PRESS KIT - Elite Athlete Bios - 2009 TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon

Elite Men
complete as of 07/30/09

Ed Muge
BIB #: 1
AGE: 26
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE: Kenya
BEST 10K: 27:52 (2008 Beach to Beacon)
OF NOTE: The defending champ, Muge won a sprint to the finish to claim the 2008 TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon title in a personal best 27:52. He won the 2008 Kenyan National Championship at 10,000m. Winner of the 2008 Quad-City Times Bix 7M (32:16), he has been training at altitude in Kenya and will arrive in Maine in top shape.

James Kwambai
BIB #: 2
AGE: 26
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE: Kenya
BEST 10K:
OF NOTE: One of world’s best marathoners, he ran the third fastest marathon ever (2:04:29) earlier this year in Rotterdam in his historic duel with Duncan Kibet, the 2007 Beach to Beacon champ. Each clocked in with identical times, but Kwambai was given second place. Also placed second at the 2008 Berlin Marathon and the 2007 Boston Marathon. Won the 2009 San Blais Half Marathon and the Rock n’ Rock Half Marathon in 2008 and 2006. His performance at 10K is one of the intriguing aspects of this year’s TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon.

Ibrahinm Jeilan Gashu
BIB #: 4
AGE: 20
CITIZEN OF: Ethiopia
RESIDENCE: Ethiopia
BEST 10K: 27:02 (track)
OF NOTE: Barely 20 years old, Gashu is the youngest elite entered in the race – and one of the most talented. A budding superstar, he was the 2008 World Junior Champ at 10,000m, and the 2008 World Junior Cross Country Champion. Now he is making noise on the American roads. He finished third at the Peachtree 10K and the Utica 15K, and is expected to push the field at the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon.

Boaz Cheboiywo
BIB #: 5
AGE: 30
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE: Michigan
BEST 10K: 27:46 (track)
OF NOTE: Seeking to improve on fifth place finish at the 2008 TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon (28:23). Took fourth at Peachtree 10K (28:05), so appears ready to vie for title. He was the NCAA champion in cross country in 2001 and 10,000m in 2002 while running for Eastern Michigan University. Placed third at 2008 Falmouth Road Race. Will celebrate his 31st birthday the day after the Beach to Beacon.

Dejene Berhanu
BIB #: 6
AGE: 28
CITIZEN OF: Ethiopia
RESIDENCE: Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia
BEST 10K: 27:12 (track)
OF NOTE: Finished 5th at 5000m at the 2004 Olympics. Three-time winner of the Carlsbad 5000m. Finished 7th at 2008 Bix 7M (33:05).

Simon Bairu
BIB #: 7
AGE: 25
CITIZEN OF: Canada
RESIDENCE: Portland, Oregon
BEST 10K: 27:50 (track)
OF NOTE: Two-time NCAA Cross Country Champion – 2004 and 2005 – at the University of Wisconsin. Canadian Cross Country Champion for five straight years, 2002-06. Won the 2007 MDS Nordion 10K. The son of an Eritrean father and an Ethiopian mother, he was born in Saudi Arabia and at age three his family settled in Regina, Saskatchewan, where he grew up.

Richard Limo
BIB #: 9
AGE: 28
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K:
OF NOTE: A world champion at 5000m in 2001 with a 12:56, the world’s best performance that year. Gravitated toward marathon running in recent years. He was runner-up in the 2007 Rotterdam Marathon with a personal best 2:06:45.

Felix Limo
BIB #: 10
AGE: 28
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE: Kenya
BEST 10K: 27:39
OF NOTE: One of the world’s top marathoners, he won the Chicago Marathon and London Marathon in 2006, and the Rotterdam Marathon and Berlin Marathon in 2004.

Ridouane Harroufi
Bib #: 11
AGE: 28
CITIZEN OF: Morocco
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K: 28:02
OF NOTE: One of the hottest runners on the American circuit, won the Utica Boilermaker 15K earlier this month, and finished second at the Peachtree 10K (28:02). Won second straight Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run in April.

Tekeste Kebede
BIB #: 12
AGE: 27
CITIZEN OF: Ethiopia
RESIDENCE: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
BEST 10K: 28:30 (track)
OF NOTE: A rising talent as a marathoner, he has finished in the top three at six major marathons. His best time of 2:10:36 was run earlier this year at the Rock'n'Roll Marathon in Tempe, Ariz., where he finished second. He also has a second place finish in the Baltimore Marathon, and was fifth in last year's San Diego Marathon.

Shadrack Biwott
Bib #: 13
AGE: 24
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K: 28:28 (track)
OF NOTE: An All-American at the University of Oregon, he is the brother of Duncan Kibet, one of the world’s top marathoners and the 2007 Beach to Beacon champ.

Gilbert Okari
BIB #: 15
AGE: 31
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE: Kenya
BEST 10K: 27:28 (2003 TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon)
OF NOTE: A three-time TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon champ, he continues to hold the course record (27:28 set in 2003) and remains one of the most popular athletes ever to take part in the event. His career includes wins in a who’s who of major U.S. road races – Cherry Blossom 10M, Crescent City Classic 10K, Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K, Bay to Breakers 12K. Falmouth 7M, Utica 15K, Bix 7M and Peachtree 10K.

