A formidable group of elite international athletes will lead a record field of over 2000 competitors in the eighth annual Brooks Pharmacy Ocean State Marathon to be run from Warwick to Providence, RI on November 12.

Among the invited marathoners who will vie for $100,000 in prize money is defending champion and course record holder, Jacob Kirwa of Kemya, 24, who ran 2:14:54 to win last year. In February of this year he ran 2:15:58 to place third at the Austin Marathon in Texas and in June he placed fifth with a 2:16:33 at Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. He then returned to Kenya where he has been training specifically to defend his title and to lower his course record. His personal best for the marathon came at Bonholm, Denmark in 1998 when he won with a 2:13:24.

Kirwa’s stiffest competition will come from several of his countrymen who placed well here last year and several other marathoners making their first journey over the Ocean State course.

Reuben Chesang, at 2:16:15, and Elly Rono, at 2:16:33, were third and fourth respectively last year. Chesang, 37, ran a 2:18:11 earlier this year to finish fifth at the Austin Marathon. Rono, 30, finished sixth at last month’s Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota with a personal best of 2:12:53.

Last year’s leader through 16 miles of Ocean State, Kibet Cherop, will be eager to forge a quick pace again this year. Cherop, 26, ran 1:06 for the halfway split and then struggled to a 2:21:28 to place niinth. Earlier this year he won the Coliseum Half Marathon in Virginia with a 1:05:32.

Zack Kunyiha, last year’s fifth place finisher is returning to improve both his time and his placing. Kunyiha, 29, ran a 2:17:05 after briefly taking the lead after 20 miles. He has a marathon personal best of 2:14:13.

Other Kenyans who are expected to be in the lead group include John Mwai who won last month’s Hartford Marathon with a 2:17:00 in his debut over the distance. Mwai, 29, ran a 1:05:54 at the Philadelphia Half Marathon in September and has bests of 28:05 and 47:05 for 10km and 10 miles respectively. Zebron Miano has a marathon best of 2:14:00 run at Boston in 1993. He ran 1:04:34 at the Philadelphia Half Marathon in September. Paul Mbugua has a marathon best of 2:16:20 and has run 1:03:13 for the half marathon and 28:05 for 10km. Joseph Kibor will be running his first marathon at Ocean State. Kibor, 28, has a half marathon best of 1:00:27 and ran 1:02:08 at Philadelphia in September and posted a 1:04:19 in the steamy Fairfield Half Marathon last June in Connecticut.

Ukranian Igor Osmak could very well upset the Kenyan applecart. The 35-year-old Osmak is an experienced marathoner with a 2:12:57 fifth place finish last year at the Riems Marathon in France and a 2:12:52 earlier in the year with a seventh place finish at the Hamburg Marathon in Germany. His personal best for the marathon came with a 2:12:29 to finish tenth in the 1998 Paris Marathon. This year he has run 1:03:22 for the half marathon and 50:19 for ten miles.

The 1998 winner at Ocean State, Andrei Kuznetsov experienced his first off year last year since becoming a master division competitor. After two consecutive master division wins at Boston and a very impressive 2:14:51 master victory at Twin Cities he came to Ocean State prepared to defend his title. It wasn’t to be, however, as he ran well through 20 miles only to abandon the race after 22 miles. In last April’s Boston Marathon his fall from grace was complete as he finished seventh among master competitors with a 2:29:39. Since then he has recouped and recorded a 2:20 at Grandma’s in June and a 2:16:39 at Twin Cities last month.

A group of internationals who could certainly figure in the mix are Tomix Costa and Luiz Romos of Brazil, Hendrick Maako of South Africa, Scott Cohen of the US and Yuriy Hychun of the Ukraine.

Costa, 36, was runnerup at the Hartford Marathon last month with a 2:17:30 which was just off his personal best of 2:17:08 run at San Paulo in 1998. He has bests of 1:02:04 for the half marathon and has run 28:24 for 10km.

Ramos, 34, has a personal best of 2:12:06 for the marathon.

Cohen, 35, out of Portland, Oregon, holds British and US citizenship. He has bests of 1:05:20 for the half marathon, 29:40 for 10km and 2:18:44 for the marathon.

The Ukranian Hychun, 23, ran 2:18:35 in the Prague International Marathon earlier this year. He has a half marathon best of 1:05:30 and has run 29 15 for 10km.

The South African Maako, 29, resides in Boulder, Colorado. He was ninth in the South African Marathon Championships earlier this year with a 1:03:02 and he also posted a 28:37 in his country’s 10km track championships to place sixth.

While last year’s women’s division winner and course record holder, Tetyana Podznyakova (2:31:54) will not return there are numerous women primed to go for the win and take down the record.

Olga Kovpotina of Russia has a personal best of 2:32:32 and has run 1:13:08 for the half marathon. Most recently, she finished third with a 2:33:22 at the Twin Cities Marathon last month.

Alena Vinitskaya of Belarus has marathon best of 2:32:41 recorded at the California International Marathon in 1998. Vinitskaya, 27, has also run 1:12:14 for the half marathon. Most recently she placed second at the Hartford Marathon with a 2:44:47 and finished second again at the Columbus Marathon with a 2:38:14. She has shown an uncanny ability to recover quickly and run faster in each of her series of competitions.

Kenyan Margaret Kagiri, 31, is relatively new to the marathon distance but has shown immediate improvement. Last year she debuted at New York City with a 2:38:10 and last month she lowered her best to 2:37:10. She has a half marathon personal best of 1:12:08.

Russian Natalia Volguina is, at 23-years-old, a force to be reckoned with. She has run 1:13:12 for the half marathon. Her marathons have come at Paris in 1999 with a 2:36:20 good for tenth place and a 2:37:06 in the 1999 Russian Marathon Championship.

Alevtina Naoumova of Russia has a personal best of 2:29:29. Naoumova, 39, has vast international experience including victories at Cleveland in 1991 and 1996, at Houston in 1994, Dallas in 1995 and Lille, France in 1993. This year at Cleveland she recorded a 2:35:14.

Running her first marathon will be a test for former Olympic race walker, Olimpiada Ivanova of Russia. Olimpiada, 29, has had immediate success in her transition to distance running as she has recorded 1:17:02 for the half marathon, 33:07 for 10km and 53:50 for 15km.

The US women’s hopes for victory will run on the feet of Mary-Lynn Currier of Unionville, CT who has had varied recent success. In 1998 she was the first US finisher among women at the Boston Marathon with a 2:35:18 personal best. Currier, 34, has run 1:15:28 for the half marathon and in June she won the Fairfield Half Marathon with a 1:17:34.

Canadian Ida Mitten, 39, has a personal best of 2:38:14 which came in winning the Shamrock Marathon at Virginia Beach in 1999. She has competed since 1972 as a competitor in cross country skiing winning numerous titles in the US and in Canada.

The Ocean State Marathon will start at 9 a.m. from the Community College of Rhode Island campus at Warwick and finish at Kennedy Plaza, Providence.

For more information contact: 
Ocean State Marathon, 5 Division Street, East Greenwich, RI 02818. 
Telephone: (401) 885-4499. 
Fax: (401) 885-3188. 
E-mail: osm26@ ids.net. 
Web site: osm26.com.