Keflezighi leads field of 134 in men's U.S. Olympic Marathon trials

2004 Olympic silver medallist Meb Keflezighi leads a field of 134, the largest field for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon since 1984, on 3 November in New York City, USA Track & Field has announced.

In addition to Keflezighi, U.S. record holder Khalid Khannouchi, defending trials champion Alan Culpepper will also toe the line on the course that will largely loop through New York City's Central Park on the day prior to the ING New York City Marathon.

Four runners in the field - Khannouchi, Mbarak Hussein, Abdi Abdirahman and Ryan Hall - have personal bests under 2:09, with 12 in all under the Olympic Games 'A' standard of 2:15.

Athletes in the Olympic Trials will be competing for $250,000 in prize money with $60,000 going to the champion. Included in the prize funds provided by the New York Road Runners Club, the event's organisers, will be an additional $20,000 training stipend (payable post-Beijing) for each of the three athletes who compete in the Olympic Games.

The race will start in front of the famed Rockefeller Center on 50th Street near Fifth Avenue, with St. Patrick's Cathedral as the backdrop. Athletes will run past renowned New York City locations, including Radio City Music Hall, Times Square, and Carnegie Hall, and will enter Central Park at Seventh Avenue. From there, runners will begin the course's criterium loops: one four-mile circuit followed by four identical five-mile circuits, and will finish on the park's west side at Tavern on the Green.

A media package featuring national broadcast coverage and live web streaming will bring the Olympic Trials Marathon action to marathon fans for the first time since 1996. The start will be shown live nationally on NBC's "Today Show" beginning at 7:35am and the race will be streamed in its entirety via the Web at www.NBCSports.com. In addition, a 30-minute highlight show will be broadcast nationally on NBC on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. EST.