New York Marathon 2005 to offer largest-ever marathon 1st-place purse to top woman

Through an added bonus from the ING Run for Something Better program for women, the ING New York City Marathon 2005 on November 6 will increase its prize purse to $130,000 for the women's champion, the largest first-place prize in the history of marathoning.

The announcement was made at a luncheon at Restaurant San Domenico N.Y., located along the marathon course. The first three professional women athletes signed for the race were on hand for the announcement: Olympians Jen Rhines, Marie Davenport of Ireland, and Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands.

Kiplagat, 31, and Rhines, 30, are both marathon veterans. Kiplagat has been a top-10 finisher in the ING New York City Marathon the last three years, with a third-place showing in 2003. Rhines, a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic marathon team, placed 17th in the ING New York City Marathon 2003.

Davenport, 30, of Guilford, Connecticut, was slated to make her marathon debut in last year's ING New York City Marathon, but an ankle injury forced her to withdraw. She is a two-time Olympian, in 1996 at 5000 meters and in 2004 at 10,000 meters.

The men's champion of the five-borough 26.2-mile race on Sunday, November 6, will collect $100,000.The added $30,000 for the women's winner comes from the ING Run for Something Better, the cause-related cornerstone program of ING's title sponsorship. Additional prize money will also be paid to the women's second-place ($20,000 additional for a total $65,000), third-place ($10,000 additional for a total $40,000), and fourth-place ($5,000 additional for a total $25,000) finishers.

ING became the marathon's first title sponsor in 2003 and recently extended its title sponsorship through the 2007 race. Since the ING Run for Something Better program's inception in 2003, ING has contributed close to half a million dollars to community and youth running organizations.

In addition to the ING Run for Something Better prize money, ING will also donate a total of $150,000, equally split between the New York Road Runners Foundation and the City Parks Foundation, in the names of the top four

source USATF