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For Immediate Release:
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Photo credit: Toni Reavis
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Kogo, Huddle Headline Speedy Fields for New Balance Falmouth Road Race
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Stephen Sambu, Mary Wacera Join Meb Keflezighi In Pursuit of $10,000 First Prize
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FALMOUTH, MA (July 29, 2014)— The second-fastest 10K athlete in history, the fastest 10K runner in the world so far this year, and the new American Record-holder for a women-only 10K join 2014 Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi in headlining the 42nd Race, race organizers announced today.
They, along with the rest of the elite-athlete field, will be vying for a share of the $89,500 in total prize money awarded to top finishers in the 7-mile race from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights, which begins at 9:00 AM Sunday, August 17, and the Falmouth Mile, which kicks off at 5:00 PM on Saturday, August 16, at the James Kalperis Track at Falmouth High School. Rosters for the Mile will be announced soon.
On the men’s side, two-time New Balance Falmouth Road Race champion Micah Kogo returns to defend his title. The 28-year-old Kenyan will seek to become just the fourth man (after Bill Rodgers, John Korir, and Gilbert Okari) to win here for a third time. A former World Record-holder at 10K, whose time of 27:01 still makes him the second-fastest man in history, Kogo is also the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist at 10,000 meters.
Kogo’s most-serious threat may come from compatriot Stephen Sambu (28, Tucson AZ), whose time of 27:25 in winning the B.A.A. 10K in Boston last month is the fastest in the world so far this year. En route, Sambu ran the fastest 8K (22:02) ever recorded on U.S. soil. Challenging them will be Kogo’s training partner Emmanuel Bett, who ran the fastest 10,000 meters (26:51.16) in the world for 2012, and Kennedy Kithuka, the 2012 NCAA Cross Country Champion.
Leading the Americans will be the previously announced Meb Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist and the first American man to win the Boston Marathon since Greg Meyer in 1983. He will be joined by fellow 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon teammate Abdi Abdirahman (37, Tucson AZ), a four-time Olympian and 10-time USA Champion on the roads; Chris Solinsky (29, Portland OR), a former American Record-holder at 10,000 meters; and Ben Bruce (31, Flagstaff AZ), who has represented the U.S. on world championships teams in the 3000-meter steeplechase, half-marathon, and cross country.
Headlining the women’s field is American Molly Huddle (29, Providence RI), who is in the midst of a sensational stretch of success. Last November, she became the fastest woman in history at 12K (37:50) and followed that up in June by breaking the American Record for a women-only 10K when running of the New Balance Falmouth Road she won the Oakley New York Mini 10K in 31:37, the first American victor since 2004. Then, earlier this month, Huddle broke her own American Record for 5000 meters on the track, running 14:42:64 in Monaco. Along the way, she has set personal bests this year at seven distances, from the mile to the half marathon. Just last weekend, Huddle won the USA 7-Mile Championships in 36:13, which coincidentally equals the fastest time ever run by an American in Falmouth (Lynn Jennings, 1992).
Kenya’s Mary Wacera, 25, is also ripping through the roads this year, winning a silver medal at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in March and following that up with victories at the World’s Best 10K in February, the Bloomsday Run 12K in May, and the Utica Boilermaker 15K earlier this month. Meanwhile, countrywoman and three-time NCAA Champion Betsy Saina (26, Colorado Springs CO), owns the third-fastest 10K time in the world this year (31:10).
Returning to Falmouth is last year’s surprise runner-up, Gemma Steel of Great Britain. Steel, 28, is a two-time European Cross-Country Championships medalist who has five victories already this year and finished third in the highly competitive Oakley New York Mini 10K in June. For a return to the podium, however, Steel will have to get past the rest of a strong and deep field that includes two-time Olympian Diane Nukuri-Johnson of Burundi (29, Iowa City IA); Kenya’s Risper Gesabwa (25, Marietta GA) who has had six podium finishes on the U.S. roads this year; Alexi Pappas (24, Eugene OR) last year’s top American finisher here; and Jordan Hasay (22, Portland OR), the former prep phenom who has posted back-to-back runner-up finishes at 10,000 meters at USA Outdoor Nationals. Hasay, who has set personal bests at all eight distances she has contested this year, from 800m indoors to 10,000m, is coached by two-time Falmouth Road Race winner Alberto Salazar.
Heading up the master’s fields will be Kevin Castille, Mbarak Hussein, Jen Rhines, and Melody Fairchild. Castille (42, Lafayette LA), who holds U.S. master’s records at 10,000 meters and 10 miles, was the outright winner of a half marathon in Eugene, OR, last weekend in 1:05:28. Hussein (49, Albuquerque NM), holds the U.S. master’s records for 12K, 25K, the half marathon, and marathon. Rhines (40, Boston MA), a three-time Olympian, joined the master’s ranks on July 1 and has since won titles at the AJC Peachtree Road Race 10K and Utica Boilermaker 15K. Fairchild (40, Boulder CO), is the 2013 USA Master’s Champion at 5K, 15K, and the Trail Half Marathon, and runner-up in the 2014 Master’s Half-Marathon Championships.
The 42nd running of the New Balance Falmouth Road Race will begin at 9:00 AM on Sunday, August 17, 2014. For more information, please visit our website at www.falmouthitf.wpengine.com; our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/falmouthroadrace; and our Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/FalmouthRR.
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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 and recreational runners out to enjoy the iconic 7-mile seaside course. The non-profit Falmouth Road Race organization is committed to promoting health and fitness through community programs and philanthropic giving.
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