Patrick Makau winning 2009 Healthy Kidney 10K in Central Park (© Victah Sailer)
New York, USAA worldclass field has been assembled for the fifth running of the Healthy Kidney 10K on Saturday 16 May in New York’s Central Park.
Two-time World silver medallist over the half marathon distance Patrick Makau of Kenya, the defending champion and the second fastest half marathoner in history, will face Tadese Tola of Ethiopia, who beat him by one second to win the 2008 NYC Half-Marathon. Reigning ING New York City Marathon champion Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil, second in last year’s Healthy Kidney 10K, will also challenge.
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UPDATE 1900hrs European CET
Marilson Gomes dos Santos will be unable to run in the Healthy Kidney 10K on Saturday because of a delay in getting his passport back from the US Consulate it was announced by New York Road Runners officials on Friday.
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Abdi Abdirahman, the only American man to make three consecutive Olympic teams at 10,000m, will race for the first time since a sixth-place finish at the ING New York City Marathon last year; he has recently recovered from an iliotibial band injury.
“I’m about 80 percent,” he said. “I’ve been in Flagstaff (AZ) for six weeks of training.” Anthony Famiglietti, a two-time Olympic steeplechaser, returns to the event after a third-place finish in 2006 and an excellent season on the roads so far this year. He won the USA 15K Championship in March and came within four seconds of the U.S. road 5K record in April. “It’s a great field, he said. “Abdi and I race well together—I’m looking forward to pushing it out there with him.”
Also entered are 2008 Olympians Adrian Blincoe (New Zealand), Abderrahime Bouramdane (Morocco), and Martin Fagan (Ireland) and 2008 USA 15K champion Andrew Carlson.
Tola, Abdirahman, and Famiglietti met on Thursday (14) with kids from the New York Road Runners Foundation’s Mighty Milers program at the Roberto Clemente School in upper Manhattan. The kids ran playground laps accompanied by Olympians as the theme from Rocky played.
Tola predicted a fast time for Saturday: “If the temperature is good, I think I can run 27:56 or 27:58,” he said. The course record is 28:08 by U.S. Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein in the 2007 Healthy Kidney 10K.
Meghan Chisholm for the IAAF
