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USA Track & Field
USA 10 Mile: Mo Trafeh, Janet Cherobon-Bawcom Win Titles
Ben True Wins Men's 2011 USA Running Circuit Grand Prix
By Charlie Mahler, Running USA wire & USA Track & FieldOctober 3, 2011
Minneapolis, MN
A pair of naturalized U.S. citizens earned national titles at the USA 10 Mile Championship held in conjunction with the 13th Medtronic TC 10 Mile on Sunday morning, October 2 in Minneapolis, MN. Mohamed Trafeh of Duarte, CA won the men's race in 46:46; it is his third U.S. road title of 2011. Janet Cherobon-Bawcom of Rome, GA won the women's race in 54:15; it is her second U.S. road title of the year. More than 7,500 participants finished the Medtronic TC 10 Mile under clear skies and cool temperatures.
Mo Trafeh, 26, a Moroccan who immigrated to the United States in 1999 and became a citizen in 2008,
ran away from a large pack of contenders during the final mile of the challenging point-to-point run between downtown Minneapolis and the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, winning his first USA 10 Mile title and leading five runners under 47 minutes.
Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, a Kenyan who earned her U.S. citizenship last November, opened a 13-second winning margin on runner-up Julie Culley (54:28) of Lebanon, NJ. Defending champ and local favorite McGregor was fourth in 55:00.
Race organizers started the women's field seven-minutes before the men, offering a $10,000 "Equalizer" bonus to the first man or woman to cross the line. Mo Trafeh, the 2011 USA Half Marathon and 15K champion, and Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, who won the USA 20K title last month, each earned $12,000 for their victories. Trafeh will also cash a check for an additional $10,000 as the winner of the event's "Equalizer Bonus".
Mo Trafeh injected a 4:30 fourth mile after the men' pack passed the three-mile flag in 14:15. "To be honest," said Trafeh, "I saw, after three miles, that the pace was a little bit slow. So I tried to help the guys--to help the guys and myself--catch the first girl, because, if we kept going at that pace we would not have caught the girl."
As the men's race wore on, Trafeh was unable to drop Abdi Abdirahman, who won USA titles on the course in 2007 and 2009, nor the large pack of contenders that lurked within 10 meters.
The pack, which included eventual runner-up Ben True, the 2011 USA 5K champ, and third-placer Brett Gotcher, the USA 25K runner-up in 2010, reorganized around Trafeh and Abdirahman in the eighth mile. As the men started working their way through the fastest of the women's racers, James Strang took over as pace-maker before giving way to a long pull at the front by 2011 USA 10K champion Ed Moran.
It was Mo Trafeh's move in the final mile that proved decisive, however. The pack of men was transformed into a string of chasers lacing its way through the top women. At nine and a half miles, Trafeh caught the lead woman, Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, and dashed for home.
Ben True ran 46:48 for second; Brett Gotcher followed next in 46:51.
Katie McGregor, Blake Russell, Julie Culley, Sarah Porter of Blowing Rock, NC, and Janet Cherobon-Bawcom led the pack of womens contenders through the early miles.
Janet Cherobon-Bawcom admitted the women may have kept the men in the Equalizer race with the conservative early pace in the women's race. "I thought it might be a really long day just running by myself. Nobody really wanted to push the pace, so I guess I just waited."
When the lead women's pack of five runners passed the half-way point in 27:26, however, they'd already given up more than four minutes of their head-start to the men. After the seven mile mark, Cherobon-Bawcom broke away from runner-up Julie Culley and Blake Russell (third, 54:44), securing the women's title.
"I thought the men might even catch me at nine miles, because we went out way too slow," Cherobon-Bawcom admitted. "Probably, we had to run 5:20s to beat them." Indeed, it would have taken a woman running slightly faster than 5:23 per mile to maintain their margin.
Like many in the event, both Mo Trafeh and Janet Cherobon-Bawcom are pointing to the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials hosted by Houston next January for their next major race.
The USA 10 Mile Championships were also the final stop for the men on the 2011 USA Running Circuit with Ben True taking the grand prix title with 60 points, worth $6000. Aaron Braun of Flagstaff, AZ finished second in the standings with 50 points ($4000) and Mo Trafeh took third with 45 points ($2500).
With one race (USA Women's 10K) remaining on the women's USARC, Janet Cherobon-Bawcom is tied for first in the women's standings with Jen Rhines of Mammoth Lakes, CA; both hold 30 points.
13th Medtronic TC 10 Mile: USA Men & Women's Championships
Minneapolis, MN, Sunday, October 2, 2011
Top Men
1) Mo Trafeh (CA), 46:46, $22,000*
2) Ben True (NH), 46:48, $7500
3) Brett Gotcher (AZ), 46:51, $5000
4) Ed Moran (Williamsburg, VA), 46:51, $2000
5) James Strang (CO), 46:54, $1500
6) Abdi Abdirahman (AZ), 47:00, $750
7) Chris Barnicle (MA), 47:06, $500
8) Aaron Braun (AZ), 47:10, $275
9) Scott Smith (AZ), 47:12, $250
10) Ryan Vail (CO), 47:13, $225
*includes $10,000 Equalizer Bonus as first runner across the finish line
Top Women
1) Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (GA), 54:15, $12,000
2) Julie Culley (NJ), 54:28, $7500
3) Blake Russell (CA), 54:44, $5000
4) Katie McGregor (MN), 55:00, $2000
5) Sarah Porter (NC), 55:01, $1500
6) Meghan Armstrong Peyton (MN), 55:09, $750
7) Molly Pritz (MI), 55:12, $500
8) Serena Burla (MO), 55:18, $275
9) Dot McMahan (MI), 55:39, $250
10) Kristen Fryburg-Zaitz (CO), 55:39, $225
Full results and more at www.tcmevents.org.
Video highlights of the USA 10 Mile Championships are available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.
About the USARC
The USA 10 Mile Championships are the tenth stop on the 2011 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and will pay $60,000 in U.S. prize money.
The 10 mile championships were the final stop for the men on the 2011 circuit with Ben True taking the circuit title with 60 points. Aaron Braun of Flagstaff, AZ finished second in the standings with 50 points, and Mo Trafeh took third with 45 points.
The 2011 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon, and attracts some of the best distance runners in the country. The circuit features ten events for men and nine for women.
The 2011 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA long distance running championships and for the first time will include the USA Cross Country Championships.The USARC attracts the best U.S. distance runners and has ten events for men and nine for women.
The 2011 USARC will feature more than $450,000 in circuit prize money with U.S. athletes competing for the right 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.
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.