Haron Lagat
Bib #: 16
AGE: 25
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE: Eldoret, Kenya
BEST 10K: 28:05
OF NOTE: Won the Hyde Park Blast 4 –Miler recently in 18:49, and set his PR in the 10K (28:05) in April. Took third in 2008 at competitive Carlsbad 5000 (13:36).


Elite Women

Everlyne Lagat
BIB #: 101
AGE: 28
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE: Tucson, Arizona
BEST 10K: 32:49
OF NOTE: A younger sister of famed U.S. runner Bernard Lagat, a two-time Olympic medalist and former World Champion. She is intent on making a name for herself on the U.S. roads. Finished fifth in the 2008 New York Mini 10K. Other 2008 results included a seventh at the Freihofer’s Run For Women 5K in 16:11, a sixth in the Carlsbad 5000 in 16:08, a fifth at the Azalea Trail Run 10K in 32:49, and a fifth at the Newport 10,000 in Jersey City in 32:54. She ran in college at Washington State, Malone College, and at the University of Toledo.

Berhane Adere
BIB #: 102
AGE: 36
CITIZEN OF: Ethiopia
RESIDENCE: Ethiopia
BEST 10K: 30:04 (track)
OF NOTE: A running legend, she is a former 10,000m world champion who’s 30:04 in 2003 set an African record and remains the sixth-fastest time ever recorded. She also has won the Chicago Marathon twice and the prestigious Dubai Marathon.

Olga Romanova
BIB #: 103
AGE: 28
CITIZEN OF Russia
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K: 32:29 (track)
OF NOTE: Finished sixth at the 2004 World Cross Country Championships.

Volha Krautsova
BIB #: 104
AGE: 28
CITIZEN OF: Belarus
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K: 31:58 (track)
OF NOTE: A 13th place finisher at 5000m in the 2004 Olympics, she also was a member of the 2008 Olympic team for Belarus. Finished 13th at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, and placed seventh in the 10,000m at the 2009 European Cup.

Alina Alexeeva
BIB #: 105
AGE: 24
CITIZEN OF: Russia
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K: 32:31 (track)
OF NOTE: The 2007 Russian Junior Champ at 10,000m, she also place third in the European (U23) Championship in the same event. Place second at the 2008 Russian Cross Country Championships. She will celebrate her 24th birthday on race day.

Irene Limika
BIB #: 106
AGE: 29
CITIZEN OF: Kenya
RESIDENCE: Philadelphia, Penn.
BEST 10K: 32:11
OF NOTE: So far in 2009, finished 8th at the World’s Best 10k (33:20); 6th at the Peachtree 10K (32:11); and 2nd at the Utica Boilermaker 15k (49:33). She won a silver medal at the 2001 Goodwill Games in the 3000m steeplechase, and is the first Kenyan woman to compete in that event internationally.

Aheza Kiros
BIB #: 108
AGE: 23
CITIZEN OF: Ethiopia
RESIDENCE: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
BEST 10K: 31:20
OF NOTE: She won the 2009 Carlsbad 5000 in 15:38. A 10,000m specialist, she won a silver medal at the 2006 African Championships and placed 17th at the 2007 World Championships.

Korei Omata
BIB #: 109
AGE: 22
CITIZEN OF: Japan
RESIDENCE: Tokyo
BEST 10K: 31:53:07 (track)
OF NOTE:

Shoko Mori
BIB #: 110
AGE: 25
CITIZEN OF: Japan
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K: N/A
OF NOTE: Has a personal best 15:36 at 5000m.

Chisa Fujimoto
BIB #: 111
AGE: 22
CITIZEN OF: Japan
RESIDENCE: Japan
BEST 10K:
OF NOTE: Personal best 16:30 at 5000m.

Ilsa Paulsen
BIB #: 113
AGE: 20
CITIZEN OF: USA
RESIDENCE: New York
BEST 10K:
OF NOTE: Top American this month at Peachtree 10K and Utica Boilermaker 15K. Finished an impressive fourth at the USA 7 Mile Road Race in Iowa last weekend. She turned pro at age 19 after withdrawing from college early in her freshman year. She won the 2008 citizens race at Bolder Boulder, then made her big-time debut in the New York City Half Marathon, where she placed ninth in a PR 1:13:22. Also finished third at the 2008 USA 20K championships.

Carrie Messner
BIB #: 114
AGE: 32
CITIZEN OF: USA
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K: 33:56
OF NOTE: Ranked as the #1 steeplechaser in the U.S. in 2006. She finished 15th at the World Championships in 2005.

Sally Meyeroff
BIB #: 115
AGE: 25
CITIZEN OF: USA
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K: 33:03 (track)
OF NOTE: A three-time All American at Duke University. Qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in her debut marathon in 2008 at the Rock’n’Roll Marathon, where she finished fourth. She is the current U.S. champion in 25k, and set a U.S. record for 10-mile run this year. Coming off a fifth-place finish at the USA 7 Mile Road Race last weekend in Iowa.

Yohannes Assefa
BIB #: 116
AGE:
CITIZEN OF: Ethiopia
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K:
OF NOTE:

Rebecca Donaghue
BIB #: 117
AGE: 33
CITIZEN OF: USA
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K:
OF NOTE:

Diana Cirlan
BIB #: 118
AGE:
CITIZEN OF: Romania
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K:
OF NOTE:

Nadia Ejjiani
BIB #: 119
AGE:
CITIZEN OF: Morocco
RESIDENCE:
BEST 10K:
OF NOTE: