Bulls Eye On The Kiwi

March 17^th, in NYC it looks to be a blustery day where there will be a brilliant battle in the women’s field for the 2013 version of the half marathon.  One of the World’s best at the 13.1 distance, Kim Smith toes the line Sunday morning as the top returner, where she led about 13 of the 13.1 miles of last years race.   Although there’s a newly minted New Balance logo on her singlet, there’s also a target too, as it’s made clear that she is the favorite.

She is the New Zealand record holder at 3000 meters (8:35.31), 5000 meters (14:45.93), 10000 meters (30:35.43) 1/2 marathon (1:07.11) and marathon (2:25.21) and looks to qualify for the 10000 meters in Russia this year.  The four-time NCAA champion (Providence College), comes in with the fastest personal best in the field but will be challenged by a vast amount of other ladies looking to take the top spot in NYC.

The American Charge

Although being led by U.S. Olympian, Janet Bawcom, youth is at the foundation of the charge on the American Side in the Women’s field.  Bawcom is the American record-holder for 25k and she is hot off of her second straight USA 15K Championship win last week in Jacksonville, FL.  Bawcom was 5^th at this race last year, but watch out for her to bounce back into the mix.

Maegan Krifchin is a Long Island native bringing in a personal best of 1:10.56, making her NYC Half Marathon debut.  Krifchin is a former Syracuse runner and since graduating she has really taken off on the roads.  She was the top American finsher at the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships (13^th).

At the age of 30, Serena Burla is still busting out quality performances, as she has battled a slew of injuries during her bout.  A personal best of 1:10:08, she’s finished 2^nd in the 2010 USA Half-Marathon Championships, but shortly after found out she had a rare form of cancer in her right leg.  She was able to recover by 2011 where she was again 2^nd at USA’s and then chopped off 11 minutes from her marathon personal best in the Seoul International Marathon.

Becoming an American citizen in April of 2011, Adiana Nelson comes in under the training of Coach Brad Hudson, with a personal best of 1:09.59.  After unfortunately injuring her hamstring in the 2011 NYC Half Marathon, Nelson is looking to get back on the horse or in the cab and roll with the front group.  The former UTEP runner, has the gears to be at the top as she was the Bank of American Chicago Marathon runner-up in 2007.

From The Outside Looking In (International Field)

As odd as it may seem, there aren’t any Irish runners in the field as the race will be run on St. Patrick’s Day, but there are many others from around the globe.  From Portugal, Sara Moreira, won the 3000 meters at the European Indoor Championships.  Her win in the 3000 led to her entry into the NYC Half Marathon, as this will be her first race in the United States.  She comes in with a 1:10:55 personal best.

The next closest personal best to Kim Smith looks to be the German, Sabrina Mockenhaupt, as she has clocked a best of 1:08:45.  The 32-year old is said to be Germany’s most decorated athlete ever, a three time Olympian finished 11^th at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2011.  Nicknamed, “Mocki”, she’s won 29 national titles in Germany and she is the peoples champ (in Germany).

Next on the list is the New Mexico based runner, Caroline Rotich (Kenya) as she has a best time of 1:08:52 from when she won the NYC Half Marathon in 2011.  Although Kenyan, Rotich speaks fluent Japanese, since that is where she attended high school.

Other key names to keep a close watch on will be Adrienne Herzog, the Dutch runner who will be making her Half Marathon debut (15:34 5000) and she finished 3^rd at the European Cross Country Championships in December.  Madai Pereze (Mexico) has reach the podium twice in NYC, Adriana Da Silva (Brazil), Claire Hallissey, (GBR) and Tomomi Tanaka (Japan) will add a hefty spice to the Women’s field in the Half this Sunday.  Tanaka finished 8^th at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in October and is looking to be the first Japanese woman to grab a spot on the podium in NYC since 2008. 

Flotrack will be on hand with live updates of the action from New York. It can be watched on WABC-TV from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m or a live stream can be found on ESPN3

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