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USA Track & Field
USA Men’s 10K Championship: Ben True Wins His First National Title
From USA Track & FieldAtlanta, GA
Ben True of Hanover, NH outkicked defending U.S. champion Ed Moran of Williamsburg, VA, and earned the 2011 USA Men's 10K title on Monday, July 4 at the AJC Peachtree 10K Road Race in Atlanta, GA. Ben True ran 28:28 and finished fifth in a top international field. The USA 10K is True's first national title.
The early miles of the 10K race saw Mathew Kisori and Sammy Kitwara of Kenya open a gap on the field. Americans Ben True, Ed Moran, Olympian Abdi Abdirahman of Tucson, AZ, and Brian Olinger of Westerville, OH started at a more conservative pace in the oppressive heat and humidity.
Shortly after two miles, Mathew Kisori surged to a five-meter lead on Sammy Kitwara and Peter Kamais of Kenya; Ridouane Harroufi of Morocco emerged from the chase pack in a race for third. The other top men raced about 50 meters behind the leaders.
As the course began to climb towards four miles, Sammy Kitwara maintained contact with Mathew Kisori. Meanwhile, American Brian Olinger took control of the chase pack, steadily closing the gap on Peter Kamais and Ridouane Harroufi.
Making the final turn towards the finish at Piedmont Park, Kenyan Sammy Kitwara pulled away for his second AJC Peachtree 10K victory (28:05), two seconds ahead of Kenyan Mathew Kisori.
Kenyan Peter Kamais and Moroccan Ridouane Harroufi battled for third, with Harroufi claiming third (28:27) and Kamais fourth (28:28). American Ben True finished a step behind Kamais (28:28) in fifth place overall, and was the U.S. male title winner.
Ed Moran placed second (28:29), Abdi Abdirahman was third (28:32), Brian Olinger fourth (28:35), and Christo Landry of Ann Arbor, MI fifth (28:52) in the U.S. championship race.
Video Highlights
Video highlights of the USA Men's 10K Championships are available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.
About the USARC
The USA Men's 10K Championship was the seventh stop for the men on the 2011 USA Running Circuit (USARC), and offered $30,000 in prize money; Ben True earned $10,000 for the win.
The 2011 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA long distance running championships from one mile to the marathon, and for the first time includes the USA Cross Country Championships. The USARC attracts the best U.S. distance runners, and has ten events for men and nine for women. Aaron Braun of Flagstaff, AZ currently leads the men's standings with 35 points, while Ben True moves into second with 33 points.
The 2011 USARC has more than $450,000 in circuit prize money, and U.S. athletes also qualify 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 more than $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.
For more information on the 2011 USA Men's 10K Championship, see www.USARunningCircuit.com.
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. See www.usatf.org.