FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Deena Kastor, Mara Yamauchi, Kiyoko Shimahara, and Madaí Pérez to Headline
Women's Field at NYC Half-Marathon
Leading ladies to compete in fifth annual race on Sunday, March 21
New York, February 24, 2010—A quartet of the world's most dominant female
long-distance runners: 2004 Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor
of Mammoth Lakes, CA, 2008 Olympian Mara Yamauchi of Great Britain, 2009
Hokkaido Marathon champion Kiyoko Shimahara of Japan, and 2008 NYC
Half-Marathon runner-up Madaí Pérez of Mexico, will meet in New York on
Sunday, March 21, to compete in the first spring running of the NYC
Half-Marathon, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president
and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
Both Yamauchi and Kastor, the 2006 London Marathon champion, will be using
the 13.1-mile race as a final tune-up for the Virgin London Marathon in
April.
"The woman's lineup is now jam-packed with some of the world's greatest
runners including American veteran Deena and international stars like Mara,
Kiyoko, and Madaí," said Wittenberg. "The race will only up the intrigue
leading into the spring marathons."
American marathon record-holder and three-time Olympian Kastor, 37,
competed in the summer edition of the NYC Half-Marathon in 2009, finishing
in seventh place (1:13:47). Earlier this year, Kastor made her 2010 racing
debut, winning the P.F. Chang's Rock ‘n' Roll Half-Marathon held in Phoenix
in 1:09:43.
"This fits perfectly into my preparations. I look forward to testing my
fitness on the roads of New York City," said Kastor. "New York Road Runners
always attracts the best distance runners in the world to their events, and
the NYC Half-Marathon is no exception."
The Japan-based Yamauchi, 36, who represents Great Britain, will be making
her NYC Half-Marathon debut. The 2009 London Marathon runner-up and 2008
Olympian finished sixth in the Marugame Half-Marathon earlier this year in
her first race since a foot injury prevented her from competing in the
World Championships in Berlin last summer. The injury was a momentary
setback for Yamauchi, who scored victories in the 2009 Matsue Half-Marathon
and 2009 Marugame Half-Marathon.
"The atmosphere and support in New York is fantastic. I am really looking
forward to racing against top-level competitors in this event," said
Yamauchi. "This will be my final tune-up, so I can sharpen my race tactics
before heading to London."
One of Japan's strongest competitors, Shimahara, 33, of Tokyo, will be
making her second appearance in the NYC Half-Marathon—she finished 10th in
2008. In 2009, Shimahara won the Hokkaido Marathon and finished second in
the Yokohama Marathon and Honolulu Marathon.
Pérez, 30, of Mexico City, will be making her third appearance in the NYC
Half-Marathon after finishing fifth in 2007 and second in 2008 in a
personal best time of 1:10:26. The Mexican record-holder in the marathon
(2:22:59), Perez is coming back from maternity leave; she had her second
child last year.
On the American side, Sally Meyerhoff, 26, of Scottsdale, AZ, who was the
2009 USA 25K Championship runner-up, will make her NYC Half-Marathon debut.
Representing ZAP Fitness/Reebok, Jessica Minty, 25, of Blowing Rock, NC,
who placed 12th at the USA Half-Marathon Championship earlier this year,
also joins the field.
Previously announced, the NYC Half-Marathon will offer the largest
half-marathon prize purse in the United States: $100,000. The men's and
women's champions will each earn $20,000, the largest first-prize checks
for a non-marathon race in the country.
The NYC Half-Marathon continues to attract leading professional athletes
and recreational runners from around the world. In 2009, more than 19,000
people applied to run the race, and more than 10,000 finished.
On a course designed to celebrate New York City, the NYC Half-Marathon will
take runners on a loop through Central Park, down Seventh Avenue through
Times Square, across 42nd Street, and along the expansive West Side Highway
to Chambers Street in the heart of the city's financial district.
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