Boston Marathon Age-Groupers Get First-Ever Awards
Top 20 Finishers Awarded Numbered, Custom Wool Shirts at Fairmont Awards Ceremony
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Boston, MA – April 16, 2018
While elite runners fought it out for more than $800,000 in prize purses at the 2018 Boston Marathon, age groupers to date have only collected a trophy for first place. This year, for the first time, over 200 age group finishers got rewarded via a collaboration between the BAA, adidas and The Woolmark Company.
The custom-designed collaboration rewarded the top-20 age-groupers in thirteen divisions with fine Merino blend tee-shirts and, in a nod to the second-oldest footrace in America, the Dipsea, are numbered 1-20 for a one-of-a-kind keepsake that must, as appropriate for Boston, be earned.
Men’s champion Yuki Kawauchi, who stunned the field by passing defending champion Geoffrey Kirui and steaming to a victory in the lashing rain, also was rewarded a #1 shirt, since he is an unsponsored athlete and holds down a full-time job.
As evidenced this year, weather conditions in running are determinative and highly variable. Adidas, in conjunction with Sydney-based The Woolmark Company, is increasingly using merino wool in its running apparel.
The age-group winners this year included Nancy Rollins of Illinois, who won the Women’s 70-74 AG with a time of 4:17:01, and Gene Dykes of Pennsylvania, who not only won his age group in a scorching time of 3:16:20, but set a new single-age marathon best time in doing so.
Stuart McCullough, the managing director of The Woolmark Company was on hand to personally present the prizes, and said, “This was an incredible Boston Marathon; one for the ages. We’re proud to be present to reward these runners who are elite in the world at their age and who fought so valiantly through same weather as the professional runners.”
Contact: Gordon Wright – Gordon@Outsidepr.com
