FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Olympic Games and World Championships Medalists
Highlight B.A.A. Invitational Mile Field
Nick Willis (NZL) and Kalkidan Gezahegne (ETH) are Top Contenders.
$14,500 Prize Purse at Stake in the Event,
Held on Sunday, April 14.
BOSTON - The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced that an
international field of elite athletes will compete in the B.A.A.
Invitational Mile to be held on Sunday, April 14, 2013, one day before the
117th Boston Marathon®. Highlighting the men's field is Nick Willis
(NZL), a silver medalist at 1500 meters in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships 1500 meter gold medalist Kalkidan
Gezahegne (ETH) will look to lead the women. The B.A.A. Invitational Mile
also features a Middle School 1,000 meter race and Scholastic Mile, held
immediately before the professional mile races.
With a one-mile personal best of 3:50.66, Willis is the fastest man in the
field. He will face 2012 Olympian, Glastonbury, Conn. native and Washington
resident Donn Cabral and 2012 U.S. Road Mile champion Craig Miller (CO).
Also competing is Ross Murray (GBR) who ran a 3:52.77 mile last year at the
age of 21, defeating Willis at the Aviva London Grand Prix. Rounding out
the field are Ben Bruce (AZ), who placed third in last year's B.A.A.
Invitational Mile; Peter van der Westhuizen (RSA), who earned three top
five finishes in road mile races in 2012; and six-time NCAA All-American
De'Sean Turner (IN).
Highlighting the women's field is Gezahegne, who holds a 1500 meter
personal best of 4:00.97. A talented group of Americans are also expected
to be in contention for the win, including 2012 Olympian Geena Gall (MI);
2012 Fifth Avenue Mile and Falmouth Mile champion Brenda Martinez (CA);
Heather Kampf (MN), 2012 U.S. Road Mile champion; Chelsea Reilly (CA), 2012
U.S. 10K champion; and 2012 B.A.A. Invitational Mile third-place finisher
Gabriele Anderson (MN). Also in the field is two-time NCAA All-American
Violah Lagat (KEN), the sister of two-time Olympic medalist and six-time
IAAF World Championships medalist Bernard Lagat.
"With the Boston Marathon finish line as its backdrop, the B.A.A.
Invitational Mile brings the energetic atmosphere of a track meet to
Boylston Street, as runners from the Boston area and around the world
compete in front of cheering fans," said B.A.A. Executive Director Tom
Grilk. "We are proud to host a world class field of professional runners,
as well as top middle school and high school age runners from the Boston
Marathon host communities, to our event."
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile includes six different races, held shortly
after the Fifth B.A.A. 5K on Sunday, April 14. The first two races feature
middle school age students from the eight cities and towns of the Boston
Marathon course - Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley,
Newton, Brookline, and Boston. The girls' and boys' Middle School 1,000
meter races include runners between sixth and eighth grade and finish at
the Boston Marathon finish line in front of thousands of spectators.
Following the Middle School 1,000 meter race is the Scholastic Mile, which
features girls' and boys' one-mile races for high school age students from
the eight cities and towns of the Boston Marathon course. The Scholastic
Mile follows the same three-lap USATF-certified course the professional
athletes run, finishing at the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston
Street.
Schedule of Events - Sunday, April 14, 2013
8:00 a.m. ET
Fifth B.A.A. 5K
First race of the 2013 B.A.A. Distance Medley
9:30 a.m. ET
Girls' Middle School 1,000 meters
Boys' Middle School 1,000 meters
9:50 a.m. ET
Girls' Scholastic Mile
Boys' Scholastic Mile
10:05 a.m. ET
Men's Professional Mile
Women's Professional Mile
B.A.A. Invitational Mile Men's Field (as of April 5, 2013)
NAME COUNTRY AGE PERSONAL BEST
Nick Willis NZL 29 3:50.66 (3:30.35)
Ross Murray GBR 22 3:52.77 (3:34.76)
Peter van der Westhuizen RSA 28 3:54.90 (3:35.33)
Craig Miller USA/CO 25 3:56.41 (3:36.35)
Donn Cabral USA/WA 23 3:56.41i (3:40.03)
De'Sean Turner SA/IN 24 3:59.17 (3:46.22)
Ben Bruce USA/AZ 30 4:06.52 (3:45.53)
B.A.A. Invitational Mile Women's Field (as of April 5, 2013)
NAME COUNTRY AGE PERSONAL BEST
Kalkidan Gezahegne ETH 21 4:24.10i (4:00.97)
Gabriele Anderson USA/MN 26 4:27.94 (4:04.84)
Brenda Martinez USA/CA 25 4:26.76 (4:06.96)
Chelsea Reilly USA/CA 23 4:30.18 (4:24.49)
Heather Kampf USA/MN 26 4:37.13i (4:12.09)
Geena Gall USA/MI 26 4:31.75i (4:12.23)
Violah Lagat KEN 24 4:39.42 (4:13.30)
( ) - Indicates 1500 meter track performance
i - Indicates indoor track performance
Prize Structure
PLACE MEN WOMEN GRAND TOTAL
1 $3,000 $3,000
2 $2,000 $2,000
3 $1,000 $1,000
4 $750 $750
5 $500 $500
TOTAL $7,250 $7,250 $14,500
About the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887 and now in its 125th Anniversary year, 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. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest
annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events and
supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs.
Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John
Hancock Financial. The Boston Marathon is part of the World Marathon
Majors, along with the international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin,
Chicago, and New York City. The 117th Boston Marathon will be held on
Monday, April 15, 2013. Nearly 50,000 runners will participate in B.A.A.
events in 2013.
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