BOSTON - USA Track & Field has designated the 2007 Boston Marathon as the USA Women's Championship, guaranteeing a deep field of U.S. women in the 111th running of the historic Hopkinton-to-Boston race. The race will be held on Monday, April 16, 2007.

The 2007 USA Women's Marathon Championship will be a part of a year-long build-up to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon, which will be held one day prior to that year's Boston Marathon.

As the USA Women's Marathon Championship, the 2007 Boston Marathon will feature a separate, additional prize purse for top American female finishers. Also, the national championship at Boston will select two of the five team positions for the 2007 IAAF World Marathon Championship and World Cup Marathon (Osaka, Japan on Sunday, September 2, 2007).

Numerous Olympic Trials qualifiers are expected to take part in the 2007 USA Championship in preparation for 2008. Still other athletes will be using the Championship to achieve their Olympic Trials qualifying times. To qualify for the Olympic Trials, athletes must run the "A" standard of 2:39:00 or the "B" standard of 2:47:00. Women may also qualify with a 10,000m performance of 33:00.00.

"In 2006 we saw a tremendous performance from our U.S. men in Boston, with five placing in the top 10. Now, with the 2007 USA Women's Championship and the 2008 Olympic Trials set to take place in Boston, our spotlight is shifting to the top U.S. women," said Guy Morse, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association. "Over the next two years, the recent resurgence in American distance running will be continuing in Boston."

"Boston is such a prestigious event, and for our elite U.S. women, it gives them an opportunity to perform on a stage with the best runners from around the world, which is very exciting," said Elizabeth Phillips, Chair of USATF's Women's Long Distance Running Committee. "Being in Boston in 2007 will also provide a preview of the excitement that will surround the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon 12 months later."

Competitors in the USA Women's Marathon Championship will begin in the Elite Women's Start at 9:35am. The elite men's field and Wave One of the race will then begin at 10:00am., with Wave Two starting at 10:30am.

The USA Women's Marathon Championship will feature a prize purse of $70,000, with entrants also eligible for overall Boston Marathon prize money. The USA Championship purse breaks down as follows:

National champion = $25,000
2nd = $15,000
3rd = $10,000
4th = $6000
5th = $4000
6th = $3000
7th = $2500
8th = $2000
9th = $1500
10th = $1000
Total = $70,000*

Additionally, USA Track & Field will award championship funds to
the first through fifth place 2007 USA Women's Marathon Championship
 finishers, provided the athletes are qualified to receive the funds,
 accordingly:

1st = $4000
2nd = $3000
3rd = $2000
4th = $1000
5th = $500
Total = $10,500*
*Prize money will not be distributed until all
 drug testing results have become final.

The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon will be held on Sunday, April 20, 2008: the day before the 112th Boston Marathon. The course will follow a multi-loop course through Boston and Cambridge. The top three finishers in that race will qualify for the U.S. team competing later that summer at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

About the Boston Athletic Association
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of managing athletic events and promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and the organization manages other local events and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John Hancock Financial Services. Last year, the Boston Marathon joined the Flora London Marathon, real,- Berlin Marathon, LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and ING New York City Marathon in launching the World Marathon Majors. The first World Marathon Majors Series concludes at the end of 2007.

Visit: BostonMarathon.org

Media Contact: Jack Fleming, (617) 236-1652, x2627; fleming@baa.org

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