by Larry Eder
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is just over one week away, and we are counting down the days! I love the B of A Chicago Marathon, and have had the privilege of writing on the race for over a decade now!
The team at B of A Chicago have put together a superb field on both the men and women’s sides. Sammy Wanjiru is back to training well and will be defending, so he should be hard to beat. Nick Arcinaga, who ran 2:11 at RNR last June, has been running well and could run a nice Personal Best here. Jason Hartman, a former Duck with a pb just over 2:12 could also surprise. Also, never, ever discount Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, who will also be running the streets of Chicago.
On the women’s side, Irina Mitkentenko, the Berlin and London champion, will make the women’s race a real battle. But, my money is on Liliya Shobukhova, who won Chicago and London last year. Shobukhova is the former European record holder for 5,000 meters and just has that advantage of speed over the last 3-5k.
Desiree Davila, the American who ran 8:51 for 3,000m indoors at the world indoor champs, 32:22 for third at USA Outdoor for the 10,000 meters, could break the 2:25 barrier this year. Watch for Magdelene Lewy Boulet, who looks like a 2:24:30 marathoner with her strong fitness level. Zoila Gomez is my other pick for a strong showing, she could drop five minutes off her personal best, with a 2:27 in Chicago, this time around.
See many of you in Chicago next weekend! RBR will begin coverage from the press conference on Thursday!
2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon Features Strongest Elite Field in Event History
Deriba Merga and Feyisa Lilesa Round Out Men’s Field
McFadden Returns to Defend Wheelchair Title; Van Dyk to Make Chicago Debut
CHICAGO –
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon today announced its
complete 2010 men’s and women’s elite field. The additions of
Ethiopians Deriba Merga and Feyisa Lilesa to the men’s competition
significantly strengthen what was already shaping up to be the top
field in the event’s 33-year history. Merga, the 2009 Boston Marathon
champion, and Lelisa, who has a personal best 2:05:23, will join forces
with defending Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion Sammy Wanjiru
of Kenya, London Marathon champion Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia and
Boston Marathon champion Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot of Kenya.
A
trio of Ethiopian athletes will take the women’s competition to new
heights as well: Astede Baysa, the two-time Paris Marathon champion,
Askale Tafa Magarsa, runner-up at the 2008 Berlin Marathon, and Mamitu
Daksa, the 2010 Dubai Marathon champion, have been added to a field
that already includes defending Bank of America Chicago Marathon
champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia, London and Berlin Marathon
champion Irina Mikitenko of Germany, and top American Magdalena
Lewy-Boulet.
“The
best field in Bank of America Chicago Marathon race history just got
even better,” said Executive Race Director Carey Pinkowski. “The depth
of talent in the marathon is at an all-time high at the national and
international levels. These athletes are hungry to compete against one
another and this year’s field will bring a new level of excitement to
the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. The stage is set for a historic
race on 10-10-10.”
The
welcoming of Merga adds even more intrigue to the race’s impact on the
2009-2010 World Marathon Majors series standings as third-ranked Merga
(35 points) is one of the only athletes in reach of surpassing
top-ranked Wanjiru and Kebede (50 points each) before the series
concludes in November in New York.
Twenty-year-old
Lilesa is one of the most exiting young athletes in the sport. He ran
near-world record pace through 35 kilometers at the Rotterdam Marathon
in April before finishing fourth in 2:05:23, making him the youngest
man in history to break 2:06 for the marathon.
Additional
entrants in the men’s field include Kenya’s Shadrack Biwott, former
standout at the University of Oregon and brother of Duncan Kibet, the
second fastest marathon runner of all time; Kenya’s Wesley Korir,
two-time Los Angeles Marathon champion; Ethiopia’s Negari Terfa, third
place finisher at the 2009 Berlin Marathon; and American Nick
Arciniaga, who ran 2:11:46 at the San Diego Marathon, the fourth-ranked
time in the U.S. for 2010.
Elite Wheelchair Competition
The elite wheelchair competition welcomes back defending champion Tatyana McFadden of the United States to the women’s race.
McFadden,
a member of the University of Illinois racing team, shocked the field
last year in her marathon debut, outsprinting a field of seasoned
veterans in the closest finish in the event’s history with the top five
women all finishing within three seconds of one another. McFadden will
be challenged by her University of Illinois teammate, Amanda McGrory,
the 2007 and 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion.
