Projo Running Blog

The Boston Athletic Association provides this story on today's B.A.A. Half Marathon:

Record Field, Record Run Highlight Seventh B.A.A. Half Marathon

3,591 finishers paced by Tom Nyariki's course record

Boston, Mass. - A record field of 3,591 runners completed the seventh annual B.A.A. Half Marathon presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund this morning. Unseasonably balmy weather greeted runners as they made their way to Roberto Clemente Field in the early morning hours, however cooler air blew in by race time, with the temperature sitting at a comfortable 68 degrees when the gun sounded at 8:00 a.m.

The early aggressor in the strong men's field was former Providence College star Martin Fagan (IRL / Flagstaff, AZ), 24, in his half marathon debut. Fagan led the pack through the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7-mile points right on course-record pace. Then defending champion Samuel Ndereba (KEN / Norristown, PA), 30, and Tom Nyariki (KEN / Boulder, CO), 36, took over and quickly strung out the pack with a blazing 4:26 eighth mile.

The final five miles were a two-man race, and Nyariki and Ndereba needed nearly every inch of that distance to decide the winner. As the two men sprinted down the final stretch to the finish at Clemente Field, Nyariki, a past medalist at the World Track & Field Championships, was able to pull ahead for a one-second victory. Both Nyariki (1:02:20) and Ndereba (1:02:21) finished well under the previous course record of 1:02:57 (Luke Metto, 2004).

While the men had a pack of six in the early going, Edna Kiplagat (KEN), 27, and Caroline Chepkorir (KEN), 20, were alone in front of the women's race from the gun. The two matched strides out to the Franklin Park Zoo, reaching the turn-around together and heading back toward the finish. As in the men's race, the decisive move came in the eighth mile as Kiplagat began to ease away from her compatriot, gradually building a lead. Kiplagat broke the tape in 1:13:36, with Chepkorir following 28 seconds behind in 1:14:04, then Kathy Newberry (Williamsburg, VA), 29, rounding out the top three in 1:16:44.

The top three entrants in the men's push rim wheelchair division each owned two previous B.A.A. Half Marathon titles. Timothy Kelly (Weymouth, MA), 40, won in 2001 and 2002, and has competed in all seven editions of the race. Tony Nogueira (Glen Ridge, NJ), 39, took the next two crowns, in 2003 and 2004. In the past two years, Mark Ledo (Maple, Ontario), 30, has taken the title. Emerging from the field to become the division's first three-time champion was Nogueira, who finished in 54:19, the second-fastest winning time in event history. Ledo was runner-up in 56:02, with Kelly third in 1:04:28.

Jacqui Kapinowski (Pt. Pleasant, NJ), 44, won the women's push rim wheelchair division for the first time, finishing in 1:22:17.

Three hundred and ten runners competed for the Dana-Farber Runners, adding to the more than $1.3 million raised by Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund at this event over the past five years.

Full results of the B.A.A. Half Marathon will be available at www.baa.org.

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