A record field of 2000 is expected for the 7th running of the Brooks Pharmacy Ocean State Marathon on November 14 from Warwick to Providence, Rhode Island. The elite international group is the strongest and deepest ever assembled in New England outside of the Boston Marathon. The pacesetters will be vying for a prize purse totaling $80, 000 including $7,000 for the first place man and woman and a $10,000 bonus for anyone running under 2:14 and any woman running under 2:32. There will also be age group prizes and bonuses.

Defending champion, Andrey Kuznetsov, 41, of Russia, who posted a 2:17:58 to establish a master course record, leads a stellar collection of athletes primed to inaugurate the new 26.2 mile course with fierce, fast competition. Kuznetsov, followed his win here last year with a 7th place overall and master victory at Boston with a 2:14:19. He went on to post master wins at Grandma's Marathon in June with a 2:16:26 and Twin Cities Marathon in October with a 2:14:51. In 1998 he was 2nd overall at Grandma's with a 2:14:12.

Sergei Shalomayev, 32, also of Russia, who often travels and competes with Kuznetsov, was 3rd here last year with a 2:19:39. He ran his marathon best of 2:15:45 at Las Vegas in 1997. He ran a 2:16:59 at Grandma's this year. Another competitor from Russia, Mikhail Romanov, 24, who has a marathon best of 2:13:51, will be competing in his first OSM.

Yevgeniy Zarakovskiy, 40, of Russia has run a 2:19:35 and should be a threat in the master's division. Leading a long list of Kenyan athletes is Elly Rono, 23, who lowered his marathon best to 2:14:44 with a 5th place finish at Grandma's and improved to 2:14:17 at Twin Cities to finish 3rd. Zack Kunyiha, 29, of Kenya has a marathon best of 2:14:13 in finishing 5th at the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon in 1998 and a half marathon best of 1:02:48.

Two time winner and course record holder, with an astounding 58:20 in 1996, of the Mt. Washington road race, Daniel Kihara, 32, of Kenya lowered his marathon best to 2:14:44 to place 4th behind Rono at Twin Cities. He has a half marathon best of 1:02:40.

Another Kenyan, John Kipkoskei, 28, ran a 2:09:54 as runnerup at the Riems Marathon in France in 1995. Last year at Cleveland he was 2nd again with a 2:11:56. He has a half marathon best of 1:01:38 and last year ran a 1:03:10 to place 3rd at Medellin, Columbia.

Jacob Kirwa, 23, of Kenya ran his best of 2:13:24 in 1998. Bernard Kitur, 28, of Kenya, who was 3rd at the 1997 Detroit Marathon with a 2:17:39 has a half marathon best of 1:02:56 at the Austin Half Marathon last year.

Kenyan Davis Kamau, 34, ran his marathon best of 2:15:00 his half marathon best of 1:03:50 in 1998. Tanzania's Simon Peter, 32, who ran 2:16:33 to place 2nd at OSM in 1995 ran his best of 2:12:47 in winning Grandma's in 1998. His half marathon best of 1:03:48 came last year at Fairfield, CT. He won the 1997 Hartford Marathon with a 2:16:59. Another master who has a splendid opportunity to win the race outright is Toni Niemczak, 43, who ran a Polish national record of 2:09:41 to place 2nd at the Chicago Marathon in 1990. His best marathon as a master is 2:16:35. Not to be outdone the women's field is by far the strongest ever as several women are capable of posting a sub 2:32 run. Leading the group is master phenom Tetyana Pozdnyakova, 44 of the Ukraine. She ran 2:29:25, the second fastest women's master time in history to place 5th overall at Chicago in 1998. Earlier that year she won the Cleveland Marathon outright with a 2:30:15 course record. This year she scored another overall win with a 2:33:23 at the Houston Marathon in January and followed that with a 2nd place overall at Cleveland with a 2:34:13 in May. She ran 1:13:04 at the Austin Half Marathon in February and ran a master world best of 40:03 for 12k at the Arts Fest River Run in Indiana the week after Cleveland.

Another Ukrainian, Yelena Plastinina, 36, has a marathon best of 2:33:26 posted at Grandma's earlier this year where she placed 3rd. Last year she won at Grandma's with a 2:35:46. She has a half marathon best at 1:12:32. Nadya Guselschikova, 29, of Russia has a marathon best of 2:37:51 from a 6th place finish at Grandma's in June and was runnerup at the Pittsburgh Marathon with a 2:38:56 in May. Alevtina Naomova, 38, of Russia won the 1996 Cleveland Marathon with a then course record of 2:32:12. She won the 1994 Houston Marathon with a 2:34:47. Her marathon best is 2:29:29. She has a half marathon best of 1:11:50. Also from Russia, Tatiana Maslova, 33, has a marathon best of 2:37:17. She was 6th at Houston earlier this year with a 2:41:47.

Danuta Bartoszek, 38, a Canadian Olympian in 1996, has a marathon best of 2:31:46 run to place 3rd at Chicago 1995. She also placed 3rd the following year at Chicago with a 2:33:01. She was 2nd to Plastinina last year at Grandma's with a 2:36:19. She was 15th at Boston this year with a 2:43:18.

The marathon starts at the Community College of RI in Warwick at 9:05 a.m. and the first finisher should arrive at Kennedy Plaza in Providence at about 11:15. The awards ceremony will take place at the RI Convention Center at 2 p.m. The race start and finish will be televised live, with periodic cut-ins during the race, on NBC 10, Providence.

Ocean State Marathon
Contact:
Gerry Beagan
5 Division Street
East Greenwich, RI 02818
(401) 885-4499
Fax: (401) 885-3188
e-mail: osm26@ids.net
web site: osm26.com

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