Boston Marathon Champions, Olympians, and NCAA Titlists to race 2019 B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Reigning Boston Marathon champion Daniel Romanchuk, U.S. national champion Aliphine Tuliamuk among those competing in Sunday’s race.

BOSTON - The 2019 B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, will feature an elite field of Boston Marathon champions, Olympians, and NCAA titlists from around the globe. The B.A.A. 10K will be held this Sunday, June 23, at 8:00 a.m. Ten thousand participants will compete on one of the fastest courses in the world, which showcases Boston’s historic Back Bay neighborhood.

For the first time since breaking the finish tape on Boylston Street at the 2019 Boston Marathon, American Daniel Romanchuk will return to the roads of Boston for his B.A.A. 10K debut. Romanchuk became the first American to win the Boston Marathon men’s wheelchair division since 1993 and is the youngest wheelchair champion in race history at only 20 years old. Romanchuk will also be participating in a series of weekend events leading up to the B.A.A. 10K.

Romanchuk will join another Boston Marathon champion in the field: Caroline Rotich, the 2015 winner and last year’s B.A.A. 10K runner-up, is returning and looking to become only the second woman to win both Marathon and 10K crowns. Challenging Rotich will be Aliphine Tuliamuk, winner of USA national titles at 20K and the half marathon distance last year and a 2:26:50 marathoner.

Both Rotich and Tuliamuk face fierce competition from one of the strongest fields in race history, with frontrunner Fancy Chemutai entering as the third fastest woman in 10K history (lifetime best of 30:06). Fellow Kenyans Betsy Saina (2016 Olympian), Monicah Ngige (reigning B.A.A. 5K champion), and Sharon Lokedi (2018 NCAA 10,000m winner) aim to earn the $10,000 first-place prize and add a B.A.A. 10K crown to their running resumés. Not to be forgotten are two-time B.A.A. 10K champion Mamitu Daska and former B.A.A. 5K victor Buze Diriba, both of Ethiopia.

Joining Tuliamuk among the top Americans entered are B.A.A. High Performance Team member Katie Newton, Boston Marathon ninth place finisher Lindsay Flanagan, and Maine native Emily Durgin, a nine-time American Athletic Conference champion while competing for UCONN. Molly Seidel, the 2015 NCAA Cross Country and 10,000m champion from Notre Dame, is also entered.

For the men, two-time B.A.A. 10K champions Stephen Sambu (2013-2014) and Daniel Chebii (2016-2017) bring experience to the competition. They’ll battle Kenyan compatriots Geoffrey Koech, last year’s B.A.A. 10K runner up who has the fastest 10K in the field (27:18), and Stephen Kiprop, a 58:42 half-marathoner making his Boston road racing debut.

Four-time U.S. Olympian Abdi Abdirahman comes off a Masters division win at this year’s Boston Marathon to lead the American men’s field. B.A.A. High Performance Team membersJacob Thomson and Trevor Dunbar will be racing on home turf, joined by fellow Boston resident Brian Shrader, the 2014 U.S. 12K champion.

Six-time B.A.A. 10K wheelchair champion Tony Nogueira and 2016 women’s wheelchair winner Carla Trodella, will join Romanchuk racing for the wheelchair titles. Nogueira holds the B.A.A. 10K course record at 22:55, set in 2016, while Katrina Gerhard clocked the women’s wheelchair course best of 25:36 at the 2018 race.

Both the men’s and women’s open champions of the B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, receive a $10,000 (USD) award. A total prize purse of $48,500 (USD) will be distributed to the top ten men and women overall, the top three in the Masters division, and the top three in the wheelchair division. A bonus of $7,500 will be awarded for a men’s or women’s event record in the open division. The men’s event record of 27:19 was set at the inaugural edition of the B.A.A. 10K in 2011, while the women’s event record stands at 30:52, set in 2016 by Shalane Flanagan. Flanagan’s time remains an American record.

THE COURSE

The B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, begins on Sunday, June 23, at 8:00 a.m. EDT on Charles Street between Boston Common and the Public Garden. The 6.2-mile course is a flat, fast tour through Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. Following the start on Charles Street, the race turns onto Boylston Street and Arlington Street, then winds down picturesque Commonwealth Avenue and Bay State Road as far west as Babcock Street near Boston University. Participants then head back on Commonwealth Avenue, around the Public Garden, and finish on Charles Street. Race registration remains open. For more information on the B.A.A. 10K, please visit www.baa.org.

WOMEN’S ELITE ATHLETE FIELD (as of June 18, 2019)

MEN’S ELITE ATHLETE FIELD (as of June 18, 2019)

WHEELCHAIR FIELD (as of June 18, 2019)

PRIZE MONEY

A total of $48,500 (USD) in prize money will be awarded equally to men and women based on the time from the starting gun (not by net time). Masters division (40 and older) runners will be eligible for both overall prize money awards and Masters division prize money awards.

BONUS STRUCTURE FOR 2019

Bonuses for open division event record times established at B.A.A. Distance Medley events will be $5,000 for the B.A.A. 5K, $7,500 for the B.A.A. 10K, and $10,000 for the B.A.A. Half Marathon. Boston Marathon event record bonuses continue to be provided through John Hancock’s sponsorship of the Boston Marathon. In addition, a runner who wins three of those four events in 2019 will be awarded $50,000. Only the single highest bonus will be awarded to a runner.

ABOUT THE BOSTON ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.’s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John Hancock. The Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, along with international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. More than 60,000 runners will participate in B.A.A. events in 2019. The 124th Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 20, 2020. For more information on the B.A.A., please visit www.baa.org.

MEDIA
For further information or media credential requests for the B.A.A. 10K, please contact [email protected].