Above: Tatyana Petrova, a Russian athlete with Red Square Sports of Germantown, MD, placed second in the women's race. Photographs by Kathy Freedman

The race can be seen locally on ABC affiliate WJLA Channel 7 in a half-hour special at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14
Teyba Erkesso, a 24-year old Ethiopian, blistered a strong international field with her winning time of 51:44 in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in West Potomac Park on Sunday, April 1. She led most of the final six miles and finished with a gap of 1:14 minutes on runner-up Tatyana Petrova of Russia (52:58), who trains locally in Germantown, MD and placed eighth in the 2005 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon (2:31:03).

For the second year in a row, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run had a 10-minute advance start time for the event's female competitors. This qualifies the event as a women's-only competition. Teyba Erkesso shattered the world record for a 10- mile closed loop course set here last year by Lidiya Grigoryeva (Russia) in 52:11.

The men's race featured 19-year-old Ethiopian Tadesse Tola (46:01) breaking away from three-time champion John Korir, who finished third (46:11), and John Yuda of Tanzania (second, 46:04), with Nicholas Kamakya (fourth, 46:12) a few steps further back. Tola came to the race with credentials: he placed seventh (57:27) in the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships (20K) in Hungary.

Photograph: Bill Rodgers is the only four-time winner of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile (1978-81). Rodgers is a young 59-year-old sprite.

The top American and top local finisher was Stephen Meinelt (48:45), a 2006 Georgetown University graduate and Washington, D.C. area resident who placed 11th overall. He is now invited to compete at the 2007 Himeji Castle 10 Mile Race in Himeji, Japan, "sister" race to the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. Meinelt is the youngest qualifier for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Men's Marathon, according to Ben Cooke of Georgetown Running Company.

For the women, Kathy Butler (53:26) of the United Kingdom was third, and Kenyan Magdalene Makunzi (53:45) was fourth. Victoria Jackson (56:46) of Lake Forest, IL was the top American at 12th place. Baltimore resident Julie Culley (57:18) was the first local runner to finish at 13th. She was just ahead of Washington, D.C.'s Kerry Meagher (58:14), who took 15th.

Erkesso earned $6,750 for her victory, after adding a $750 bonus to the $6,000 prize money for breaking 52 minutes. Tola missed the men's bonus money by one second, earning $6,000 for the win. Runners competed for the largest purse in event history - $32,000 in prize money with an additional $3,000 in bonus money available.

Photo: Some of the top American female finishers shown lining up at the start (left to right): Victoria Jackson of Tempe, AZ, Caroline Cretti and Zika Rea of Boone, NC. Kathy Butler of Great Britain is in rear wearing black socks.

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run served as the 2007 Road Runners Club of America's National 10 Mile Championship. Both Erkesso and Tola earned top Road Runners Club of America honors for their Open Male and Open Female championships. Paul Thompson (51:36) of New York, NY was the winner in the Masters Male category, while Martha Merz (1:01:03) of Annandale, VA placed first among among Masters Females. For men and women over 50, Chuck Moeser (58:13) of Sterling, VA and Sharon Vos (1:06:53) of Riverside, CT won in the Grand Masters category.

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile celebrated its 35th anniversary. The charity recipient is the Children's Miracle Network, which will receive a record donation of $850,000. Locally, a share of those funds will go to Washington, D.C.'s own Children's Hospital. That brings the total charitable contributions to over 2.5 million dollars since the Credit Union Miracle Day Committee became the title sponsor in 2002. The title sponsoring Credit Union Miracle Day Committee is a partnership of Credit Unions and affiliated organizations. More than 600 Credit Union members have volunteered and over 4,500 entrants are Credit Union members. Supporting sponsors included Gatorade, Gryphon Technologies, Navy Federal Credit Union, and Metro Run & Walk.

More than 10,000 runners participated in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, which is part of the 2007 National Cherry Blossom Festival that runs from March 31 to April 15. It is part of the Professional Road Running Organization circuit and is the only world-class running event in the Washington, D.C.

Takeshi Takahashi was the top Japanese male runner with an eighth place finish.

See Jim Hage's story, "Ethiopia Blossoms"
For more information about the event, and full results, see the race Web site