PROVIDENCE - Ben True (Hanover, N.H.) and Julie Culley (Lebanon, N.J.) won the respective men's and women's titles at the USA 5 km Championships Sunday in Providence, R.I. True kicked to his second U.S. title of 2011, running 13:44, while Culley ran 15:40 for her first USA women's crown.

Along with the championships, the 22nd running the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K once again featured a strong international field and saw more than a dozen men, including open athletes Sam Chelanga and Gilbert Okari of Kenya, hit the first mile in 4:24.

At approximately one and a half miles True took charge of the lead group, pulling the leaders through two miles in 8:53. Heading into the final mile, True maintained a slight lead over Chelanga, Aaron Braun (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and defending champion Robert Cheseret (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Cresting the final hill, True held his ground, finishing two seconds ahead of Braun.

On the women's side, Lindsey Scherf (San Francisco, Calif.) led the race for the first 600 meters when Culley asserted herself to take the lead. Passing the first mile in 4:55, Culley cruised the final two miles for an eight-second over Kim Conley (Davis, Calif.). 2009 USA Cross Country champion Emily Brown(Minneapolis, Minn.) finished third in 15:58.

Video highlights

Video highlights of the USA 5 km Championships are available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.comat www.USARunningCircuit.com. 

About the USARC

The USA 5 km Championships are the ninth stop on the 2011 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and will pay $30,000 in U.S. prize money with True and Culley each earning $5,000. The 2011 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The circuit features ten events for men and nine for women. True now holds a one-point lead over Braun in the men's standings, while Jen Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) leads the women's circuit.

The 2011 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA long distance running championships and for the first time will include the USA Cross Country Championships. The USARC attracts the best U.S. distance runners and has ten events for men and nine for women.

The 2011 USARC will feature more than $450,000 in circuit prize money with U.S. athletes competing for the right to represent Team USA in various international competitions.

The first ten U.S. 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 mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information on the 2011 USA 5 km Championships visit www.USARunningCircuit.com.