American record holders Molly Huddle and Ben True seek B.A.A. 5K titles, while global medalist Dawit Seyaum leads B.A.A. Invitational Mile field.
BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced an elite field of world class competitors for the 2017 B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile, to be held on Saturday, April 15, two days prior to the 2017 Boston Marathon®. Rhode Island’s Molly Huddle and New Hampshire’s Ben True will return to Boston each aiming to earn their fourth B.A.A. 5K titles.
(photo of 2016 5K winners Dejen Gebremeskel & Molly Huddle by Andrew McLanahan/PhotoRun)
Following the B.A.A. 5K, Ethiopia’s Dawit Seyaum will lead world-class fields at the ninth annual B.A.A. Invitational Mile. The B.A.A. Invitational Mile will also include Middle School 1K races and Scholastic Mile races featuring youth athletes from the eight cities and towns of the Boston Marathon course.
A $39,900 (USD) prize purse will be distributed to the top finishers of the B.A.A. 5K, while a $14,500 (USD) prize purse will be available in the B.A.A. Invitational Mile.
Huddle and True are established veterans and New England favorites on the roads of Boston, having won a combined total of six B.A.A. 5K races since 2011. Huddle has placed first three years in a row, while True broke the tape out front of the men’s race in 2011, 2012, and 2015. Last year, True placed second to Ethiopia’s Dejen Gebremeskel, who also returns to defend his title. Huddle and True both established American and event records at the 2015 B.A.A. 5K, with Huddle timing 14:50 and True finishing in 13:22.
The aforementioned Gebremeskel is the reigning B.A.A. 5K champion, winning last year’s contest by two seconds over True. Like True and Huddle, Gebremeskel has won three B.A.A. 5K titles (2013, 2014, and 2016). In 2015, Gebremeskel dropped down in distance to win the B.A.A. Invitational Mile. Kenya’s Stephen Sambu, owner of four top-five finishes at the B.A.A. 5K in addition to wins at the B.A.A. 10K and B.A.A. Distance Medley, also returns to Boston seeking the $7,500 top prize.
Huddle will be joined on the starting line by training partner and Providence resident Emily Sisson, as well as last year’s B.A.A. 5K runner-up Buze Diriba of Ethiopia. Sisson is coming off a U.S. record-setting half marathon debut in New York City, and boasts a 5000m best of 15:02.10 on the track. Diriba ran 15:28 at last year’s B.A.A. 5K, and was sixth in the 2016 B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In addition, Bahrain’s Kalkidan Gezahegne, a former world champion at 1500m, is entered.
American Olympian Marielle Hall and B.A.A. High Performance Team members Sarah Pagano, Elaina Balouris, Jen Rhines, Emma Bates, Katie Matthews and Margo Malone will all be racing as well. A field of 10,000 participants will take part in the B.A.A. 5K, the first event of the 2017 B.A.A. Distance Medley. The race starts and finishes on Charles Street adjacent to Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden, and passes the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street approximately 2.4 miles into the race.
Returning to the B.A.A. Invitational Mile after a year hiatus is 2015 champion Dawit Seyaum. In 2015, Seyaum set an event record of 4:35.4. Since then she’s won a silver medal at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships and placed sixth at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
Challenging Seyaum will be Olympians Nicole Sifuentes (CAN), Dominique Scott-Efurd (RSA), and Violah Lagat (KEN), as well as perennial road mile ace Heather Kampf. Lagat won the Carlsbad 5000 in 15:35 on April 2, and Kampf has finished second at the B.A.A. Invitational Mile three times. B.A.A. High Performance Team members Emily Lipari and Lauren Johnson will also race the three-lap course before finishing at the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street. This will be Johnson’s first race as a member of the B.A.A. High Performance Team.
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile men’s field features Canadian Olympic finalist Nate Brannen, B.A.A. High Performance Team member Daniel Winn, and 3:51 miler Will Leer. Jamaican Olympian Kemoy Campbell, former NCAA All-American Cristian Soratos, and 2015 third place finisher Frezer Legesse are also entered.
A detailed start list and schedule of events for both the B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile can be found below. The men’s event record for the B.A.A. 5K stands at 13:22, set by Ben True in 2015, while the women’s event record is 14:50 run by Molly Huddle in 2015. The men’s and women’s event records for the B.A.A. Invitational Mile are 4:03.3 (Nick Willis, 2013) and 4:35.4 (Dawit Seyaum, 2015).
The B.A.A. Invitational Mile includes six races, held shortly after the 2017 B.A.A. 5K. 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 1K races include runners between sixth and eighth grade and finish at the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street.
Following the Middle School 1K races is the Scholastic Mile, which features girls’ and boys’ races for high school 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 mile athletes run, finishing at the Boston Marathon finish line.
