BOOKMAKER FAVORS CHERUIYOT AT BOSTON
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission

Ireland's largest bookmaker has tagged four-time Boston Marathon champion, Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya, as a 6-to-4 bet to win Monday's 113th edition of the race, the best odds of any man in the invited field.  The bookmaker, Paddy Power, is offering bets on nine of the men's invited athletes, with the longest odds at 25-to-1.

Another Kenyan, Evans Cheruiyot, last October's Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion, was given a 5-to-2 chance to win, and American Ryan Hall of Big Bear Lake, Calif., is rated at 7-to-2.  Hall is the fastest man in the field with a 2:06:17 personal best.

The remaining odds offered by Paddy Power are as follows: Deriba Merga, Ethiopia, 9-to-1; Daniel Rono, Kenya, 14-1; Ben Maiyo, Kenya, 14-to-1; Gashaw Melese Asfaw, Ethiopia, 20-to-1; and Gudisa Shentema, Ethiopia, 25-to-1.

Abebe Dinkesa of Ethiopia is also listed at 25-to-1, but he has withdrawn from the race, according to John Hancock Financial, the sponsor of the elite fields at Boston.

Paddy Power, nor any other bookmaker, offered odds on the women's race.

ENDS

ASICS TO OFFER SPECIAL "HALL-ELUJAH" T-SHIRT
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission

To help celebrate Ryan Hall's Boston Marathon debut on Monday, his shoe and apparel sponsor, Asics, has created a special tee-shirt which they will offer for sale exclusively at their booth at the Boston Marathon expo.

The dark grey shirt bears a likeness of Hall winning the 2008 USA Olympic Trials Marathon, his right hand pointing to the sky, and the phrase "Hall-elujah!" splashed across the front in white lettering.  The shirt was designed to exemplify both Hall's competitive spirit and his strong Christian faith.

Hall, an Olympian and the USA record holder for the half-marathon, will be at the Asics booth in the flesh on Saturday, April 18, at 11:00 a.m. to greet fans and sign autographs.  The Boston Marathon expo is located at the Hynes Convention Center at 900 Boylston Street in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood.  The expo, and Asics's booth, opens on Friday at 2:00 p.m. and will run through Sunday (hours are posted at this link: http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/Expo.asp).

The "Hall-elujah" tee-shirt will sell for $32.

ENDS