USA 15-K CHAMPIONSHIPS ON TAP FOR SATURDAY
By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
The
32nd edition of the Gate River Run will take place on Saturday in
Jacksonville, Fla., and will serve as the USA 15 km championships for
both men and women for the 16th time. A prize money purse of $58,000
is on the line, and eight Olympians have committed to the race, USA
Track & Field reported.
Defending champion Andrew Carlson
leads the men's field. In extremely windy conditions last year,
Carlson won by nine seconds over Dan Browne, 44:12 to 44:21. He
pocketed the $12,000 first prize plus an additional $5,000 "equalizer"
bonus for getting to the finish line ahead of Olympic marathon bronze
medalist Deena Kastor who, with the other elite women, had a five
minute head start.
"I'm from North Dakota so I'm used to wind," Carlson said after the race.
Carlson's
key challengers will be Olympians Jorge Torres, Ian Dobson, Anthony
Famiglietti and Dan Browne, who won this championship back in 2000.
Other top athletes include Tim Nelson, Ed Moran, Fernando Cabada and
Jason Lehmkuhle.
Olympian Amy Yoder Begley, the recently crowned
USA indoor 3000m champion, leads the women's field. Her most
significant rivals should be Olympians Elva Dryer and Amy Rudolph, plus
former USA 10,000m champion Katie McGregor and the reigning USA cross
country champion Emily Brown. Forty-four year-old Olympian Colleen De
Reuck is also in the field.
The Gate River Run is part of the
USA Road Circuit (USARC). The first ten USA runners earn points at
each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4,
3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and
$2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The
USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.
NOTE: You can see a complete list of champions from this race at this link: ARRS.net.