SATURDAY, APRIL 15, 2017 – SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
9:30 a.m. B.A.A. 5K, Boston Common
12:00 p.m. Girls’ Middle School 1K, Boston Marathon Finish Line
12:10 p.m. Boys’ Middle School 1K, Boston Marathon Finish Line
12:25 p.m. Girls’ Scholastic Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
12:35 p.m. Boys’ Scholastic Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
12:50 p.m. Men’s Invitational Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
1:10 p.m. Women’s Invitational Mile, Boston Marathon Finish Line
MEN’S 5K ELITE FIELD
Name
Age
Country
Road 5K PB
Track 5000m PB
Ben True
31
USA/NH
13:22 (AR, B.A.A. 5K ’15)
13:02.74 (outdoors)
Dejen Gebremeskel
27
ETH
13:11
12:46.81 (outdoors)
Stephen Sambu
28
KEN/AZ
13:21
13:13.74 (indoors)
Philip Langat
26
KEN
13:32
13:48.0 (outdoors)
Chris O’Hare
26
GBR/MA
DB
13:42.00 (outdoors)
Thomas Curtin
23
USA/MA
14:28
13:27.64 (outdoors)
Brian Shrader
25
USA/AZ
13:59
13:29.13 (outdoors)
James Kibet
29
KEN
N/A
13:36.7 (outdoors)
Matt McClintock
23
USA/NC
N/A
13:29.58 (indoors)
Ross Millington
27
GBR
N/A
13:36.39 (outdoors)
Parker Stinson
25
USA/CO
N/A
13:31.70 (outdoors)
Matt Hillenbrand
24
USA/MA
N/A
13:49.24 (outdoors)
Joe Stilin
27
USA/NC
13:59
13:32.21 (outdoors)
Kirubel Erassa
23
USA/GA
14:00
13:27.55 (outdoors)
Johnny Crain
24
USA/NC
14:02
13:59.83 (outdoors)
Andrew Heyes
26
GBR
14:12
13:53.41 (outdoors)
WOMEN’S 5K ELITE FIELD
Name
Age
Country
Road 5K PB
Track 5000m PB
Molly Huddle
32
USA/RI
14:50 (AR, B.A.A. 5K ’15)
14:42.64 (outdoors)
Buze Diriba
23
ETH
15:00
14:50.02 (outdoors)
Emily Sisson
25
USA/RI
15:42
15:02.10 (indoors)
Marielle Hall
25
USA/PA
17:09
15:06.05 (indoors)
Nancy Nzisa
21
KEN
15:59
15:39 (outdoors)
Kalkidan Gezahegne
25
BRN
N/A (4:00.97 for 1500m)
8:37.47 (3K indoors)
Amy van Alstine
29
USA/AZ
15:30
15:22.98 (outdoors)
Sarah Pagano
25
USA/MA
15:54
15:26.79 (outdoors)
Jen Rhines
42
USA/MA
15:21
14:54.29 (outdoors)
Emma Bates
24
USA/MA
15:57
15:32.46 (outdoors)
Elaina Balouris
25
USA/MA
16:07
15:45.58 (outdoors)
Katie Matthews
26
USA/MA
15:50
15:32.89 (outdoors)
Margo Malone
23
USA/MA
17:35
15:59.13 (outdoors)
Liv Westphal
23
FRA/MA
N/A
15:28.71 (outdoors)
Elinor Kirk
27
GBR
16:09
15:37.65 (outdoors)
Lauren Howarth
26
GBR
16:00
15:44.28 (outdoors)
Kaitlin Goodman
30
USA/RI
16:31
15:29.89 (outdoors)
Joanna Thompson
24
USA/NC
16:43
16:03.13 (indoors)
B.A.A. 5K PRIZE STRUCTURE (Equal for both men and women)
Place
Open
Masters
Push Rim Wheelchair
1
$7,500
$300
$300
2
$4,000
$200
$200
3
$2,500
$100
$100
4
$1,500
5
$1,000
6
$750
7
$600
8
$400
9
$300
10
$200
GRAND TOTAL: $39,900
MEN’S MILE ELITE FIELD
Name
Age
Citizenship/Residence
Road Mile PB
Track Mile PB
Will Leer
32
USA/CO
3:53.1
3:51.82 (outdoors)
Nate Brannan
34
CAN/OH
3:51.9
3:52.63 (outdoors)
Cristian Soratos
24
USA/MT
4:00.0
3:54.23 (indoors)
Daniel Winn
25
USA/MA
3:56.6
3:56.73 (outdoors)
Frezer Legesse
26
USA/OK
4:05.2
3:57.24 (outdoors)
Kemoy Campbell
26
JAM/MA
4:10.6
4:00.98 (indoors)
WOMEN’S MILE ELITE FIELD
Name
Age
Citizenship/Residence
Road Mile PB
Track Mile PB
Dawit Seyaum
20
ETH
4:35.4
N/A (3:58.09 1500m)
Nicole Sifuentes
30
CAN/MI
4:23.2
4:27.93 (indoors)
Heather Kampf
30
USA/MN
4:22.0
4:27.23 (outdoors)
Lauren Johnson
29
USA/MA
4:30.5
4:25.04 (outdoors)
Dominique Scott-Efurd
24
RSA/AR
4:35.4
4:28.47 (indoors)
Violah Lagat
28
KEN/AZ
4:25.1
4:28.82 (outdoors)
Emily Lipari
24
USA/MA
4:27.19
4:31.68 (indoors)
Cory McGee
24
USA/MA
4:30.3
4:28.55 (outdoors)
Shannon Osika
23
USA/MI
4:25.1
4:28.45 (outdoors)
Megan Krumpoch
24
USA/MA
4:41.83
4:32.03 (indoors)
Place
Men
Women
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
GRAND TOTAL: $14,500
ABOUT THE BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of 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 Abbott World Marathon Majors, along with international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. More than 60,000 runners will participate in B.A.A. events in 2017. The 121st Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 17, 2017. For more information on the B.A.A., please visit www.baa.org.