World’s Fastest Marathoner to Run B.A.A. 10K

Geoffrey Mutai, World’s Fastest Marathoner, To Defend Title at
B.A.A. 10K on June 24

 

Women’s Race Features Matchup of Two Most Recent Boston Marathon
Champions

BOSTON ‰ÛÓ The Boston Athletic
Association (B.A.A.) today announced that Geoffrey Mutai, the world’s
fastest marathoner, will defend his title at the second annual B.A.A. 10K on
Sunday, June 24. Defending B.A.A. 10K champion, Caroline Kilel will square off
with reigning Boston Marathon champion Sharon Cherop. The race starts and
finishes on Charles Street
between the Public
Garden and historic
Boston Common. A partial list of elite athlete biographies is attached to this
release.

 

At the 2011 Boston Marathon, Geoffrey Mutai, of Kenya, secured his place in Boston
Marathon history by running the world’s fastest marathon ever run under
any conditions in a time of 2:03:02. His time was nearly three minutes faster
than the previous course record, and it was 57 seconds faster than anyone had
ever run the distance. He returned to Boston
two months later and won the inaugural B.A.A. 10K. With a time of 27:19 at the
B.A.A. 10K, Mutai won over Gebre Gebremariam, of Ethiopia,
by 52 seconds and ran one of the fastest 10K ever run in the United States. He started this
year’s Boston Marathon but did not finish the race.

 

In the women’s race, the two most recent Boston Marathon champions
will go head-to-head. Defending B.A.A. 10K champion Caroline Kilel, of Kenya,
won the 2011 Boston Marathon in 2:22:36 with a thrilling sprint finish. She was
just two seconds ahead of American Desiree Davila and six seconds ahead of
Sharon Cherop, of Kenya.
At last year’s 10K, Kilel went on to win in 31:58 over runner-up Kim
Smith, of New Zealand.
Kilel and Cherop faced each other again in this year’s Boston Marathon,
but it was Cherop who prevailed, using a well-timed finishing kick to defeat
Jemima Jelagat Sumgong, of Kenya.

 

Also joining the B.A.A. 10K field from this year’s Boston Marathon
is men’s runner-up, Levy Matebo, of Kenya. After the men’s lead
pack passed the 17-mile mark, Matebo and Mathew Kisorio, of Kenya, began to increase the pace,
quickly opening up a gap on the pack. The two ran side by side through 20
miles, when Kisorio began to fall off the pace. Despite the 150-meter lead
Matebo had established, he could not hold off a late charge by the eventual
champion, Wesley Korir, also of Kenya.
A bold front-runner, Matebo’s racing style will add excitement to the
B.A.A. 10K.

 

“We are excited to welcome back these great and gracious champions
as they return to compete against some of the world’s best
runners,” said Tom Grilk, Executive Director of the B.A.A. “Their
displays of courage and sheer endurance inspire us all, and we are grateful
that they have decided to take part in the newest addition to our calendar of
world class road races: the B.A.A. 10K, the second race of the inaugural B.A.A.
Distance Medley.”

 

The B.A.A. 10K begins at 8:00 a.m. on Charles Street in Boston, and top athletes will 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. The field is limited to 6,000 entrants, but there is
still space left. To register, please visit www.baa.org/races/10k.

 

 

Partial List of
Elite Athlete Biographies

 

MEN

GEOFFREY MUTAI (Eldoret, Kenya) ‰ÛÓ 10K Personal Best: 27:19

At the 2011 Boston Marathon,
Geoffrey Mutai ran the fastest marathon in history.  Without the aid of
pacesetters, he led eight men under 2:08. After his Boston
win, Mutai continued to break barriers as he notched a 2:05:06 course record
this past fall in New York City.
With those titles, he became the first man in history to break course records
in Boston and New York City in the same year. The defending
B.A.A. 10K champion set his personal best in last year’s race. Mutai
currently sits in first place on the 2011 ‰ÛÓ 2012 World Marathon
Majors leaderboard despite dropping out of this year’s Boston Marathon.
He is married and has two daughters named Ivy and Marieke.

 

LEVY MATEBO (Trans Nozoia, Kenya) ‰ÛÓ 10K Personal Best:
27:55

Matebo was the runner-up at the 2012 Boston Marathon in 2:13:06. After
holding the lead for several miles in the latter stages of the race, he was
overtaken by Wesley Korir nearly one mile from the finish. His personal best
marathon came at the 2011 Frankfurt Marathon, where he placed second in
2:05:16. He also won the Barcelona Marathon in 2:07:31 on March 11, 2011.
Matebo set his 10K personal best in Nice,
France on April
17, 2011.

 

WOMEN

SHARON CHEROP (Marakwet, Kenya) ‰ÛÓ 10K Personal Best: 31:31

Listed as one of the top marathoners in the world in the past two years,
Cherop won the 2012 Boston Marathon by two seconds with a well-timed kick. At
the 2012 Dubai Marathon, she set her personal best time of 2:22:39. She has
also placed third at the 2011 IAAF World Championships Marathon and the 2011
Boston Marathon. She is currently in third place on the 2011 ‰ÛÓ 2012 World
Marathon Majors leaderboard, 15 points behind
Mary Keitany. She set her 10K personal best in New Delhi, India
in November of 2011.  Cherop is married to Matthew Bowen, who is a 2:10
marathoner himself, and the couple has a daughter named Natalia.

 

CAROLINE KILEL (Bomet,
Kenya) ‰ÛÓ 10K Personal Best: 31:36

In an enthralling sprint finish against American Desiree Davila and
Kenyan Sharon Cherop, Kilel triumphed, winning the 2011 Boston Marathon in a
personal best 2:22:36. She returned to Boston,
winning the inaugural B.A.A. 10K in 31:58. Later in 2011, she finished sixth at
the New York City Marathon.  Kilel set her 10K personal best in Groesbeek, Netherlands
in June of 2009. She
lives and trains in Kericho, with her husband Vincent Kipkemoi, also a runner,
and their son Trevis Kipngeno.

 

 

About the B.A.A.:
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit
organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy
lifestyle through sports, especially running. Now in its 125th
anniversary year, the B.A.A. manages a comprehensive schedule of youth-running
events, distance running training programs and large-scale races in the city of
Boston. Most
noteworthy is the Boston Marathon,
the world’s most prestigious and oldest continually run marathon. Since the
inaugural race in 1897, the Boston Marathon has been the pinnacle for distance running
worldwide, a position which was reinforced in 1986 with the help of principal
sponsor John Hancock Financial. In 2006, the Boston
Marathon joined the Bank of America
Chicago Marathon, the BMW Berlin
Marathon, the Virgin London Marathon, and the
ING New York City Marathon to form the World Marathon Majors. The B.A.A. 10K is the second race in the
inaugural B.A.A. Distance Medley, a three race series which includes the B.A.A.
5K in April and the B.A.A. Half Marathon in
October.  Go to baa.org for more information.