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Fasil Bizuneh Wins USA Men's 10 Mile Championship
From USA Track & FieldSeptember 10, 2010
Indianapolis, IN
Fasil Bizuneh of Flagstaff, AZ pulled away from 2010 USA Half Marathon champion Antonio Vega of Minneapolis, MN after seven miles to win the USA Men's 10 Mile Championship Saturday, August 28 in Flint, MI. The championship was hosted by the Crim Festival of Races. Bizuneh ran 47 minutes, 29 seconds to finish fourth overall in the open field.
With near perfect conditions greeting a record field of over 10,000 runners at the 34th annual event, the field opened with a fairly relaxed first mile of 4:42 with Kenyans Robert Letting, Julius Kogo and Kiprotich Kirui leading the charge. Antonio Vega, Fasil Bizuneh and Justin Young of Superior, CO in the lead American pack.
Shortly after two miles, Robert Letting produced a 4:32 mile to lead a break with Julius Kogo and Kiprotich Kirui. Vega and Bizuneh were in a chase pack about six seconds back.
Maintaining a pace between 4:32 and 4:35 from three to five miles, Letting and Kogo pulled away from Kirui; Vega looked to be in charge of the chase pack about 30 seconds back.
After seven miles, Kogo tested Letting with a short surge while Fasil Bizuneh made his move for the U.S. title. Over the final three miles, Kogo was clearly in charge of the overall race; among the Americans, Bizuneh increased his lead over Vega.
In the final mile, Julius Kogo pulled away for the overall win in 47:06 with Robert Letting and Kiprotich Kirui taking second and third in 47:15 and 47:24 respectively.
Crossing the line in fourth, Fasil Bizuneh celebrated his first USA title, finishing in 47:29, 14 seconds ahead of Antonio Vega (47:43). Justin Young easily took third in 47:49, while Fernando Cabada of Alamosa, CO and Sergio Reyes of Los Osos, CA rounded out the top-five in 48:30 and 48:32 respectively.
More from Team USA Minnesota On Antonio Vega:
So far in 2010, Antonio Vega has won the USA Half Marathon Championships, placed third at the USA 15K Championships, and came in fourth at the USA 7 Mile Championships. In addition, he ran 2:13:47 at the Boston Marathon in April, was eighth at the Falmouth 7 Mile Road Race, and eighth at the USA Cross Country Championships.
"I wouldn't say [the USA 10 Miler] was my best race in the world but I hung on pretty good," said Vega in a finish-line interview. "You can't be disappointed with a second place finish. This year has just been phenomenal so far. I accomplished some goals that I thought were four or five years away and that is pretty solid in itself."
Next up for Antonio Vega will be the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, which will be held in China on Saturday, October 16, followed by the ING New York City Marathon on November 7.
"I've done a lot of races through July and August, so I need to scale back on [competitions], get the mileage up, and get after it again. I have a fall marathon coming up at New York and I'm hoping for big things there."
Video Highlights
Highlights of the USA Men's 10 Mile Championship are available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.
About the USARC
The USA Men's 10 Mile Championship was the seventh stop for the men on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and featured $17,200 in prize money, with Fasil Bizuneh taking home $7,000 for the win.
The 2010 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 leads the men's standings with 44 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 Men's 10 Mile Championship, see www.USARunningCircuit.com.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, see www.usatf.org