Received: 5/27/09 1:18 PM
From: Sara Hunninghake, [email protected]
To: Sara Hunninghake, [email protected]
Contacts:
Sara Hunninghake 212.423.2258 | [email protected]
Meghan Chisholm 212.423.2203 | [email protected]
Media Relations Department, New York Road Runners
For Immediate Release
Olympic Medalists Deena Kastor and Catherine Ndereba Headline 2009 NYRR New York Mini 10K
Americans Magdalena Lewy Boulet, Amy Rudolph, and Sara Slattery and
Japan's Yuri Kano to also compete in the original women-only road race
New York, May 27, 2009-Olympic medalists Deena Kastor and Catherine
Ndereba will return to the hills of Central Park in search of a victory
at the NYRR New York Mini 10K on Sunday, June 7, it was announced today
by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
An experienced field of American and international stars headline the
38th running of the world's original women-only road race, which also
features a solid supporting cast in Americans Magdalena Lewy Boulet, Amy
Rudolph, and Sara Slattery and Japan's Yuri Kano. Five Olympians are in
the field: Kastor, Ndereba, Lewy Boulet, Rudolph, and South Africa's René
Kalmer.
"For more than three decades the Mini has been the world's premier
all-women race, and this year's competitive line-up continues this grand
tradition," Wittenberg said. "With Deena being the only former champion
in the field, a victory in this year's race could be an exclamation point
on somebody's career."
Kastor, 36, of Mammoth Lakes, CA, is the race favorite, having already
gotten off to a hot start in 2009 with victories in the Bank of America
Shamrock Shuffle in March and the BUPA Great Edinburgh Run in May. A
three-time Olympian, Kastor was forced to drop out of the 2008 Olympic
marathon at 5K with a broken foot. She took time off in the fall to heal,
and now will be seeking her second NYRR New York Mini 10K title; she
first won the race in 2004.
"I am so excited to be returning to New York for what is one of my
favorite road races of the season," Kastor said. "The Mini always
attracts a great field of elite athletes as well as an empowered field of
women ready to take on this challenging Central Park course. As usual,
New York Road Runners has put together an impressive field so I'll have
my work cut out for me."
Ndereba, 36, who represents Kenya and lives in Nairobi, is a two-time
Olympic marathon silver medalist and a two-time World Champion in the
marathon. One of the most celebrated female international road racers of
all time, Ndereba returns to the hills of Central Park with an advantage
as the two-time champion in the NYC Half-Marathon. Earlier this year, she
finished seventh in the Flora London Marathon.
Lewy Boulet, 35, of Oakland, CA, will be competing in her fifth New York
Mini, having narrowly missed the podium in 2008 with a fourth-place
finish. The 2008 Olympian in the marathon returns to New York just over a
month after her victory in the More Magazine | Fitness Magazine
Half-Marathon in April. In January, Lewy Boulet won the USA Half-Marathon
Championships, her first national title. A native of Poland, Lewy Boulet
balances her professional running career while serving as a full-time
assistant coach at the University of California at Berkeley and raising
her 4-year-old son, Owen, with husband Richie Boulet, a former
world-class miler.
Rudolph, 35, of Providence, RI, is a two-time Olympian in the 5000
meters. Slattery, 27, of Phoenix, AZ, was the 2007 Pan American Games
gold medalist in the 10,000 meters. Kano, 30, of Tokyo, is one of Japan's
top marathoners and road racers. Kalmer, 28, of Johannesburg, represented
South Africa in the 1500 meters at the 2008 Olympic Games. Also entered
is Kelly Jaske, 32, of Portland, OR, a Harvard-educated lawyer who just
started running competitively; she was the runner-up to Lewy Boulet in
the half-marathon championships.
Four-time champion Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands was expected to vie
for her record-tying fifth Mini title, but a previous injury to her right
knee flared up after competing in the World's Best 10K in Puerto Rico in
March.
The top female runners will be vying for a prize purse of $35,000-with
the winner taking home $10,000-in addition to $10,000 in money earmarked
for Americans. Founded by NYRR in 1972, the Mini got its name when race
founder Fred Lebow convinced the first sponsor to support a six-mile
"mini" marathon-named for the miniskirt, which was then in fashion-rather
than a full marathon. The first race featured 78 participants; the Mini
has been on the NYRR calendar ever since.
New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners, founded in 1958, is dedicated to promoting the
sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and
responding to community needs. Our road races and other fitness programs
draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with our magazine
and website support and promote professional and recreational running. A
staff of more than 100, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the
ING New York City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend
plus many track and cross country events. NYRR's home base in New York,
and its lifelong identification with Central Park, have given many of its
events iconic status, attracting the world's top professional runners.
Our youth programs provide running to some 75,000 schoolchildren in New
York City, around the country, and in South Africa who would otherwise
have few or no fitness opportunities. For more information, visit
www.nyrr.org.
##
