Strong Runners With Local Ties Return To Boston

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today that four noteworthy distance runners with ties to Boston will compete among the world’s best at the second annual B.A.A. 10K on Sunday, June 24. The race will start and finish on Charles Street between the Public Garden and historic Boston Common. A partial list of the top athletes entered in the race is attached to this release. 

Chris Barnicle, born in Boston and raised in Newton, MA, is a 2005 graduate of Newton North High School. At Newton North, Barnicle was a USA Today All-USA Track & Field team honoree and a Track & Field News All-American. Competing collegiately for the University of Arkansas and the University of New Mexico, Barnicle was a two-time NCAA All-American, specializing in the 5000 meters and 10,000 meters. He now lives and trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 25-year-old recently ran 13:42 for 5000 meters at Stanford University’s Payton Jordan Invitational in April.  

Also with local ties are Tim Ritchie of the B.A.A. and Ruben Sanca. A sub-four minute miler, Ritchie placed fourth at the B.A.A. Invitational Mile in April and finished tenth at last year’s B.A.A. 10K. Sanca, a University of Massachusetts-Lowell graduate originally from Boston, has competed on the world stage before, running the marathon at last year’s IAAF World Championships in South Korea.

Returning to Boston for this year’s B.A.A. 10K will be 2008 Harvard graduate, Lindsey Scherf. At Harvard, Scherf had a standout career, setting a school record at 10,000 meters (32:51). Scherf then went to the University of Oregon for graduate school, where she helped the Ducks to a runner-up finish at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Now based in Fayetteville, NC, Scherf placed fourth at the USA 15K Championships in 51:08 in March, and then in May finished second at the USA 25K Championships. On May 26, Scherf won the Ottawa 10K in 33:11 over a strong field of Kenyans, Ethiopians, and Moroccans.

Four fellow Americans from the North Carolina-based ZAP Fitness Team will join Hartmann, Barnicle, Scherf, and Sanca on the start line. Esther Erb, who placed 12th among women at the B.A.A. 5K, will be joined by her male teammates, Chris Clark, Cole Atkins, and Landon Peacock.

Among the international entrants are Kenyans Samuel Ndereba and Simon Ndirangu, both of whom had success at last year’s B.A.A. 10K, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively. Their countryman, Philip Langat comes into the race boasting a 27:28 personal best for 10K. The Kenyans will square off against a pair of Moroccans in Abderrahime Bouramdane, runner-up in the 2008 Boston Marathon, and Ahmed Baday. Great Britain’s Kate Reed, a 2008 Olympian, is also entered.

This year, the B.A.A. 10K marks the second leg of the inaugural B.A.A. Distance Medley, a three-race series which combines the B.A.A. 5K on April 15, the B.A.A. 10K on June 24, and the B.A.A. Half Marathon on October 7. The overall male and female winners of the three-race series, determined by the lowest cumulative time, will each receive $100,000. 

Several of the world’s best runners who are competing in the B.A.A. Distance Medley will line up on Charles Street for the second annual B.A.A. 10K. Among the B.A.A. Distance Medley entrants are 14-time NCAA All-American Sam Chelanga, recent Bolder Boulder 10K champion Allan Kiprono, B.A.A. 5K third place finisher Lani Rutto, and 2011 B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Ali Abdosh. On the women’s side, 2011 B.A.A. 10K runner-up Kim Smith returns, as does Ethiopia’s Aheza Kiros, who was second at the B.A.A. 5K. Jelliah Tinega, who finished eighth at the B.A.A. 5K, also will return to Boston’s Back Bay.

Rounding out the highly competitive B.A.A. 10K field will be several recent Boston Marathon champions and contenders. The B.A.A. previously announced that Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai, the world’s fastest marathoner, will seek to defend his B.A.A. 10K title against this talented field, which includes 2012 Boston Marathon runner-up Levy Matebo, also of Kenya. Mutai won the 2011 Boston Marathon in 2:03:02, the fastest marathon ever run under any conditions. On the women’s side, 2012 Boston Marathon champion Sharon Cherop will challenge compatriot Caroline Kilel, the 2011 Boston Marathon champion and reigning B.A.A. 10K winner, for the women’s title.

The second annual B.A.A. 10K begins at 8:00 a.m. on Charles Street in Boston, as the top athletes compete for a prize purse of nearly $30,000. The 6.2-mile course is a scenic tour through Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. Starting on Charles Street, the race winds down picturesque Commonwealth Avenue and Bay State Road as far west as Babcock Street near Boston University, before heading back on Commonwealth Avenue, around the Public Garden, and finishing on Charles Street. Registration for the B.A.A. 10K remains open, at www.baa.org/races/10k.

MEN'S ELITE FIELD (as of June 12, 2012)
CLICK ON HIGHLIGHTED NAMES FOR MORE

WOMEN'S ELITE FIELD (as of June 12, 2012)
CLICK ON HIGHLIGHTED NAMES FOR MORE

** B.A.A. Distance Medley participant; intending to participate in the B.A.A.’s three race series (B.A.A. 5K, B.A.A. 10K, and B.A.A. Half Marathon)
( ) Track Performance

Media Contact:
B.A.A.: Marc Davis (617-778-1633; mobile: 703-439-0751; mdavis@baa.org)