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+--- Thread: Keflezighi, Kastor Announce ING New York City Marathon Return (/Thread-Keflezighi-Kastor-Announce-ING-New-York-City-Marathon-Return)
Keflezighi, Kastor Announce ING New York City Marathon Return - TheEd - 08-04-2010
NEW YORK - (April 7, 2010) - Americans Meb Keflezighi, the ING New York City Marathon 2009 champion, and Deena Kastor, the nation's finest female long distance runner of the past decade, were announced for this year's ING New York City Marathon, along with the first runners selected from the lottery, by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg on Wednesday, April 7, in the first-ever live streaming of the lottery selection.
The lottery show, seen at http://www.nyrr.org was hosted by veteran sports announcer Bruce Beck and Wittenberg from the Parker Meridien Hotel overlooking Central Park. The announcement is accompanied by a flurry of activities in the opening strides in the seven-month countdown to the race on Sunday, November 7. A series of launch parties hosted by NYRR and open to runners, friends, family, and fans as part of the debut of the "I'm In. We're In." marketing platform will be held this evening. Three new multi-year marathon sponsors - Unilever, Nissan and Tata Consultancy Services - were announced earlier in the week.
"With Meb's win last year and Deena's gutsy efforts over the years, they have become part of the magic and history of our marathon," said Wittenberg. "We are so pleased to welcome them back today, as we warmly welcome runners from around the globe to our ING NYC Marathon 2010."
Keflezighi, 34, returns after last year's historic triumph, when he became the first American winner of the race in the 27 years since Alberto Salazar's three-peat in 1982. Keflezighi's victory, in a personal best time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 15 seconds, was the pinnacle of an already illustrious marathon career that began with his debut in New York in 2002 and was highlighted by his silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympic Marathon. Keflezighi will be one of the top contenders in this month's Boston Marathon.
"The ING New York City Marathon has been the core race in my marathon career," said Keflezighi, who will be making his sixth start in New York. "I came back several times looking for that elusive victory and I finally got it. I hope that my victory on November 1, 2009 teaches us that while we may not accomplish our dreams and goals overnight, we need to stay committed."
Kastor, 37, made her marathon debut in New York in 2001 and will be making her fourth start in the five-borough challenge; her best finish has been her sixth place in 2006. The 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist, Kastor has won World Marathon Majors titles in Chicago and London. She is one of the leading contenders in this month's Virgin London Marathon.
"I was brought to tears when Meb won [last year] against a stellar field of the world's best, and I'm inspired to commit to succeeding in New York come November," said Kastor. "The ING New York City Marathon is a perfect representation of the diversity that the city is known for, and it's wonderful to be part of such high-spirited celebration of running."
More than 120,000 applications - the most in history - were received by New York Road Runners officials, who plan for a starting field of between 42,000 and 43,000. This is the fourth consecutive year in which 100,000 or more applications have been received for the five-borough race.
"A quantum leap in the number of marathon applicants, in the midst of the recession, speaks volumes about the importance of the ING New York City Marathon in the lives of so many," said Wittenberg.
Reflecting the worldwide interest in the race, the list of the first entrants announced spans the globe - from Oslo, Norway, to Eugene, Oregon and from São Paulo, Brazil, to Portland, Maine. The first lottery winners named were Victoria Salbu of Oslo, Norway; Rebecca Slater of Oxford, United Kingdom; Gustavo Bueno of São Paulo, Brazil; Seiichi Tanabe of Tokyo, Japan; Trae Richardson of Eugene, OR; Jordon Medeiros of Detroit, MI; Dr. William Burnett of Dallas, TX; Meredith Pendleton of Portland, ME and Lynn Berman of New York City, NY.
The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon is one of the world's great road races, attracts many world class professional athletes, not only for the more than $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and more than 300 million worldwide television viewers. As any one of the nearly 788,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime.