B.A.A. HALF MARATHON REACHES FIELD SIZE LIMIT FOR 10TH ANNUAL RACE

The field size of 6,000 was reached in two hours.

Boston, Mass. – The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today that registration for the 2010 B.A.A. Half Marathon has closed after its field size limit was reached. The B.A.A. expanded the 10th edition of the race by 1,000 runners after the 2009 race sold out in 27 hours. This year, the 6,000 person limit was reached in two hours. The date of this year’s race is October 10, 2010 (10-10-10).

The B.A.A. Half Marathon is presented annually by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and The Jimmy Fund. Through its Running the Race Against Cancer^® team of participants, more than 500 runners will advance cancer research and improve patient care through their fundraising efforts. Runners who have already registered for the B.A.A. Half Marathon may still be able to join the Dana-Farber team. Visit their event website.

The B.A.A. Half Marathon is run along Boston and Brookline’s Emerald Necklace park system. The start and finish location for this year’s race is in Boston’s Franklin Park near White Stadium and the Franklin Park Zoo. For the past nine years, the race started and finished in the Back Bay Fens. The race begins at 8:30 a.m. on the Sunday of the Columbus Day holiday weekend.

“We’re excited that our race has become so popular, as evidenced by how quickly it reached capacity,” said B.A.A. Executive Director Guy Morse. “The popularity of the B.A.A. Half Marathon is testament to its course, which takes our runners past the scenic parks of the Emerald Necklace and through the Franklin Park Zoo.” Since 2001, the B.A.A. has directed a portion of the entry fees towards the Emerald Necklace Conservancy which works to preserve, maintain, and promote this historic park system.

The database of entrants in the 2010 B.A.A. Half Marathon is located here.

The field of professional runners who will vie for a total prize money purse of $30,000 will be released in September.