Stellar Field Announced for 2014 B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund

Stellar Field Announced for 2014 B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund

2012 U.S. Olympian, 2013 Boston Marathon champion, and 2014 world leaders headline 14^thrunning of event on Sunday, October 12.

BOSTON – A year ago, 2013 Boston Marathon champion Lelisa Desisa (ETH) returned to Boston seeking another victory, this time in the B.A.A. Half Marathon , presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. In a brilliant display of courage and determination, Desisa fended off hard challenges from both Daniel Salel (KEN) and Stephen Sambu (KEN), claiming the B.A.A. Half Marathon title in a course record of 1:00:34.

This year, Desisa, Salel, and Sambu will all toe the line once again in Franklin Park, ready to battle for the title of B.A.A. Half Marathon champion.

Desisa, 24, is seeking to become the first men’s champion in event history to successfully defend his title. Over the race’s previous thirteen editions, no male has ever won two B.A.A. Half Marathon crowns before. History won’t deter Desisa, though, who ran a blistering 59:36 at the RAK Half Marathon in the UAE in February.

Whenever he toes the line in Boston , the passionate Ethiopian brings a fire and drive that is hard to match. Last year, he donated his 2013 Boston Marathon champions’ medal to the City in honor of those impacted by the tragic acts of April 2013. It is currently on display at the B.A.A. office in Back Bay , a short distance from the Boston Marathon finish line.

Salel and Sambu, both of Kenya , have had quite the year in 2014 since setting personal bests at last year’s B.A.A. Half Marathon . Salel has set lifetime bests at distances of 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, and 10 miles, while Sambu has established himself as one of the leading distance runners in all the world.

This year, Sambu has won a plethora of road races, including the B.A.A. 10K, Falmouth Road Race, and Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. By winning the B.A.A. 10K in 27:25, Sambu became the fastest man in the world this year to date (as of October 1, 2014) over 10 kilometers on the road. On his way to his victory at the B.A.A. 10K last June, Sambu established a U.S. all-comers record for 8-kilometers on the roads. Expect a fast pace from Sambu as he covers the picturesque course through Boston ’s Emerald Necklace park system.

The women’s race looks to be one for the record books, as Molly Huddle seeks to become the first American women's winner since Janet Cherobon-Bawcom in 2011. The 2012 Olympian who resides in Providence , R.I. , will be challenged by a stellar field including Ethiopian Mamitu Daska, winner of the B.A.A. 10K this past June, as well as Kenya 's Betsy Saina and Mary Wacera.

With six women who have run under 70 minutes set to toe the line, a race to remember will surely play out between the start and finish in Franklin Park. 

Leading the field is Huddle, champion of this year's B.A.A. 5K in April. Two days before the 2014 Boston Marathon, Huddle ruled the streets of Boston , executing a perfect come-from-behind victory over Ethiopia 's Daska. Setting a then personal best of 15:12, Huddle was spurred on by the hometown crowd.

She will take that hometown advantage into the B.A.A. Half Marathon , where the 30-year-old will once again face Daska. Daska has had a year to remember on the roads, winning the B.A.A. 10K in April in an event record time of 31:04. Daska is a two-time champion of the B.A.A. 10K, and has come to adore the city.

With the B.A.A. Half Marathon serving as the third and final race of the B.A.A. Distance Medley, both Huddle and Daska have a chance to earn a nice bonus on race day. If she wins, Huddle will earn an extra $20,000 (USD) bonus for finishing first at two of the B.A.A. Distance Medley events. If Daska wins, she will be the one to pocket the $20,000 (USD) bonus. Placing in the top two will earn Daska $10,000 (USD), while a top three finish gains her $5,000 (USD).

Joining Huddle and Daska on the starting line will be a slew of fast women from East Africa . Kenya’s Betsy Saina, the current world leader at 10 kilometers on the road (as of October 1, 2014), returns to the city after placing fourth at the B.A.A. 5K and second at the B.A.A. 10K, while 2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships silver medalist Mary Wacera (KEN) will make her first B.A.A. Half Marathon appearance.

Saina, a graduate of Iowa State University , won the Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod this summer, while Wacera claimed the top spot at the Utica Boilermaker 15K in New York and the Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K in Washington .

Since first being run in 2001, the B.A.A. Half Marathon has seen winners from eight different countries, including four each from Ethiopia and Kenya .

The winner of the B.A.A. Half Marathon will earn $10,000, plus an additional $10,000 if the winner’s time is under the event records of 1:00:34 for the men, and 1:09:14 for the women. In 2013, more than 6,500 athletes participated in the B.A.A. Half Marathon , presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. This year’s field has 8,000 participants.

