BOSTON,
October 12, 2003
- Among the activity surrounding Fenway Park -
home of the Boston Red Sox - this weekend was
the immensely popular B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented
by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy
Fund. A field of 4,095 entrants (with 3,125 starters
and 2996 finishers, including 10 in a push rim
wheelchair division - ran 13.1-miles of Frederick
Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace park system in
Boston and Brookline. The race started and finished
in the Back Bay Fens at Roberto Clemente Field,
and included the Riverway, Jamaicaway, Arborway
and Franklin Park, including ½-mile through
the Franklin Park Zoo. Conditions during the race
were low 50-degrees with misting/light drizzle.
Kenya's Laban
Kipkemboi, 25, -- who was 11th place at
this year's Boston Marathon - won today's Half
Marathon in a time of one hour, three minutes,
four seconds, beating a deep field of international
competitors and taking home his first place share
($5,000) of the $25,000 prize purse. Kipkemboi
beat countrymen John
Kagwe (two-time New York City Marathon
champion) by 11 seconds and third place finisher
Timothy Cherigat,
also of Kenya, by 59 seconds. All three of these
runners used the half marathon as preparation
for next month's New York City Marathon.
Marie
Davenport, 28, of Ireland and who resides
in Chester, Connecticut, was the women's champion
in 1:10:57. The former Providence College star
is an Irish Olympian, but this was her debut at
the half marathon distance. Davenport bolted from
the pack early in the race, extending her lead
by the six mile point. Lioudmila
Kortchaguina, 32, a Russian citizen living
in Toronto, Canada, was runner-up in 1:11:27.
Kortchaguina made an attempt to close the 10-second
gap between her and the front-running Davenport
at mile 10, but Davenport put her away over the
ensuing mile and cruised in with what was essentially
a victory lap around the Fens. Davenport also
won $5,000 for her effort. South African Theresa
Du Toit, 30, who resides in Morris Plains,
NJ, was third in 1:14:34.
Tony
Nogueira, 35, of Glen Ridge, New Jersey
was the men's push rim wheelchair division champion
in 57:43; Nineteen year-old Laurie
Stephens, of Wenham, Mass. was first to
finish in the women's push rim wheelchair division.
Course records were set in all for major divisions
(open men and women; wheelchair men and women).
In addition, Eddy
Hellebuyck, 42, of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
ran 1:05:12, and just missed a new American masters
record for the half marathon distance. (John Tuttle,
of Georgia, ran 1:05:11 at Indy Life in 1999.)
Hellebuyck set an American masters record at the
marathon distance last weekend when he was the
overall champion at Twin Cities in Minnesota (2:12:47).
This year, he has established masters division
records at the following distances: 5K, 10K, 15K,
10-mile, and marathon. Hellebuyck was the top
American at this year's Boston Marathon, finishing
tenth.
Included in the field were Red
Sox wives Dawn
Timlin (wife of Mike), who placed 1001st
(1:50:55); and Kathryn
Nixon (wife of Trot) who placed 1002nd
(1:50:56). Both were running as part of the Dana-Farber
team of runners, who competed and fundraised to
fight cancer. More than 400 Dana-Farber Runners
were among the field.
The race also benefits
the Emerald Necklace Conservancy.
