New Palos Southwest Half, A Whole Lot of Talent

Two Kenyans with solid mid-tier (by Eldoret, Kenya standards) credentials will toe the line with the rest of a field of just under 1,700 runners on Sunday in the first annual Palos Bank Southwest Half-Marathon. Produced by Running for Kicks, the race will feature appearances by Wilson Chepkwony and Jared Nyamboki. I checked them out, and both are the real deal. Chepkwony, among his other recent accomplishments, placed second at December's Memphis Marathon in 2:18:17. Nyamboki can claim major TV time at the 2007 Boston Marathon. He led or co-led through the first 18 miles before crashing. He did win the 2007 Army 10-miler in Washington,D.C. with a 48:24. Both are based in the U.S. most of the year. On the women's side, Mike Yuhasz of Running for Kicks said no international talent, but plenty of local flair, will highlight the women's field. This one looks interesting. Gun time is 7:30 a.m. at 76th Avenue and Route 83 in Palos Heights. Entries definitely are closed. Weekend activities will include an appearance by Khalid Khannouchi on Saturday. Check out http://www.palosbankhalfmarathon.com/