Boston Marathon elite fields announced

[Ryan]

Some interesting match-ups on both sides. For the men, it looks like a deep and fast field. I'm sure a lot of people will focus on Hall and the fact that he has the second fastest PR listed but this is a field in which Hall is one of many.

Men - Personal Best
Deriba Merga, Ethiopia 2:06:38 (London, 2008)
Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Kenya 2:07:14 (Boston, 2006) CR
Ryan Hall, USA 2:06:17 (London, 2008)
Abderrahim Goumri, Morocco 2:05:30 (London, 2008)
Gilbert Yegon, Kenya 2:06:18 (Amsterdam, 2009)
Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, Kenya 2:06:23 (Frankfurt, 2009)
Evans Cheruiyot, Kenya 2:06:25 (Chicago, 2008)
Chala Dechase, Ethiopia 2:06:33 (Dubai, 2010)
Elijah Keitany, Kenya 2:06:41 (Amsterdam, 2009)
David Kipkorir Mandago, Kenya 2:06:53 (Paris, 2009)
Benjamin Maiyo, Kenya 2:07:09 (Chicago, 2005)
Tekeste Kebede, Ethiopia 2:07:52 (Fukuoka, 2009)
Gashaw Asfaw, Ethiopia 2:08:03 (Paris, 2006)
John Kipkorir Komen, Kenya 2:08:06 (Reims, 2008)
Samuel Mugo, Kenya 2:08:20 (Beijing, 2009)
Stephen Kiogora, Kenya 2:08:24 (Frankfurt, 2008)
Mebrahtom Keflezighi, USA 2:09:15 (New York City, 2009)
Moses Kipkosgei Kigen, Kenya 2:10:12 (Nairobi, 2009)
Abdellah Falil, Morocco 2:12:37 (Turin, 2009)
Jason Lehmkuhle, USA 2:12:54 (New York City, 2007)
Cutbert Nyasango, Zimbabwe 2:13:19 (Berlin, 2009)
Alejandro Suarez, Mexico 2:13:33 (Torreon, 2009)
Josh Rohatinsky, USA 2:14:23 (New York City, 2008)
Antonio Vega, USA 2:15:45 (Minneapolis/St.Paul, 2009)
Mohammed Amyn, Morocco Debut

Women - Personal Best
Salina Kosgei, Kenya 2:23:22 (Berlin, 2006)
Catherine Ndereba, Kenya 2:18:47 (Chicago, 2001) NR
Madai Perez, Mexico 2:22:59 (Chicago, 2006) NR
Teyba Erkesso, Ethiopia 2:23:53 (Houston, 2010)
Dire Tune, Ethiopia 2:24:40 (Houston, 2008)
Lidiya Grigoryeva, Russia 2:25:10 (Los Angeles, 2006)
Weiwei Sun, China 2:25:15 (Beijing, 2002)
Bruna Genovese, Italy 2:25:28 (Boston, 2006)
Albina Mayorova‐Ivanova, Russia 2:25:35 (Chicago, 2003)
Yurika Nakamura, Japan 2:25:51 (Nagoya, 2008)
Agnes Kiprop, Kenya 2:26:22 (Turin, 2009)
Nailya Yulamanova, Russia 2:26:30 (Rotterdam, 2009)
Koren Jelela Yal, Ethiopia 2:28:41 (Venice, 2009)
Waynishet Girma, Ethiopia 2:29:50 (Amsterdam, 2009)
Tatyana Pushkareva, Russia 2:30:30 (San Antonio, 2009)
Meseret Legese, Ethiopia 2:31:37 (Padova, 2009)
Michelle Frey, USA 2:35:51 (Minneapolis/St. Paul, 2006)
Mestewat Tufa, Ethiopia Debut
Chaofeng Jia, China Debut

[Andrew A.]

Why the dearth of US women?

[Ryan]

I noticed that, also. The only US woman is coming in with a 2:35 PR. This seems a bit surprising to me.

[Andrew A.]

I would figure that, at the very least, some of the Hansons women (White, Davila, McMahan) would be there.  In fact, no Hansons at all in either field, which seems unusual.  I wonder if their relationship with BAA John Hancock has soured and/or they are targeting a different spring marathon or perhaps are taking a more low-key approach to this spring and not running a marathon.  You should shoot CJ an email to get the scoop. 

[Ryan]

Hmm, I hadn't even noticed but they are conspicuously absent this year.

Of course, another thing I was about to mention in my last post is that the field will surely undergo some changes over the coming nearly 2 months. Maybe we will see more Americans added and maybe we'll see the Hansons team show up.

[Andrew A.]

True, though I would imagine that if any Hansons runners were running that they would be committed and included by this point.  According to the release posted on the front page of the RT site, that is the complete elite field that is listed.