RUPP, BEGLEY AMONGST TOP ATHLETES AT NYRR DISTANCE CARNIVAL
By David Monti
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission

The University of California at Berkeley and the New York Road Runners will team up for the second consecutive year to produce the Brutus Hamilton Invitational on April 23 and 24.  Meet officials reported today that eight Olympians, including Americans Galen Rupp and Amy Begley, had signed up for the meet.

"We are very excited to once again be hosting the Distance Carnival at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational," said New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg in prepared remarks.  "The more opportunities we can give middle and long distance runners to shine, the better.  This is part of our commitment to the sport."

Wittenberg's professional athletes manager, Sam Grotewold, has been working with Cal's Tony Sandoval and John Rembao, and they have put together elite races for women at 3000m, and for men at 5000m and 10,000m.  All the races will be carried live via streaming video at Flotrack.org.

The women's 3000m looks particularly interesting, both because of the quality of the field and because the distance is rarely contested outdoors in the United States (the fastest 3000m by a woman on USA soil last year was a modest 9:16.23).  Begley, an Olympian at 10,000m in Beijing, will be joined in the race by Japanese 5000m Olympian Yuriko Kobayashi, 2010 USA indoor 3000m champion Renee Metivier Baillie, five-time USA champion Katie McGregor, and three-time Olympian Jen Rhines.  With Serbia's Marina Muncan setting the pace, Grotewold is setting up the race so Kobayashi can take a run at Kayoko Fukushi's Japanese record of 8:44.40. 

As for Begley, who won the USA indoor 3000m title in 2009, says she's ready to run after a long stint of altitude training under coach Alberto Salazar.

"I'm really excited to be making my seasonal debut at the New York Road Runners Distance Carnival at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational," said Begley through a statement.  "My training in Albuquerque the past few months has been going very well and I look forward to testing my fitness in a great race against a stacked field in Berkeley."

On the men's side Rupp, who finished eighth at last summer's IAAF World Championships at 10,000m, will be running the 5000m, his first outdoor race of the season.  Patrick Smyth, the top American finisher at the recent IAAF World Cross Country Championships, and Matt Gabrielson, who represented the United States at the IAAF World Championships Marathon last summer, will also be taking part.  Olympian Bolota Asmerom will set the pace.

The men's 10,000m will have a strong Japanese participation, led by Yuki Sato, who ran a personal best 27:38.25 at the Brutus Hamilton meeting last year.  He's hoping to run close to Toshinari Takaoka's nine year-old national record of 27:35.09.  American Brett Gotcher, who made a 2:10:36 marathon debut in Houston last January, is also entered.  They will be paced by Kenyans Haron Lagat and Aron Rono.

Last year's Brutus Hamilton meeting ended on a high note when Liberty University's Sam Chelanga set an NCAA 10,000m record of 27:28.48.  Right behind him, Collis Birmingham set the Australian record of 27:29.73.  Nine men broke 28 minutes in that race.

The meet will be held at Edwards Stadium, site of 12 world records, 26 American records and 24 collegiate records.  More meet information is available at http://www.calbears.com

PHOTO: Galen Rupp on his way to winning the 2009 NCAA 10,000m title (Photo by Mike Scott)

ENDS