FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi Headlines
Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon
Bay Area Olympian Magdalena Lewy-Boulet leads the women's field
San Jose, CA – September 29, 2009 – Meb Keflezighi, who earlier this year
won the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in Houston, will line up as the
favorite in this weekend's Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in San Jose. The
fourth annual road race is scheduled to start at 8:00 am Sunday, October 4,
near San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose.
Known as California's fastest half-marathon, the event is the home to both
the men's and women's state half-marathon records. Leading the race will be
a field of California's fastest men and women, with over half of the prize
purse dedicated to Northern California competitors.
In 2004, Keflezighi, of Mammoth Lakes, California, became the first
American man to win an Olympic marathon medal since Frank Shorter captured
the silver in 1976. The same year he followed up his Olympic performance
with a second-place finish at the ING New York City Marathon, establishing
himself as one of the U.S.'s premier distance runners.
"The Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in San Jose comes at the right time in my
training for the upcoming ING New York City Marathon," said Keflezighi. "I
hope to run strong and finish the race, unlike my attempt in 2006. I would
like to have a positive outcome, hopefully a new personal best time and a
victory."
At the inaugural Rock 'n' Roll San Jose in 2006, Keflezighi suffered a
hamstring cramp heading into the 11th mile and decided to pull off the
course. He was in third place at the time, having gone through 10 miles at
46:45, one of the fastest times ever by an American for that distance.
Kenya's Duncan Kibet won the inaugural race in a time of 1 hour, 22
seconds, a mark which still stands as the California state half-marathon
record. Kibet has gone on to become the second fastest man ever to run a
marathon when he won the 2009 Rotterdam marathon in 2:04:27, the fastest
marathon in the world this year.
Keflezighi will face strong competition Sunday from UC Berkley graduate
Bolota Asmerom. Asmerom, a three-year letter winner in track for Cal,
finished 10th at last year's ING New York City Marathon. While still in
college, his duel citizenship allowed him to represent Eritrea in the
5,000m at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Other contenders expected to challenge for the podium are Americans Luke
Humphrey and Josh Cox. Humphrey runs with the Hansons-Brooks Distance
Project in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Last year he finished eleventh at the
ING New York City Marathon.
Cox, who currently trains with Keflezighi and the Mammoth Lakes Track Club,
is a three-time Olympic Trials qualifier and three-time U.S. National Team
member. Last January, he broke the American 50k record by over four minutes
at the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon and Half Marathon.
The women's elite field will be led by Beijing Olympian Magdalena
Lewy-Boulet. An Oakland resident, Lewy-Boulet made her Olympic debut for
the U.S. last summer in the women's marathon after finishing second at the
2008 U.S. Olympic Trials where she set a personal best time of 2:30:19. She
recently finished third at the U.S. 20 km Championships in New Haven, Conn.
The entire field will be introduced at the race weekend media briefing
Friday, October 2 at 1:00 pm. The briefing will take place at the Plaza de
Caesar Chavez in downtown San Jose adjacent to the finish line, with media
credentials and race day parking passes available for pick-up.
"The fast course has made San Jose one of the hot spots to set a
half-marathon PR and we're delighted the race continues to remain so
attractive to both professional and recreational runners," said Shannon
Davis, Event Manager. "While online registration has closed, there is still
an opportunity to register for this weekend's race in person at the two-day
Health and Fitness expo."
Race registration is available at the Health and Fitness Expo Friday,
October 2, 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm and Saturday, October 3, from 9:00 am to 5:00
pm. The free expo is open to the public and will showcase the latest in
running products and services, with presentations from fitness experts.
For more information on the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in San Jose, please
visit http://san-jose.competitor.com or call 800-311-1255.
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