05-11-2005
   
Contact:
Jim Estes
LDR Programs Manager
USA Track & Field
317-261-0500 x315

INDIANAPOLIS-2004 Olympian Colleen De Reuck and 2005 World Championships marathoner Brian Sell are among the lead contenders at the USA 25 km Championships, hosted by the Fifth Third River Bank Run in Grand Rapids, Mich., this Saturday May 14.

De Reuck will face 2004 USA 25 km Champion Debi Kilpatrick-Morris, who is returning to defend her title. Both will see competition from a U.S. field that includes two former USA 25 km Champions, Christine Clifton (2003) and Jeanne Hennessy (2002), as well as 2004 USA 20 km Champion and 2005 World Championships marathoners Turena Johnson Lane and Jenny Crain, and Jenny Spangler, 1996 Olympic Trials Marathon champion.

Sell, who along with Hansons-Brooks Distance Project teammate and fellow World Championships marathoner Clint Verran, will lead a men's field that will feature 2003 USA 10 Mile Champion Chris Graff and Mbarak Hussein, who will be making his first attempt at winning a USA title since becoming a U.S. citizen.

This marks the tenth year that the Fifth Third Riverbank Run has hosted the USA 25 km Championships, which is the fourth stop for men and the third for women on the 2005 USA Running Circuit (USARC), a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The eleventh edition for the men and tenth for the women, the 2005 circuit has nine events for men and seven events for women.

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 ($6000, $4000, and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.

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 $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

2005 USA Running Circuit Schedule

Men

1) USA Men's Half Marathon Championships, Houston, TX, $17,500, January 16

2) USA 15km Championships, Jacksonville, FL, $23,500, March 12

3) USA 8km Championships, New York, NY, $20,000, March 26

4) USA Men's 10 Mile Championships, Louisville, KY, $26,500, April 9

5) USA 25km Championships, Grand Rapids, MI, $10,600, May 14

6) USA 20km Championships, New Haven, CT, $18,000, September 5

7) USA 5km Championships, Providence, RI, $15,000, September 11

8) USA Marathon Championships, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, $69,000, October 1

9) USA Men's 10km Championships, Mobile, AL, $30,000, November 5

Subtotal $230,100

USARC Grand Prix $12,500

Total $242,600

Women

1) USA 15km Championships, Jacksonville, FL, $23,500, March 12

2) USA 8km Championships, New York, NY, $20,000, March 26

3) USA 25km Championships, Grand Rapids, MI, $10,600, May 14

4) USA 20km Championships, New Haven, CT, $18,000, September 5

5) USA 5km Championships, Providence, RI, $15,000, September 11

6) USA Marathon Championships, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, $69,000, October 1

7) USA Women's 10km Championships, Boston, MA, $23,000, October 9

Subtotal $208,650

USARC Grand Prix $12,500

Total $221,150