South Africa’s Ernst Van Dyk highlights the men’s elite
wheelchair race. Van Dyk, who will be making his first appearance in
Chicago, has notched marathon victories world-wide, including New York
City, Paris, Los Angeles and Boston, where he is the event’s most
decorated champion with nine victories. Van Dyk’s toughest competition
will come from another Bank of America Chicago Marathon newcomer, Heinz
Frei of Switzerland, one of the sport’s great champions and recorder of
the fastest time ever achieved on a flat course marathon (1:20:14).
Frei is a three-time winner of the London Marathon and a 14-time
Paralympic Games gold medalist.
A complete roster of elite athletes for the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon follows:
Men
Name Country Personal Record
Sammy Wanjiru KEN 2:05:10
Vincent Kipruto KEN 2:05:13
Tsegaye Kebede ETH 2:05:18
Feyisa Lilesa ETH 2:05:23
Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot KEN 2:05:52
Deriba Merga ETH 2:06:38
Negari Terfa ETH 2:07:41
Wesley Korir KEN 2:08:24
Laban Moiben KEN 2:09:43
Ridouane Harroufi MAR 2:10:14
Nick Arciniaga USA 2:11:46
Jason Hartmann USA 2:12:09
Justin Young USA 2:13:52
Chad Johnson USA 2:15:03
Mike Morgan USA 2:15:11
Luke Humphrey USA 2:15:22
Patrick Rizzo USA 2:15:48
Mike Sayenko USA 2:16:38
Fasil Bizuneh USA 2:16:47
James Carney USA 2:16:54
Boaz Cheboiywo KEN 2:21:40
Shadrack Biwott KEN Debut
Juan Carlos Romero MEX Debut
Women
Name Country Personal Record
Irina Mikitenko GER 2:19:19
Askale Tafa Magarsa ETH 2:21:31
Naoko Sakamoto JPN 2:21:51
Liliya Shobukhova RUS 2:22:00
Atsede Baysa ETH 2:22:04
Mamitu Daska ETH 2:24:19
Lidiya Grigoryeva RUS 2:25:10
Magdalena Lewy-Boulet USA 2:26:22
Colleen De Reuck USA 2:26:35
Desiree Davila USA 2:27:53
Liz Yelling GBR 2:28:33
Kaori Yoshida JPN 2:30:58
Melissa White USA 2:32:55
Tera Moody USA 2:32:59
Zoila Gomez USA 2:33:53
Dot McMahan USA 2:35:02
Maria Konovalova RUS 2:35:21
Erin Moeller USA 2:36:51
Andrea Pomaranski USA 2:37:44
Fiona Docherty NZL 2:37:55
Kim Duclos USA 2:38:21
Jennifer Houck USA 2:39:02
Jia Chaofeng CHN 2:40:33
Diane Nukuri-Johnson BDI Debut
Molly Pritz USA Debut
Wheelchair Men
Name Country
Adam Bleakney USA
Rafel Botello ESP
Heinz Frei SUI
Joshua George USA
Tony Iniguez USA
Saul Mendoza MEX
Santiago Sanz ESP
Masazumi Soejima JPN
Ernst Van Dyk RSA
Wheelchair Women
Name Country
Kelsey LeFevour USA
Maggie Frederick USA
Tatyana McFadden USA
Amanda McGrory USA
About the Bank of America Chicago Marathon
In its 33rd year and a member of the World Marathon
Majors, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon annually attracts 45,000
participants, including a world class elite field and a world class
elite wheelchair field, and 1.7 million spectators. As a result of its
national and international draw, the iconic race assists in raising $10
million for a variety of charitable causes while generating a $150
million economic impact to its host city according to a report by the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Regional Economics
Applications Laboratory (R.E.A.L.). The 2010 Bank of America Chicago
Marathon will start and finish in Chicago’s Grant Park beginning at
7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 10. In advance of the race, a two-day
Health & Fitness Expo will be held at McCormick Place Convention
Center on Friday, October 8 and Saturday, October 9. More information
on the race and how to get involved is available at the event Web site,
chicagomarathon.com.
