Murayama, Otsu and Tanaka to Run New York City Half Marathon

by Brett Larner

The organizers of the Mar. 17 New York City Half Marathon have released the men's and women's elite fields for this year's race. Alongside world-level medalists including Wilson Kipsang (Kenya), Dathan Ritzenhein (U.S.A.), Deressa Chimsa (Ethiopia), Meb Keflezighi (U.S.A.) and Bernard Lagat (U.S.A.), Japanese collegiates Kenta Murayama (Komazawa Univ.) and Kento Otsu (Toyo Univ.) will be running as part of a relationship organized by JRN between the New York City Half Marathon and the Ageo City Half Marathon. Murayama, the first man to win the National University Championships 5000 m as a first-year since the great Toshihiko Seko, won Ageo in 1:02:46 last November before going on to run an all-time Japanese #10 1:01:19 at February's Marugame Half Marathon, a time that would have put him 4th in New York in 2012. Otsu, 2nd at Ageo in 1:02:53, is running New York for the second time after making his international debut there last year.

2013 Marugame women's runner-up Kim Smith (New Zealand) heads the women's field, where her competition includes Sendai Ikuei H.S. graduate Caroline Rotich (Kenya), 2012 National Corporate Half Marathon champion Tomomi Tanaka (Team Daiichi Seimei), Olympians Valeria Straneo (Italy), Sabrina Mockenhaupt (Germany) and Madai Perez (Mexico), and a half-dozen or so competitive Americans. The race is scheduled to be streamed live online on www.7online.com starting at 7:00 a.m. local time, 8:00 p.m. Japan time.

2013 New York City Half Marathon Elite Field
New York, 3/17/13

Men
Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) - 58:59
Dathan Ritzenhein (U.S.A.) - 1:00:00
Abdi Abdirahman (U.S.A.) - 1:00:29
Julius Arile (Kenya) - 1:00:31
Tesfaye Girma (Ethiopia) - 1:00:36
Deressa Chimsa (Ethiopia) - 1:00:51
Meb Keflezighi (U.S.A.) - 1:01:00
Sam Chelanga (Kenya) - 1:01:19
Kenta Murayama (Japan/Komazawa Univ.) - 1:01:19
Kevin Chelimo (Kenya) - 1:01:21
Juan Luis Barrios (Mexico) - 1:01:48
Hafid Chani (Morocco) - 1:02:23
Daniele Meucci (Italy) - 1:02:30
Kento Otsu (Japan/Toyo Univ.) - 1:02:43
Ketema Nigusse (Ethiopia) - 1:02:59
Bado Worku (Ethiopia) - 1:02:59
Stephen Sambu (Kenya) - 1:03:02
Tesfaye Assefa (Ethiopia) - 1:03:13
Rob Watson (Canada) - 1:03:29
Jason Hartmann (U.S.A.) - 1:03:32
Odilon Cuahutle (Mexico) - 1:03:59
Guor Marial (U.S.A.) - 1:04:21
Bouabdellah Tahri (France) - 1:06:12
Leonard Korir (Kenya) - debut
Bernard Lagat (U.S.A.) - debut

Women
Kim Smith (New Zealand) - 1:07:11
Valeria Straneo (Italy) - 1:07:46
Sabrina Mockenhaupt (Germany) - 1:08:45
Caroline Rotich (Kenya) - 1:08:52
Madai Perez (Mexico) - 1:09:45
Tomomi Tanaka (Japan/Team Daiichi Seimei) - 1:09:47
Janet Bawcom (U.S.A.) - 1:09:55
Adriana Nelson (U.S.A.) - 1:09:57
Serena Burla (U.S.A.) - 1:10:08
Sara Moreira (Portugal) - 1:10:08
Lisa Stublic (Croatia) - 1:10:31
Susan Partridge (Great Britain) - 1:10:32
Bekelech Bedada (Ethiopia) - 1:10:54
Diane Nukuri Johnson (Brazil) - 1:10:55
Maegan Krifchin (U.S.A.) - 1:10:56
Aziza Aliyu (Ethiopia) - 1:11:07
Malika Mejdoub (Morocco) - 1:11:33
Lindsey Scherf (U.S.A.) - 1:11:45
Mary Davies (New Zealand) - 1:11:49
Claire Hallissey (Great Britain) - 1:12:02
Stephanie Rothstein (U.S.A.) - 1:12:19
Freya Ross (Great Britain) - 1:12:23
Yolanda Caballero (Colombia) - 1:12:35
Adriana Da Silva (Brazil) - 1:13:16
Lyudmila Kovalenko (Ukraine) - 1:13:35
Hirut Beyene (Ethiopia) - 1:14:39
Adrienne Herzog (Netherlands) - debut

(c) 2013 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

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