personal best of 32:37 and wins including
2011 Mercedes Half Marathon, 2011 Cellcom Green Bay Marathon and 2010
Marine Corps Marathon; Romanian-born Adriana Nelson, 31, of Fort Collins,
Colo., the first American at last month's Peachtree Road Race 10K in a
personal best of 32:49 and Frances Koons, 25, who has a personal 5,000
meter best of 15:29.96. Six-time Falmouth winner and Olympic marathon gold
medalist, Joan Beniot Samuelson, 53, of Freeport, Maine, who was fourth
master and 16th woman overall will again be a crowd favorite.
Thirty-one year old Gilbert Okari of Kenya who set the race course record
of 31:08 in 2004 and defending American men's champion Ed Moran, 30, of
Williamsburg, Va., will be competing against a packed men's field.
Challengers include Americans Abdi Abdirahman, 34, of Tuscon, Ariz.,
three-time Olympian, four-time USA 10K champion with a 27:22.81 10,000
meter best; Mohamed Trafeh, 26, of Tampa, Fla., with a half marathon best
of 1:00:39; Fasil Bizuneth, 31, of Indianapolis, Ind., the 2010 US 10-mile
champion with a 27:50.48 and 10,000 meter best as well as Fernando Cabada,
29, of Boulder, Colo., the US 25K champion in 1:15:41. Others include
Kenyans Micah Kogo, 25, Olympic bronze medalist in the 10,000 meters, 2007
Falmouth winner and a 10K best of 27:15; Canadian Simon Bairu, 28, with
27:23 10,000 meter best and Ethiopian Bekana Daba, 23, 2011 Houston
Marathon winner and course record holder (2:07:04).
One second separated the 2010 masters men's winner forty-five year old
Mbarak Hussein from Albuquerque, N.M., (34:38) and Kenyan James Koskei
(34:39), age 42. They both will be back this year. American running
legends Bill Rodgers, 63, of Sherborn, Mass. and Frank Shorter, also 63, of
Boulder, Colo. will be joining the field.
Defending and eight-time champion, Craig Blanchette, 43, of Battle Group,
Wash., leads the men's wheelchair field. Challengers include two-time
Falmouth winner and course record holder (23:35 set in 2008), Krige
Schabort, 47, from Cedartown, Ga.; three-time Falmouth champion, Tony
Nogueira, 43, from Glen Ridge, N.J.; two-time Falmouth champ, Patrick Doak,
43, from Carlisle, Mass. and Grant Berthiaume, 49, from Tuscon, Ariz.
Defending and four-time winner, Jessica Galli, 27, from Savoy, Ill., leads
the women's wheelchair field. She will be joined by Jacqui Kapinowski, 48,
from Point Pleasant, N.J. and fifteen year old Bridgette Wise from
Pipersville, Pa.
Prize money totaling $116,400 will be paid to the top international and
U.S. finishers, an increase of $14,900 over 2010. The American prize prize
purse is the largest outside a national championship with the male and
female prize totals of $22,350 each. This total will equal the open male
and female prize purse with double-dipping allowed. In addition, the New
Balance Falmouth Road Race male and female wheelchair prize purse has been
increased to $4,250 each from $2,500.
Elite Athlete Lists and Bib Notes
Elite athlete lists as of Aug. 2 are attached to this release. Overall
males and females will have their last name on their white bib. Masters
males and females will have their last names on their yellow bibs and will
have a number on their back. American athletes will have USA on the left
side of the bib. Wheelchair athletes will wear a white bib with their last
name and a number on their helmet. Athlete lists are now posted on the
race website – www.falmouthroadrace.com. Biographical information
available upon request.
About Falmouth Road Race
The New Balance Falmouth Road Race was established in 1973 and has become
one of the premier running events of the summer season. Each year the race
draws an international field of Olympians, elite athletes and recreational
runners out to enjoy the scenic 7-mile seaside course. The non-profit
Falmouth Road Race organization is dedicated to promoting health and
fitness for all in its community. Proceeds from the race each year support
youth athletic programs in the town of Falmouth and other nonprofit
community groups.
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