TOP ROAD RUNNERS HEADED FOR USATF 10 MILE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SEPTEMBER
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2021 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - Used with permission.
(24-Aug) -- On the heels of recent elite athlete announcements for the Boston, Chicago and New York marathons, many of the same athletes will be headed first to Washington, D.C., on September 12, for the USATF 10 Mile Championships hosted by the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile. The race, normally held in early April, will be held for the 48th time after being cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. This will be the third time that the Cherry Blossom will host a national championship event, and a $26,000 national championships prize money purse --plus a $10,000 national record bonus pool-- will be on offer.
"It has been nearly two years since the last time the U.S. Ten Mile Championships for men and women were held," observed longtime event director Phil Stewart through a media release. "I know a host of talented Americans are eager to take an important middle-distance test as most of them prepare for fall marathons, of which there are plenty, with all six Abbott World Marathon Majors events taking place over a six-week period between September 26 and November 7."
Leading the charge in the women's race is Jordan Hasay, the third-fastest USA marathoner of all time with a personal best of 2:20:57. Hasay, 29, will be running the Boston Marathon on October 11, where she is the fastest USA woman in the field.
"Basically just looking forward to finally being in a race!" Hasay told Race Results Weekly in a text message. "Feel like the opportunity has been few and far between and I'm grateful to Cherry Blossom for hosting this event with great timing to test myself about a month out from Boston. I will be on tired legs, running my highest ever (week) at 130 miles, and coming from altitude in Boulder. So, I expect to be more marathon effort but I am excited to toe the line with top competition."
Another 14 women are set to challenge Hasay, including previous national champions Emma Bates, Natosha Rogers, Grayson Murphy, and Stephanie Bruce. Bates is running the Bank of American Chicago Marathon on October 10, and Bruce is running the TCS New York City Marathon on November 7. Out of the 15 women announced, all but one have run under 55 minutes for 10 miles (or an equivalent time at a different distance).
Like the women's race, the men's field is made up mostly of marathoners. Four-time national champion Chris Derrick has the fastest personal best on the entry list (46:53), but reigning national ten mile champion Futsum Zienasellassie's best mark is only two seconds slower (46:55). Like Hasay, Derrick is getting ready for a fall marathon (Chicago).
"I have very much enjoyed my experience at Cherry Blossom in 2018," Derrick said through a text message. "It's a great course, DC is a great city, and I'm excited to come back."
Like Hasay, Derrick cautioned that his legs might be a little heavy with high-mileage weeks of marathon training.
"I don't expect that I'll be quite as fit for the distances as I was then, being in the middle of a marathon block," he said. "But it will be a fun test of fitness."
Other key entrants include Biya Simbassa (46:57), Kiya Dandena (46:58), Augustus Maiyo (47:05), Elkanah Kibet (47:15), Girma Mecheso (47:22), Noah Droddy (47:28), and Shadrack Biwott (47:53). Biwott, Droddy and Kibet are all running the TCS New York City Marathon, and Maiyo and Mecheso are running Boston.
Because the race is also hosting an international elite field with separate prize money, USA athletes can "double dip" if they finish high in the overall placing, too. The overall race champions will earn $5000 (equal for men and women), and the USATF champions will get the same amount. Both the international and USATF Championships prize money go 10-deep, bringing the total race purse to $46,000.
The complete USATF Championships fields are below (subject to change).
The 2021 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Runs mark the 20th year of title sponsorship by Credit Union Miracle Day. Since 2002, over $10 million has been raised for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, including $439,000 in 2020. Of that $439,000, $66,000 came from runners donating their entry fees instead of asking for a refund when race weekend in our Nation's Capital was wiped out by COVID-19.
USA WOMEN (with 10 mile personal bests) -
Jordan Hasay (52:49)
Emma Bates (52:51)
Natosha Rogers (53:45)
Diane Nukuri (53:56)
Annie Frisbie (54:00)
Bria Wetsch (54:14)
Susanna Sullivan (54:22)
Bethany Sachtleben (54:42)
Grayson Murphy (54:51)
Carrie Verdon (56:57)
Danielle Shanahan (31:22.9 10K)
Amy Davis (32:13 10K)
Abbie McNulty (33:07 10K)
Stephanie Bruce (1:09:55 half marathon)
Nell Rojas (1:10:45 half marathon)
USA MEN (with 10 mile personal bests) -
Chris Derrick (46:53)
Futsum Zienasellassie (46:55)
Biya Simbassa (46:57)
Kiya Dandena (46:58)
Augustus Maiyo (47:05)
Elkanah Kibet (47:15)
Girma Mecheso (47:22)
Noah Droddy (47:28)
Louis Serafini. (47:35)
Emmanuel Bor (47:39)
Reed Fischer (47:50)
Shadrack Biwott (47:53)
John Raneri (47:53)
Tyler McCandless (47:56)
Dhruvil. Patel (48:37)
Frank Lara (48:37)
Joel Reichow (48:41)
Alex Monroe (48:57)
Willie Milam (49:10)
Robert Brandt (27:39.2 10K)
Brendan Gregg (44:25 15K)
Reid Buchanan (44:40 15K)
PHOTO: Jordan Hasay finishing the 2017 Boston Marathon in her debut at the distance in 2:23:00 (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