Men’s Elite Athlete Field (as of October 3, 2014)

NAME	CITIZENSHIP	PERSONAL BEST
Lelisa Desisa	ETH	59:30
Raji Assefa	ETH	1:00:07
Stephen Sambu	KEN	1:00:41
Daniel Salel	KEN	1:00:41
Tesfalem Gebrearegawi	ETH	1:01:07
Leonard Korir	KEN	1:01:19
Isaac Mukundi	KEN	1:02:26
Tekeste Kebede	ETH	1:02:51
Ethan Shaw	USA	1:04:45
Patrick Geoghegan	USA	1:08:22
Cleophas Ngetich	KEN	Debut

For a complete listing of men’s elite athlete profiles, CLICK HERE

Women’s Elite Athlete Field (as of October 3, 2014) 

NAME	CITIZENSHIP	PERSONAL BEST
Mary Wacera	KEN	1:07:44
Mamitu Daska	ETH	1:08:07
Molly Huddle	USA	1:09:04
Aheza Kiros	ETH	1:09:10
Aliphine Tuliamuk-Bolton	KEN	1:09:16
Cynthia Limo	KEN	1:09:40
Sophy Jepchirchir	KEN	1:11:36
Michelle Lilienthal	USA	1:11:45
Mary Wangechi	KEN	1:12:49
Betsy Saina	KEN	Debut
Linet Masai	KEN	Debut

For a complete listing of women’s elite athlete profiles, CLICK HERE

2014 B.A.A. Half Marathon Open Division Prize Structure (Men and Women)

PLACE	AMOUNT (USD)
	$10,000
2	$6,000
3	$4,000
4	$2,500
5	$1,200
6	$1,000
7	$600
8	$500
9	$300
10	$200

BONUSES

New for 2014, bonuses for event record times established at B.A.A. Distance Medley events will be $5,000 for the B.A.A. 5K, $7,500 for the B.A.A. 10K, and $10,000 for the B.A.A. Half Marathon . Only the single highest bonus will be awarded to a runner.

BONUS INCENTIVES FOR TOP OVERALL FINISHES IN 2014 B.A.A. EVENTS*

·         Win three of the four events:                                                      $50,000

·         Win two of the four events:                                                        $20,000

·         Place among the top two in three of the four events:                   $10,000

·         Place among the top three in three of the four events:                 $5,000

* Includes the Boston Marathon .

EVENT RECORD BONUSES

B.A.A. 5K	B.A.A. 10K	B.A.A. HALF MARATHON	BOSTON MARATHON
$5,000	$7,500	$10,000	$25,000

哈佛電影檔案館今晚起展映20部候孝賢電影

哈佛大學電影資料館將以“也像生活（Also Like Life）”為主題，今（3）日起至11月2日，舉辦「侯孝賢導演電影回顧展」，放映廿部侯孝賢執導的電影。

這一電影展由駐波士頓臺北經濟文化辦事處、哈佛大學電影檔案館，以及文化部紐約文化中心合作舉辦，精選了侯孝賢從1980年迄今，跨越三十年，展現中國，台灣，時空變化的廿部影片。

哈佛電影檔案館表示，侯孝賢的電影有許多藝術成就，特別是悲情城市，戲夢人生，好男好女這彷彿有連續性的三部曲，把個人和國家的命運，交錯成一個個感人的故事。

經文處指出，侯孝賢是台灣新浪潮電影代表人物之一，被歸類為重量級導演，具國際地位，但他的作品鮮少在美國發行或放映。本地主流社會將可經由這一回顧展，更深入瞭解，認識侯孝賢的電影風格。

哈佛電影檔案館的“侯孝賢電影回顧展，將從今晚（三日）七點放映1984年拍成的”冬冬的假期“，晚上九點放映1980年拍的「就是溜溜的她」拉開序幕，基本上每個週末都放映幾場，

十月四日（週六）晚七點放映「風櫃來的人」，晚九點放映「在那河畔青草青」。

十月五日（週日）下午五點放映「風兒踢踏踩」。

十月十日（週五）晚七點，放映「戀戀風塵」、晚九點十五分放映「紅氣球之旅」。

十月十一日（週六）晚七點，放映「好男好女」，晚九點十五分放映「珈琲時光」。

十月十二日（週日）下午五點，放映「小畢的故事」，晚七點放映「童年往事」。

十月十八日（週六）晚七點，放映「戲夢人生」。

十月十九日（週日）晚七點，免費放映「悲情城市」。

十月廿四日（週五）晚八點半，放映「千禧曼波」，

十月廿六日（週日）下午四點半，放映「兒子的大玩偶」，晚上七點，放映「南國再見，南國」。

十月三十一日（週五）晚七點，放映「最好的時光」，晚九點半放映「尼羅河女兒」。

十一月二日（週日）下午四點半，將以「海上花」做影展閉幕片。

影片放映地點為哈佛檔案館（ Harvard Film Archive,），門票九元，學生或耆英七元。哈佛大學師生免費。

哈佛電影檔案館地址為 24 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138，查詢可電洽617-495-4700，或上網 http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/calendar/october14.html。

