Top American Distance Runners to Debut at ING New York City Marathon

Bobby Curtis, Lauren Fleshman, Ed Moran, and Molly Pritz to run on November 6

New York, August 10, 2011—The "Freshman Class of 2011"—Bobby Curtis, Ed Moran, Lauren Fleshman, and Molly Pritz—will make their marathon debuts at this year's ING New York City Marathon.

This quartet of American standouts continues a tradition set by compatriots Alberto Salazar (1980), Deena Kastor (2001), Meb Keflezighi (2002), Marla Runyan (2002), Dathan Ritzenhein (2006), Kara Goucher (2008), Jorge Torres (2009), and Shalane Flanagan (2010) of making their marathon debuts on New York City streets.

"This year's 'Freshman Class' are some of the best in their respective distances, and we are very excited to see what they can do in the marathon," said Wittenberg. "New York has become an inviting and exciting place for our Americans to debut from Alberto, Deena, and Meb to Kara and Shalane, and we are ready to see what Bobby, Ed, Molly, and Lauren have in store for 2011."