Back To The Streets

The New York City Half Marathon — which is run by the New York Road Runners — has announced the inclusion of four world-class Americans in the field. On the men's side Meb Keflezighi and Dathan Ritzenhein lead the entrants while Kara Goucher and Desiree Davila do the same for the women.

Scheduled for March 18, the NYC Half will feature a race-record field of 15,000 runners and a thrilling new course. Also new this year, WABC-TV will be airing the NYC Half live beginning at 7 am as part of NYRR's recently announced comprehensive television agreement with ESPN/WABC-TV. At $100,000, the NYC Half will again offer the largest half-marathon prize purse in the U.S.

Davila — who will be representing the U.S. in the Olympic marathon in August — spoke to the Detroit Free Press about her decision to run New York. "Coming off the high of the trials, it was important to pick a bigger race that would get me motivated, because a lot of times, after a big race like (the Olympic trials), you sometimes can want to be content for a while.

"Right now, it seems like a daunting task, but it will get me motivated in the next couple of weeks to really work hard. New York is shaping up to be a good field. That's part of the reason why I picked it; the New York Road Runners do an awesome job of putting together amazing fields every year. I, obviously, don't want to go in there and run poorly."

The 36-year-old Keflezighi, who won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials last month, became the first American since Alberto Salazar in 1982 to win the ING New York City Marathon in 2009. He has finished in the top 10 in the Marathon a total of seven times, most recently with a sixth-place finish in 2011. "NYRR events have been a big part of my professional career," he said. "So I am very excited to start my 2012 Olympic Games buildup at the NYC Half. I recovered well from the Olympic Trials and look forward to competing against the field."

The NYC Half will offer runners a spectacular tour of Manhattan as they race through Central Park, Times Square, the Hudson River waterfront, and lower Manhattan, en route to the scenic South Street Seaport finish line.