John Hancock Financial, title sponsor of the Boston Marathon, released its U.S. elite field on Wednesday for the 2015 race. Leading the field are Meb Keflezighi, last year’s winner and the first American man to win the race since 1983, and Shalane Flanagan, the second-fastest American ever to run the distance, who placed seventh in the 2014 race.
“I still aspire to get the best out of myself, run personal bests, win races, and inspire all people to get the best out of themselves in running and in life,” Keflezighi . “There is no better platform for these goals than the Boston Marathon.”
“From the intimidating course to the fierce competition, this marathon represents at its very core what it means to run with everything you have,” Flanagan said in the release.
Joining Keflezighi on the men’s side are Dathan Ritzenhein (2:07:47 PR), Jeffrey Eggleston (2:10:52 PR), Nick Arciniaga (2:11:30 PR), and Fernando Cabada (2:11:36 PR). Those five runners give this year’s Boston Marathon one of the deepest American men’s fields ever assembled in a World Marathon Majors race.
On the women’s side: Flanagan, third in the 2014 Berlin Marathon with a PR of 2:21:14, is joined by Des Linden (nee Davila), who finished runner-up in the tightly contested 2011 Boston Marathon while setting the then-American course record of 2:22:38.
“After a consistent 2014, I’ve built great momentum and feel like a breakthrough is possible this spring,” Linden said in the press release.
Amy Hastings (2:27:03 PR) was also announced.
The Boston Marathon, which lays claim to the title of the oldest annually contested marathon in the world, will run the 119th edition of the race on April 17 .