3 October, 2013
The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced that 2013 Boston Marathon® champion Lelisa Desisa and Gebre Gebremariam, who placed third at both the 2011 and 2013 Boston Marathon, will return to Boston and compete in the 13th B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. The B.A.A. Half Marathon will be held on Sunday, October 13, 2013 at Boston’s Franklin Park and will include more than 7,500 participants. The event reached its field size limit in twelve minutes when registration opened in July.
Desisa, of Ethiopia, won the 2013 Boston Marathon on April 15 in 2:10:22, using a well-timed finishing kick on Boylston Street to defeat Kenya’s Micah Kogo and Gebremariam. In his debut marathon on January 25, Desisa won the Dubai Marathon in 2:04:45, which is his personal best. He also earned a silver medal at the IAAF World Championships Marathon in Moscow this August, finishing behind Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich, the gold medalist in the 2012 London Olympic Games Marathon. Desisa holds a half marathon personal best of 59:30, established at the 2011 Delhi Half Marathon, and has run faster than one hour for the distance four times.
Gebremariam, of Ethiopia, finished six seconds behind Desisa in the 2013 Boston Marathon, placing third in the event for the second time. He also placed third at the 2011 Boston Marathon, running 2:04:53 behind Kenyans Geoffrey Mutai (champion) and Moses Mosop (runner-up). At the 2010 New York City Marathon, Gebremariam earned the victory, running 2:08:14. He also won the gold medal at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan. Gebremariam set his half marathon personal best of 1:00:25 at the 2010 Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.
“We are honored to welcome two of our sport’s best competitors back to Boston for the B.A.A. Half Marathon,” said B.A.A. Executive Director Tom Grilk. “Lelisa will be forever associated with our City and the Boston Marathon, and his gift of his 2013 winner’s medallion to the people of Boston in June was a heartfelt and sincere gesture in recognition of the bombings and those who were attacked.”
The B.A.A. Half Marathon’s 13.1-mile, rolling course is an out-and-back route that runs along the Emerald Necklace park system, highlighting the beauty of the historic park system while furthering the B.A.A.’s mission of promoting health and fitness. The B.A.A. Half Marathon will begin and end at White Stadium in Franklin Park, one of America’s oldest parks, in Boston’s Jamaica Plain and Dorchester neighborhoods.
Desisa and Gebremariam will lead the competition for a total prize purse of $38,400 USD. The overall men’s and women’s B.A.A. Half Marathon champions will each receive $6,000 USD. Prize money will be distributed to the top ten runners overall, the top three in the masters division, and the top three in the push rim wheelchair division. Prize money awards are equal for men and women and are based on gun time results.
About the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887, the B.A.A. marked its 125th anniversary year in 2012 and is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and programs for the promotion of 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 other major marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City. More than 50,000 individuals participate in B.A.A. events annually.
