JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Janet Bawcom and Ben True emerged from deep fields to win the USA 15 km Championships hosted by the Gate River Run on Saturday.
The USA 15 km Championships are the second stop on the USA Running Circuit (USARC), which will conclude this fall with the .US National Road Racing Championships. The top ten finishers from today’s race qualified to compete in the .US National Road Racing Championships.
Bawcom jumped to the lead early in Saturday morning’s race with Alisha Williams and Stephanie Rothstein-Bruce on her heels. Mile by mile Bawcom wore down her competition, eventually pulling away to win her second consecutive USA 15k m championship in 49:44.
Williams took second in 50:01, while Rothstein-Bruce was third in 50:09.
The women started 6 minutes and 35 seconds ahead of the men, with a $6,000 bonus going to the first man or woman to make it to the starting line. Bawcom made it to the line with 28 seconds to spare to claim the equalizer title over Men’s winner True.
On the men’s side, a pack of a dozen runners ran together through much of the race. Several athletes traded the lead, including notable front-runners True, Bobby Curtis, Ryan Vail, defending champion Mo Trafeh, Tim Ritchie, Sean Quigley and Christo Landy.
With only 800m remaining, True pulled away from the field to create a gap of two seconds as he crossed the line first in 43:38. Curtis was close behind in 43:40, and fellow Team USA cross country member Vail was third in 43:42. The top eight men finished within eight seconds of one another.
Today’s win marked True’s 4th USA Running Circuit Victory and puts him first in the 2013 USARC standings.
About the USARC
The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series featuring USA championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $53,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USA 15 km Championships.
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 those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.
The mission of the USARC is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.
Contributed by Scott Bush
