B.A.A. Half Marathon® Registration is Now Closed

B.A.A. Half Marathon® Registration is Now Closed

               

Third and final event of the 2015 B.A.A. Distance Medley, held on October 11, quickly reached its field size limit of 8,500 entrants

BOSTON – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) today announced that registration for the 15th B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, closed after its 8,500 entrant field size limit was reached. The B.A.A. Half Marathon will be held on Sunday, October 11, 2015, and will be the third and final race in the 2015 B.A.A. Distance Medley. Registration opened on Wednesday, July 15 at 10:00 a.m. ET, and closed at 5:00 p.m. ET, on Thursday, July 16.

Similar to 2014, the B.A.A. Half Marathon used both a first-come, first-served and random selection process to fill the 8,500 runner field. A total of 2,640 runners pre-registered for the event through B.A.A. Distance Medley registration, which was held in January. In addition, up to 700 runners will comprise the Dana-Farber Fundraising Team, raising at least $750 for the Jimmy Fund.

Approximately 5,000 entries were available beginning on Wednesday, July 15, with 2,000 selected by a first-come, first-served basis. The remaining 3,000 entrants will be decided through random selection of those applicants who submitted an entry before the 5:00 p.m. ET closing time on Thursday, July 16. 

The B.A.A. Half Marathon is presented annually by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Through its official team of participants, up to 700 runners will raise funds to advance cancer research and improve patient care. Dana-Farber has a separate registration, and spaces are still available for those who would like to join the fundraising team. For more details or to register for the Dana-Farber team, please visitwww.rundanafarber.org.

EVENT NOTES:

·         The B.A.A. Half Marathon’s 13.1-mile, rolling course is an out-and-back route that runs along the Emerald Necklace park system, highlighting the beauty of the historic park system while furthering the B.A.A.’s mission of promoting health and fitness. The B.A.A. Half Marathon will begin and end at White Stadium in Franklin Park, one of America’s oldest parks, in Boston’s Jamaica Plain and Dorchester neighborhoods.

·         The B.A.A. Half Marathon is the third and final race in the 2015 B.A.A. Distance Medley, a three-race series which combines the B.A.A. 5K in April, the B.A.A. 10K in June, and the B.A.A. Half Marathon. Each of the three races has its own prize purse. In addition, top finishers of the events are eligible to win bonus prize money based upon podium finishes.

·         A total prize purse of $55,800 is at stake in the B.A.A. Half Marathon. Prize money will be distributed to the top ten runners overall, the top three in the masters division, and the top three in the push rim wheelchair division. Prize money awards are equal for men and women and are based on gun time results. The overall men’s and women’s B.A.A. Half Marathon champions will each receive $10,000 in prize money.

·         At the 2014 B.A.A. Half Marathon, Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa successfully retained his men’s title, finishing in a time of 1:01:38. Desisa’s win was a precursor to his triumphant victory at the 2015 Boston Marathon in April. Kenya’s Stephen Sambu came away with the B.A.A. Distance Medley crown, having finished in the top four at all three events.  

·         Ethiopia’s Mamitu Daska won the women’s race at the 2014 B.A.A. Half Marathon in record fashion, setting an event record of 1:08:20 en route to defeating Kenyan Cynthia Limo by four seconds. American Molly Huddle took third in 1:09:22. With her victory, Daska solidified the B.A.A. Distance Medley title; she won both the B.A.A. Half Marathon and B.A.A. 10K in 2014, and placed second in the B.A.A. 5K.

·         Since the event’s inception in 2001, the B.A.A. has directed a portion of the entry fees from the B.A.A. Half Marathon towards the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, which works to preserve, maintain, and promote the historic park system. The Emerald Necklace park system was developed by America’s first landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the B.A.A. Half Marathon features recreational use and appreciation of the landscape, waterways, and parkways as they were intended at the time of design in the late 1800s. The Franklin Park Zoo also has been an attraction of the B.A.A. Half Marathon since the event’s inception.