Posted: March 10, 2008

(RRW) Athletics: Rhines, Dobson Out Of Central Park Challenge

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com Watch over 50 IAAF Events Live and On-Demand at WCSN.com Saturday's inaugural Central Park Challenge, which will host the U.S. Men's 8-K Championship, lost two key athletes, organizers announced today. New York Road Runners president and CEO, Mary Wittenberg, said through a media release that Jen Rhines and Ian Dobson, both of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., would not be able to answer the starter's gun. Rhines hasn't fully recovered from an illness contracted after the AT&T U.S. Indoor Championships in Boston last month which hampered her performance at the IAAF World Indoor Championships last weekend in Valencia, Spain, where she ran the 3000m. Dobson cited a lingering hip injury. Alan Webb, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Jorge Torres headline the men's race, and Shalane Flanagan, Carmen Douma-Hussar, Carrie Tollefson and Katie McGregor are the leading contenders in the women’s race. Both races will be contested over the 8-K (4.97-mile) distance, with a total prize-money purse of $70,000 on the line. Entry lists are available at the following links: Men Women Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest