The Run Gloucester! 7-Mile Road Race, which includes nearly five miles of often breathtaking ocean views, is still accepting race registrations at www.rungloucester.com. Online registration will close at 5 p.m. Aug. 20. Bib packet pick-up and registration will be Sat., Aug. 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gloucester High School. Race day registration also will be available from 6 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. at the high school.
Lineth Chepkurui, the hottest runner on the American roads, is coming off a course record-setting (30:59) victory at the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth, Maine last weekend, following her win at the Peachtree 10K Road Race in July. Ranked 9th in the world by Running Times, the 22-year-old is a favorite in the Falmouth Road Race this Sunday (Aug. 15).
Joining Chepkurui in the Run Gloucester field will be Kenyan James Koskei, 41, one of the top master’s runners in the world, and newcomer Alan Kiprono of Kenya, who is making a strong impression in his first races on American soil.
“We’re thrilled to have three of the strongest distance runners in the world joining the local and New England recreational runners in our inaugural race,” said Dave McGillivray of DMSE Sports, Inc., who also serves as race director of the BAA Boston Marathon as well as the popular TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K. "This is a great opportunity for local runners to be in a race field with elite athletes of this caliber. These are inspiring athletes. It’s going to make the race even more interesting and help the causes this event was created to assist – the local GFAA and DMSE’s Children Fitness Foundation."
Following a long, stellar career in the open division, Koskei is now a dominant force in the master’s category. He took the master’s title at the BAA Boston Marathon in April (2:17.28), finishing 18th overall in a deep field, and also is the reigning master’s champ at both the TD Bank Beach to Beacon (29:54 in 2010) and Falmouth Road Race, races he won in 2002.
Kiprono, on the other hand, is just getting started. The 20-year-old placed second at the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K with a blazing 27:42, just 1.3 seconds behind the winner, and will be seeking a top placing in Falmouth this weekend.
Chepkurui has been one of the most feared woman road racers for two years now, winning nearly every race she enters, including the past two Peachtree Road Race 10Ks, Crescent City Classic 10Ks and Cherry Blossom 10Ms. A member of the Kenyan Armed Forces, she set a world record at 12K (38:07) to win the Bay to Breakers 12K earlier this year, and ran the fastest 10K in the world so far in 2010 at Crescent City (30:45). She broke the course record at the highly competitive TD Bank Beach to Beacon by more than 25 seconds.
Race organizers and the lead sponsor, Saucony, Inc., a leading global supplier of performance athletic footwear and apparel with brand headquarters in Lexington, Mass., have established a prize purse of $5,000. The winning man and woman will each receive $1,500, with $750 for the second place finishers and $250 for third. Saucony also will award shoe gift certificates to all age group winners.
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