NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE

Abdi Abdirahman United States Age: 30 Residence: Tucson, Arizona Abdirahman was third behind Kenya's Tom Nyariki and 2004 Olympic marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi in this race's 2006 debut. He recently won the USA Outdoor Championship at 10,000 meters, an event at which he is already a two-time U.S. Olympian. Abdirahman—known universally as "Abdi"—finished fifth in the ING New York City Marathon 2005. He ran his marathon personal best, 2:08:56, at last year's LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. A native of Somalia, Abdirahman was named the PAC-10 Athlete of the Year for his runner-up finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. A U.S. citizen since 1999, he is now among the favorites to qualify for the Beijing Olympics at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men's Marathon in New York on November 3.



Worku Beyi Ethiopia Age: 20 Residence: Bronx, New York Since moving to the U.S. in 2006, the easygoing Beyi has established himself as one of the dominant racers in the Northeast and a contender nationally and internationally as well. Beyi, who lives and trains with 2006 NYRR Fred Lebow Runner of the Year Demesse Tefera, recently finished third in a world-class field at the Bolder Boulder 10K in Colorado. He set his 10K PR of 28:43 at the 2007 Cooper River Bridge Run and won the 2007 WABC Father's Day Fight Against Prostate Cancer 5-Mile in a course-record 23:07 in June. He was sixth at the 2006 NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE in 1:03:41



Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot Kenya Age: 28 Residence: Nairobi, Kenya The leader and prohibitive favorite in the inaugural World Marathon Majors series, Cheruiyot is the defending champion of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and a three-time champion and course record-holder (2:07:14) of the Boston Marathon. He is a training partner of world marathon record-holder Paul Tergat. A proven big-race winner and owner of a 59:21 half-marathon personal best, Cheruiyot will be one of the favorites in the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE.



Alan Culpepper United States Age: 34 Residence: Lafayette, Colorado A Texas native, Culpepper became a standout at the University of Colorado, winning the 1996 NCAA 5000-meter title. He made the 10,000-meter Olympic team in 2000; four years he won the Olympic Trials marathon in a sprint against Meb Keflezighi, the eventual Olympic silver medalist. Culpepper made his marathon debut in 2001 and has twice finished in the top five at the Boston Marathon, but he didn't make his half-marathon debut until 2006 in a special invitation-only race as part of the Freescale Austin Marathon. He was eighth at the 2006 NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE in 1:04:07.



Haile Gebrselassie Ethiopia Age: 34 Residence: Lafayette, Colorado Superlatives are the norm when one tries to encapsulate the career of Haile Gebrselassie. His two Olympic 10,000-meter gold medals, 22 world records, and 107 major-race victories make him the rival of Paavo Nurmi and Emil Zátopek for the unofficial title of greatest male distance runner of all time. Add to this an unfailingly friendly and generous nature, and you have one of the world's most admirable sportsmen. "Geb" will make his New York racing debut at the NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE. His half-marathon PR of 58:55 is a former world record.



Peter Gilmore United States Age: 30 Residence: San Mateo, California After an eighth-place finish and personal best at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men's Marathon, Gilmore finished second at the California International Marathon that December in another personal best. That performance, coupled with a breakthrough 10th place at the 2005 Boston Marathon, earned him a ticket to compete in the marathon at the 2005 IAAF World Championships in Helsinki. He finished seventh at the 2006 Boston Marathon in 2:12:45 and was the leading American in this year's Boston, finishing eighth in 2:16:41. His half-marathon personal best is 1:04:31.



Kassahun Kabiso Ethiopia Age: 23 Residence: Bronx, New York Kabiso, who competes frequently throughout the Northeast, was the NYRR Fred Lebow Runner of the Year Award in 2003 and 2004 and was the top New York City finisher in the ING New York City Marathon in both those years. Kabiso's first 26.2-miler was a 2:17:02 run at age 16, and he moved to New York from Ethiopia after finishing San Diego's Rock 'N' Roll Marathon in 2:18:56 at age 17. He set a half-marathon PR of 1:05:31 with his ninth-place finish at the 2006 NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE.



John Korir Kenya Age: 31 Residence: Mulot, Kenya Korir has been very hard to beat this year, and his wins have come in prestigious road races including the Steamboat Classic 4M, the Lilac Bloomsday Run, and the ING Bay to Breakers, and against deep world-class fields. His half-marathon PR of 1:02:22 from 2005 looks ripe for revision.



Hendrick Ramaala South Africa Age: 35 Residence: Johannesburg, South Africa Ramaala has established himself as one of the world's top marathoners. After his breakthrough win at the ING New York City Marathon 2004 in 2:09:28, he finished third at the 2005 Flora London Marathon in a then–personal best of 2:08:32 and then lost one of the most memorable duels in the sport's history at the ING New York City Marathon 2005, finishing less than one second behind winner Paul Tergat, the marathon world record-holder. A three-time Olympian, Ramaala began running after being cut from his university's soccer team. He holds South African national records at 10K (28:02), 20K (57:46), the half-marathon (59:20), and 10,000 meters on the track (27:29.94); he also holds a law degree from Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg. He does nearly all of his marathon training on a single 3.5K loop near the Johannesburg Zoo.



Demesse Tefera Ethiopia Age: 24 Residence: Bronx, New York Tefera was a surprising third in this year's Healthy Kidney 10K behind only course record-setter Dathan Ritzenhein and two-time defending champion Craig Mottram. Fifth in the inaugural NYC Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE with a personal-best 1:03:17, the Ethiopian native has established himself as one of the dominant racers across the Northeast. The 2006 NYRR Fred Lebow Runner of the Year, Tefera was previously competed for the Subaru corporate team in Japan.



Macharia Yuot Sudan Age: 25 Residence: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Yuot's journey to the United States began 18 years ago, when the civil war that would ultimately take two million Sudanese lives reached his hometown of Paleek. Separated from his family and hunted by militia, Yuot became one of the estimated 26,000 "Lost Boys of Sudan" and walked nearly 1,500 miles through Ethiopia and Kenya—over the course of three years—before being airlifted to the United States seven years ago. Yuot attended high school in Philadelphia before enrolling at Widener University to study social work. At Widener he won five NCAA Division III titles; in one three-day span in May 2006, he captured the 3000-meter steeplechase, 5000-meter, and 10,000-meter titles—an unprecedented feat at any level of collegiate athletics. Yuot achieved the qualifying time for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men's Marathon in June, and he hopes to gain U.S. citizenship in time to run in the Trails race in New York this November. His half-marathon PR is 1:06:19.