19/September/2010

Huddle, Cheseret win USA 5 km Championships

PROVIDENCE - American record holder Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.) easily took the women's crown and former University of Arizona star Robert Cheseret (Colorado Springs, Colo.) surprised the men's field to win his first U.S. road title at the USA 5 km Championships Sunday in Providence, R.I. Huddle was timed in 15:48 while Cheseret ran 14:01. 2010 marked the sixth year that the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K hosted both the men's and women's championships.
Huddle, the hometown favorite, took control from the gun but Sara Hall (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and Renee Metivier Baillie (Boulder, Colo.) maintained close contact through the first mile. During the second mile, Baillie lost contact with Hall as Huddle lengthened her lead, cruising to a ten second win over Hall as Baillie held on for third in 16:15. Meghan Armstrong (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Stephanie Pezzullo (Charlotte, N.C.) finished fourth and fifth in 16:25 and 16:29 respectively.

In the men's race, a pack of six men passed two miles together in 9:01, with Aaron Braun (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Ben Bruce (Eugene, Ore.) controlling the pace. Making the final turn off of Memorial Drive, running up the only significant hill on the course, Bruce had a slight edge over Cheseret, Braun and Andy Biladeau (Charlottesville, Va.). Cresting the hill just after the three mile mark, Cheseret had one more gear, kicking by Bruce to win by two-tenths of a second, 14:00.00 to 14:00.20. Braun took third in 14:05 with Biladeau finishing fourth in 14:06. Kyle Alcorn (Mesa, Ariz.) rounded out the top five in 14:10.

Video highlights

The USA 5 km Championships are available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.

About the USARC

The USA 5 km Championships was the ninth stop for men and the seventh for women on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and offered $30,000 in U.S. prize money with $5,000 going to the respective men's and women's champions.

The 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 each for men and women. Antonio Vega (Minneapolis, Minn.) leads the men's standings with 44 points, while Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.) leads the women with 31 points.

The 2010 USARC will once again see a record amount of circuit prize money for a non-Olympic year with total prize purse of $623,850 offered by host events. U.S. athletes will also have the opportunity to qualify for various Team USA events, including the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and the Chiba International Ekiden.

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 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 $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information on the 2010 USA 5 km Championships visit www.USARunningCircuit.com.

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About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: www.usatf.org.