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.
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.
* As of April 6, 2017, Heather Kampf has withdrawn from the 2017 B.A.A. Invitational Mile
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 PB | TRACK PB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben True | 31 | USA/NH | 13:22 (AR)* | 13:02.74 |
| Dejen Gebremeskel | 27 | ETH | 13:11 | 12:46.81 |
| Stephen Sambu | 28 | KEN/AZ | 13:21 | 13:13.74 (i) |
| Philip Langat | 26 | KEN | 13:32 | 13:48.0 |
| Chris O'Hare | 26 | GBR/MA | DB | 13:42.0 |
| Thomas Curtin | 23 | USA/MA | 14:28 | 13:27.64 |
| Brian Shrader | 25 | USA/AZ | 13:59 | 13:29.13 |
| James Kibet | 29 | KEN | N/A | 13:36.70 |
| Matt McClintock | 23 | USA/NC | N/A | 13:29.58 (i) |
| Ross Millington | 27 | GBR | N/A | 13:36.39 |
| Parker Stinson | 25 | USA/CO | N/A | 13:31.70 |
| Matt Hillenbrand | 24 | USA/MA | N/A | 13:49.24 |
| Joe Stilin | 27 | USA/NC | 13:59 | 13:32.21 |
| Kirubel Erassa | 23 | USA/GA | 14:00 | 13:27.55 |
| Johnny Crain | 24 | USA/NC | 14:02 | 13:59.83 |
| Andrew Heyes | 26 | GBR | 14:12 | 13:53.41 |
WOMEN’S 5K ELITE FIELD
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY | ROAD PB | TRACK PB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molly Huddle | 32 | USA/RI | 14:50 (AR)* | 14:42.64 |
| Buze Diriba | 23 | ETH | 15:00 | 14:50.02 |
| Emily Sisson | 25 | USA/RI | 15:42 | 15:02.10 (i) |
| Marielle Hall | 25 | USA/PA | 17:09 | 15:06.59 (i) |
| Nancy Nzisa | 21 | KEN | 15:59 | 15:39 |
| Kalkidan Gezahegne | 25 | BRN | N/A | N/A |
| Amy van Alstine | 29 | USA/AZ | 15:30 | 15:22.98 |
| Sarah Pagano | 25 | USA/MA | 15:54 | 15:26.79 |
| Jen Rhines | 42 | USA/MA | 15:21 | 14:54.29 |
| Emma Bates | 24 | USA/MA | 15:57 | 15:32.46 |
| Elaina Balouris | 25 | USA/MA | 16:07 | 15:45.58 |
| Katie Matthews | 26 | USA/MA | 15:50 | 15:32.89 |
| Margo Malone | 23 | USA/MA | 17:35 | 15:59.13 |
| Liv Westphal | 23 | FRA/MA | N/A | 15:28.71 |
| Elinor Kirk | 27 | GBR | 16:09 | 15:37.65 |
| Lauren Howarth | 26 | GBR | 16:00 | 15:44.28 |
| Kaitlin Goodman | 30 | USA/RI | 16:31 | 15:29.89 |
| Joanna Thompson | 24 | USA/NC | 16:43 | 16:03.13 |
2017 B.A.A. 5K PRIZE STRUCTURE
| 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 | ||
| TOTAL (MEN & WOMEN): $39,900 | |||
MEN'S MILE ELITE FIELD
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY | ROAD PB | TRACK PB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Leer | 32 | USA/CO | 03:53.1 | 3:51.82 |
| Nate Brannan | 34 | CAN/OH | 03:51.9 | 3:52.63 |
| Cristian Soratos | 24 | USA/MT | 04:00.0 | 3:54.23 (i) |
| Daniel Winn | 25 | USA/MA | 03:56.6 | 3:56.73 |
| Frezer Legesse | 26 | USA/OK | 04:05.2 | 3:57.24 |
| Kemoy Campbell | 26 | JAM/MA | 04:10.6 | 4:00.98 (i) |
WOMEN'S MILE ELITE FIELD
| NAME | AGE | COUNTRY | ROAD PB | TRACK PB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawit Seyaum | 20 | ETH | 04:35.4 | N/A |
| Nicole Sifuentes | 30 | CAN/MI | 04:23.2 | 4:27.93 (i) |
| Lauren Johnson | 29 | USA/MA | 04:30.5 | 4:25.04 |
| Dominique Scott-Efurd | 24 | RSA/AR | 04:35.4 | 4:28.47 (i) |
| Violah Lagat | 28 | KEN/AZ | 04:25.1 | 4:28.82 |
| Emily Lipari | 24 | USA/MA | 04:27.2 | 4:31.68 (i) |
| Cory McGee | 24 | USA/MA | 04:30.3 | 4:28.55 |
| Shannon Osika | 23 | USA/MI | 04:25.1 | 4:28.45 |
| Megan Krumpoch | 24 | USA/MA | 04:41.8 | 4:32.03 (i) |
2017 B.A.A. INVITATIONAL MILE PRIZE STRUCTURE
| 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 (MEN & WOMEN): $14,500 | ||
* American Record set at 2015 B.A.A. 5K
(i) Indoor
X Late Scratch from the Field