Khannouchi to Make New York Professional Debut at Healthy Kidney 10K – U.S. marathon record holder joins Mottram and Ritzenhein at top of Central Park field

NEW YORK – (May 14, 2007) – For the first time in his professional career, former marathon world record holder Khalid Khannouchi will race in New York’s Central Park. New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg has announced that Khannouchi will run the Healthy Kidney 10K on Saturday, May 19.

„At long last, America’s fastest marathoner will run here in New York City as our hometown favorite,“ Wittenberg said.

Khannouchi, 35, who lives in nearby Ossining, New York, and is the U.S. marathon record holder (2 hours, 5 minutes, 38 seconds), leads a solid contingent of Americans competing in the third edition of the Healthy Kidney 10K. The event is another race through Central Park on the road to Beijing, as many of the top American runners, including Khannouchi, are eyeing a return to New York for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon on Saturday, November 3.

Other American professionals rounding out the Healthy Kidney field include Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein and up-and-comers Matt Gonzales, Patrick Gildea and Justin Young. Two-time defending champion Craig Mottram of Australia heads an international group that also includes Michael Aish (New Zealand), Andrew Letherby (Australia) and Richard Kiplagat (Kenya).

„Central Park is a hotbed of racing this year. We know the men will turn on the heat to go for the win,“ Wittenberg said. „The Americans will get a bonus: Most of this race is on our Olympic Trials course.“

A native of Morocco, Khannouchi moved to Brooklyn, NY, in 1993 and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. He is one of only two men in the last 80 years to break the world marathon record twice, and the only man in history to have run under 2:06 three times. In his 1997 marathon debut, he won the first of four LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon titles (he also won in 1999, 2000, and 2002). Khannouchi’s first world record came in the 1999 Chicago race, in which he clocked 2:05:42 to take down Ronaldo da Costa’s record of 2:06:05. In 2002 at the Flora London Marathon, he lowered his own world mark with a time of 2:05:38 and claimed his fifth title in a World Marathon Majors race.

„I’m very excited about running in New York City, especially in what has so far been a disappointing season,“ said Khannouchi, who dropped out of last month’s Flora London Marathon with an injury. „I look forward to competing and doing my best.“ Khannouchi has a 10K personal best of 27:58.

Mottram will be the runner to beat: He is undefeated in his two previous Healthy Kidney appearances. Mottram returns to New York after finishing second in the Wanamaker Mile in a memorable race with Bernard Lagat at the 2007 Millrose Games in February. He and Khannouchi will face considerable competition from Ritzenhein, an 11th-place finisher in his marathon debut at the ING New York City Marathon 2006, and Aish, a 2004 Olympian for New Zealand who trains in Gunnison, CO. Gonzales, of Albuquerque, NM, was the 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championships runner-up and has qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Young is another Olympic Trials qualifier who expects to return to New York in November.

The Central Park 10K record of 28 minutes, 10 seconds is in jeopardy, as race sponsor Embassy of the United Arab Emirates has put up a prize purse of $20,000, including $7500 for the champion, and is offering a $20,000 bonus for breaking the record that Paul Koech of Kenya set in 1997.

The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates is sponsoring this race to benefit the National Kidney Foundation, Inc., in appreciation of American medical excellence in the kidney transplant field. The late UAE president Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan benefited from American expertise, knowledge and research when he received a kidney transplant in 2000.

For more information, visit:
NYRR.org

Source/Courtesy
Ryan Lamppa,
Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232
Ryan@RunningUSA.org |
www.RunningUSA.org