圖片說明：

            戀戀風塵劇照。（圖由哈佛電影檔案館提供） 

潘石屹、張欣現身哈佛與學子零距離交流

Soho中國創辦人張欣，潘石屹夫婦，十月一日在哈佛大學向四，五百人表白，指教育才對社會有最根本影響，他們認為捐款給哈佛助學是對的，就做了。

潘石屹和張欣的Soho中國基金成立已九年，一直都在教育上下功夫，啟動的項目包括“美麗中國”，“兒童美德教育”，“學校文明衛生間”，“陽光學子工程”等。設定款額一億美元的“中國助學金”是最新的一個項目，旨在幫助那些有能力，才幹的學生，不致因為缺錢，就失去上大學，成為更有用人才的機會。

十月一日，潘石屹和張欣到哈佛探訪“SOHO中國助學金”資助的第一批八名哈佛學生時，順道就 “中國助學金”從設定款的一億美元中，先撥出一千五百萬元捐給哈佛大學，在中國有人讚，更有人罵，指責他們“忘本”，“敲詐了中國人的錢，卻跑到美國去捐款”等等，做表白。

這場以“與張欣，潘石屹零距離交流”為題的聚會，由哈佛中國基金，哈佛中國學生學者聯合會，哈佛中國論壇，哈佛瑞德克莉芙（Radcliffe）中國學生會主辦。

哈佛中國基金主席柯偉林（William Kirby）再主持時透露，聚會原本安排在能容納150人左右的會議室，沒想到潘，張兩人粉絲太多，只好改到科學中心大樓B廳舉行。

            潘石屹表示，過去這三十年來，中國社會變化太快，互聯網更是劃分時代的分水嶺，九零後和九零前出生的人，無論事價值觀或取得知識手段，都完全不同。他認為在這變化快速的年代，無論中國，台灣，香港怎麼變，最重要的是溝通，對話，能夠掌握未來社會變化方向，並以之為個人進修，發展依據者，必有收獲。

        談及SOHO基金時，潘石屹表示，該基金成立九年，所有的工作重心都在教育上，因為他和張心都相信，每個人的潛能，只有通過教育，才能發掘出來，而一個人，一個家庭，或一個國家，也只有經過教育，才能得到最根本的改變。

            當初來哈佛捐款前，他就擔心過，捐款後，也真的各種質疑，謾罵，鋪天蓋地捲來。但他們認為自己不能為他人的看法而活，因此只要他們認為是對的，就會繼續下去，而且繼哈佛之後，還會繼續到其他學校捐款。他們對獲得捐款者也沒有任何要求，只希望他們抱存為社會服務之心，眼光放遠。

            談到個人該如何發展時，他以個人鍛鍊身體甩掉九公斤為例，強調首先要鍛鍊身體，其次不斷學習，最後要有愛心，否則擁有再好的知識也沒用。

            當天出席提問的人龍很長，問題很多。潘石屹坦言他認為未來是互聯網時代，在線教育很有前途，傳統的房地產行業，未來也必須和互聯網結合，整個社會運作，經濟發展，都要用互聯網思維來考量。

            潘石屹也說，他出版的書中，真正由他自己寫的書，只有兩本，一是“我用一生去尋找”，一是“我的價值觀”。

            張欣表示，教育是很大的課題，目前她們看到兩個重點，一是電子化，一是全球化。捐款到哈佛助學，是幫助中國學子因應全球化的做法之一。他們更希望自己的行動能起“拋磚引玉”作用，促使更多人捐款濟助學子，讓有能力的人都有機會成為更好的人才，將來幫助更多的人。

圖片說明：

            哈佛中國基金主席柯偉林（左起），為SOHO中國執行長張欣，董事長潘石屹主持“零距離交流”會。（菊子攝）

            潘石屹（左二），張欣（左三）上台前，坐在觀眾席中。（菊子攝）

            趕到哈佛一睹潘石屹，張欣廬山真面目的聽眾，把大講堂擠得人滿滿的。（菊子攝）