USA Women's Champs creates Deep American Field Boston 2007

USA Women's Marathon Championship Guarantees Deep American Field for 2007 Boston Marathon ... 2006 Seventh-Place Finisher Peter Gilmore Headlines U.S. Men's Field

BOSTON - (February 26, 2007) - Five U.S. men placed in the top 10 at the 2006 Boston Marathon, the strongest American showing in years. That momentum is carrying into the 2007 Boston Marathon on Monday, April 16. For the first time in Boston history, the race has been designated as the USA Women's Marathon Championship, guaranteeing a deep field of American women. Peter Gilmore returns in the men's field, looking to improve again after placing 10th in 2005 and seventh in 2006.

Entrants in the USA Women's Marathon Championship will start in the Elite Women's Start at 9:35am, 25 minutes before the elite men begin. The women will be competing for overall Boston Marathon prize money, as well as a separate U.S.-only prize purse of $70,000. USATF will also award $10,500 of national championship funds to the top five qualified athletes in the race. At least two women from the field will be selected to represent the United States at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan, on September 2.

"Last year the men showed us that U.S. distance running is on the rise, with five top-10 finishes. This year, the U.S. women are poised to do the same," said Guy Morse, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association. "This year's race, which includes the 2007 USA Women's Marathon Championship, launches 12 months of focus on our country's top women, culminating with the selection of the 2008 Olympic Team at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon on Sunday, April 20, 2008, the day before the 112th Boston Marathon."

Headlining the USA Women's Marathon Championship field will be Deena Kastor, who was announced as an entrant by the Boston Marathon's principal sponsor, John Hancock Financial Services, in January. Kastor was the world's #1 ranked marathoner in 2006, setting a U.S. Record of 2 hours, 19 minutes, 36 seconds in winning the 2006 Flora London Marathon. The Mammoth Lakes, Calif. resident has been dominant so far in 2007 as well, capturing the U.S. cross country title in dominant fashion on February 10. This past Sunday, the 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist led the U.S. to a second-place finish at the Yokohama International Ekiden in Japan, clocking the second-fastest 10K split (31:09) in the field. Kastor will prep for Boston by competing at the Gate River Run, the USA 15K Championship, on March 10.The Team Running USA athlete has captured 19 U.S. national titles in her career, including the 2001 U.S. marathon title.

The Boston field will also include another past U.S. marathon champion: Sara Wells, who won that distinction in 2003. Additionally, five of the top seven finishers from the 2006 USA Championship will compete in Boston: Mary Akor (national runner-up), Zoila Gomez (third), Turena Johnson Lane (fifth), Jenny Crain (sixth) and Emily LeVan (seventh). LeVan also holds the distinction of being the top American woman at the past two Boston Marathons, having placed 12th in 2005 and 13th in 2006.

Of the top 31 entrants in the 2007 field, 22 have already qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon, while the remainder of the field will be chasing either the "A" (2:39:00) or "B" (2:47:00) qualifying standards.

The top entrant in the American men's field will be Peter Gilmore, returning for his third consecutive Boston Marathon. In 2005, Gilmore placed 10th in 2:17:32. In 2006, Gilmore improved to seventh with a personal best time of 2:12:45. Gilmore then placed 10th, in 2:13:13, at the 2006 ING New York City Marathon. He was ranked as the fourth best U.S. marathoner of 2006, according to Running Times. Also confirmed for 2007 are Jason Lehmkuhle and Chris Lundstrom, both members of Team USA Minnesota, a Twin Cities-based training group that also includes Sara Wells. Lehmkuhle placed ninth in the 2004 Olympic Trials in a personal record of 2:16:27, while Lundstrom boasts a 2:17:34 personal best. All three men have already posted qualifying times for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon, to be run in New York City on November 3, 2007.

source RunningUSA