Kenya's Mary Keitany to make marathon debut at ING New York City Marathon 2010

New York, August 25, 2010 � Reigning World Half-Marathon champion and 25K world record-holder Mary Keitany of Kenya will step up to the marathon distance for the first time in her career at the ING New York City Marathon 2010 on Sunday, November 7, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO and race director Mary Wittenberg.

The debut of Keitany, 28, will be the latest in a long list of marathon debuts in New York by some of the world's best women distance runners: Grete Waitz (1978), Tegla Loroupe (1994), Deena Kastor (2001), Marla Runyan (2002), and Kara Goucher and Kim Smith (2008).

Also making her marathon debut in this year's race is American Olympian Shalane Flanagan.

�"The curtain goes up for another blossoming star here in New York," said Wittenberg. �"Great things are expected of Mary at the marathon distance, and we're excited to see her begin to deliver on that promise this year."

Keitany set the 25K (approximately 15.5 miles) world record of 1 hour, 19 minutes, and 53 seconds at the BIG 25 in Berlin on May 9 this year. She owns three of the top 12 times in half-marathon history and has not lost a half-marathon race since October 2007.

�"It will be my debut at the marathon distance and I have no idea how my body will react in the last miles, but I'm confident for the new challenge in front of me," said Keitany.

Also announced for the women's field were two-time Olympian Kim Smith of New Zealand and former world champion Werknesh Kidane of Ethiopia, who join the previously announced Flanagan and British Olympian Mara Yamauchi for the 41st running of the race.

Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia, Arata Fujiwara of Japan, and Kenyans Abel Kirui, Peter Kamais, and Emmanuel Mutai were announced for the men's field. Defending champion Meb Keflezighi and 2009 World Half-Marathon bronze medalist Dathan Ritzenhein, both of the United States, and marathon world record-holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, were announced previously.

Smith, 28, made her marathon debut in New York City in 2008 (she dropped out at 15 miles) and finished eighth in the 2010 London Marathon in a New Zealand national record time of 2:25:21. The two-time Olympian at 10,000 meters finished fifth in the NYRR New York Mini 10K in June and fourth in the Peachtree Road Race in July in a 10K personal best time of 31:23.

Kidane, 28, a former World Cross Country champion (8K) and World Championships silver medalist at 10,000 meters, won the Great Manchester Run 10K in May. She followed up her victory in England with a third-place finish at the NYRR New York Mini 10K in June.

Gebremariam, 25, is the hottest runner on the U.S. road circuit this year with victories in the last two months at the Peachtree Road Race, the Beach to Beacon 10K, and the Falmouth Road Race. The 2009 World Cross Country champion is undefeated (4-0) for his career in road races in the United States. In his last visit to the Big Apple, Gebremariam bested Peter Kamais to capture the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K title in May in Central Park.

Fujiwara, 27, who will be making his New York City debut, won the Ottawa Marathon in May in a course-record time of 2:09:33. Until last year, Fujiwara ran for a traditional Japanese corporate team, Japan Railways. This year, he left the Japanese corporate system and is now competing as an independent athlete.

Kirui, 28, finished third in the 2009 Rotterdam Marathon in 2:05:04 and won the IAAF World Championships Marathon in an event-record 2:06:54. When Gebrselassie set the marathon world record of 2:04:26 in Berlin in 2007, Kirui finished second in 2:06:51.

Kamais, 33, winner of the 2010 NYC Half-Marathon in March, will make his marathon debut in New York City. He finished second to Gebremariam at the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K in May and was also the runner-up at the Steamboat Classic 4-Mile in June. Kamais became the fourth-fastest man in history at 10K on the road when he won the 2009 Brabants Dagblad 10K in Berlin in 27:09.
Mutai, 23, was the 2009 World Championships Marathon silver medalist behind his countryman Kirui. He has run under 2:07 on four occasions, most recently with his 2:06:23 runner-up finish at the Virgin London Marathon in April.

New York Road Runners
Headquartered in New York City, New York Road Runners is dedicated to advancing the sport of running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and meeting our community's needs. Our goal is to use the expertise acquired in our 52-year history to empower all people to live fitter, healthier lives through participation in our races, community events, instruction and training resources, and youth programs. Our races and other events draw more than 300,000 people each year. The ING New York City Marathon, NYRR's premier event, is the largest and most inclusive marathon in the world, attracting the world's top professional runners every year and raising nearly $25 million for charity in 2009.

NYRR's running-based youth programs, which currently serve more than 100,000 children in hundreds of schools and community centers, promote children's health and fitness, character development, and personal achievement in underserved communities. For more information, visit www.nyrr.org.

The ING New York City Marathon
The premier event of New York Road Runners, the ING New York City Marathon is one of the world's great road races, drawing nearly 105,000 applicants. The race attracts many world-class professional athletes, not only for the more than $600,000 in prize money, but also for the chance to excel in the media capital of the world before two million cheering spectators and a worldwide broadcast reach of 330 million. As any one of the more than 830,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime. For more information, visit www.ingnycmarathon.org.