CITING INJURY, KEFLEZIGHI WITHDRAWS FROM NYC HALF-MARATHON By David Monti
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved (used by permission)

NEW YORK (11-Mar) -- Reigning ING New York City Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi has withdrawn from the NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, March 21, the New York Road Runners announced yesterday.

Keflezighi, who is also planning to run the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 19, said he lost training time due to a knee injury and needs to play catch-up in order to be ready to compete in Boston.

"Due to a setback in my training a few weeks ago, I will not be prepared to compete in the NYC Half-Marathon," Keflezighi said in a statement to NYRR officials.  "The New York Road Runners have assembled a great field once again, and I was looking forward to being a top contender.  But I developed soreness on my left knee that required me to take several days off and cut back on mileage for a few weeks.  Since I lost most of the build-up phase of my marathon training in February, I will have to pass on a tune-up race and focus my time on preparing for the Boston Marathon."

Keflezighi, 34, became the first American man to win the ING New York City Marathon since 1983 when he pulled away from Kenyan Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot in the final phases of the race last November. 

Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie and Brazil's Marilson Gomes dos Santos lead the men's professional field for the NYC Half-Marathon, the fifth edition of the race, and the first to be held in the spring.  The event features a $100,000 prize money purse, the largest of any half-marathon in the United States, and will have over 10,000 runners.