BOOKMAKER FAVORS CHERUIYOT AT BOSTON
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
Ireland's
largest bookmaker has tagged four-time Boston Marathon champion, Robert
Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya, as a 6-to-4 bet to win Monday's 113th
edition of the race, the best odds of any man in the invited field.
The bookmaker, Paddy Power, is offering bets on nine of the men's
invited athletes, with the longest odds at 25-to-1.
Another
Kenyan, Evans Cheruiyot, last October's Bank of America Chicago
Marathon champion, was given a 5-to-2 chance to win, and American Ryan
Hall of Big Bear Lake, Calif., is rated at 7-to-2. Hall is the fastest
man in the field with a 2:06:17 personal best.
The remaining
odds offered by Paddy Power are as follows: Deriba Merga, Ethiopia,
9-to-1; Daniel Rono, Kenya, 14-1; Ben Maiyo, Kenya, 14-to-1; Gashaw
Melese Asfaw, Ethiopia, 20-to-1; and Gudisa Shentema, Ethiopia, 25-to-1.
Abebe
Dinkesa of Ethiopia is also listed at 25-to-1, but he has withdrawn
from the race, according to John Hancock Financial, the sponsor of the
elite fields at Boston.
Paddy Power, nor any other bookmaker, offered odds on the women's race.
ENDS
ASICS TO OFFER SPECIAL "HALL-ELUJAH" T-SHIRT
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
To
help celebrate Ryan Hall's Boston Marathon debut on Monday, his shoe
and apparel sponsor, Asics, has created a special tee-shirt which they
will offer for sale exclusively at their booth at the Boston Marathon
expo.
The dark grey shirt bears a likeness of Hall winning the
2008 USA Olympic Trials Marathon, his right hand pointing to the sky,
and the phrase "Hall-elujah!" splashed across the front in white
lettering. The shirt was designed to exemplify both Hall's competitive
spirit and his strong Christian faith.
Hall, an Olympian and the
USA record holder for the half-marathon, will be at the Asics booth in
the flesh on Saturday, April 18, at 11:00 a.m. to greet fans and sign
autographs. The Boston Marathon expo is located at the Hynes
Convention Center at 900 Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay
neighborhood. The expo, and Asics's booth, opens on Friday at 2:00
p.m. and will run through Sunday (hours are posted at this link: http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/Expo.asp).
The "Hall-elujah" tee-shirt will sell for $32.
ENDS