Bosman excels in Nike Women's Marathon
South African athlete Charne Bosman finished third with a time of 1:21:23 in the Nike Women's Half Marathon which was held in San Francisco, USA, on Sunday, 20 October. Some 30,000 women continued the legacy of the Nike Women's Marathon (NWM), running the tenth anniversary full- and half-marathon race.
Bosman was also placed third in the Nike WE RUN Jozi ten kilometre night race in Johannesburg just over a week ago with a time of 00:37:18.
"The Nike Women's Marathon is a beautiful race, although very challenging as it is mostly uphill. It was also very cold on the day, but I was determined to run a good race, and finishing third overall is a great feeling," said Bosman. Florencia Borelli of Olivos, Argentina was the first to finish the half marathon in 1:18:22. Emily Gordon of Los Angeles, California was the first marathoner to cross the finish line with a time of 2:51:44.
Cures for leukemia
The NWM is the largest women's race in the world, with more than 250,000 women who have registered to run in the last ten years. The marathon benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), the world's largest voluntary health organisation dedicated to finding cures for blood cancers. With more than $143m raised for LLS, the NWM is the largest, single fundraising platform for TNS/LLS.
The NWM began in 2004 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of legendary distance runner Joan Benoit Samuelson's groundbreaking gold medal in the first women's Olympic marathon at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. A rebel of her day, Benoit Samuelson has let her passion for running expand the boundaries of what was possible for women in sport, and has been a driving force for women in running for four decades.
The NWM expanded to Washington DC in 2013 with the inaugural Nike Women's Half Marathon. The second annual Nike Women's Half Marathon in Washington will be on 27 April 2014.
