Jen Rhines Getting Ready for Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Three Olympians Among Field for USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship

Date: March 20, 2013

2013 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run will also feature top male finishers from last year’s race

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Race Director Phil Stewart announced  that U.S. Olympians Janet Cherebon-Bawcom, Jen Rhines and Colleen De Reuck will be competing in the upcoming USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship, presented by America’s Credit Unions, which is being held in conjunction with the 2013 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, April 7.
On the men’s side, last year’s winner, Allan Kiprono will return to defend his title, and will face 2012 runner-up Lani Kiplagat. With nearly four weeks to go until race day, both the men’s and women’s fields are sure to see notable additions; the complete roster of elite runners will be announced on Wednesday, April 3.

“I’m pleased to have both course recordholders entered in this year’s race,” said Stewart. “Colleen De Reuck set the still-standing women’s course record of 51:16 back in 1998, when she was competing for the Republic of South Africa, and Allan Kiprono set the men’s course record just last year in a time of 45:15, which was the fastest 10-mile time of the year and the fifth fastest all-time.”
Stewart continued: “And I’m thrilled to see how the field is shaping up for the USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship, presented by America’s Credit Unions. The American women will be racing for both open and U.S. Championship prize money, with $14,400 specifically earmarked to be paid to the top 10 American women.”

Ladia Albertson Junkans, 8th in the 2012 USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship; Alvina Begay, who ran a personal best 32:35 for 10,000 meters on the track at last April’s Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational; Sarah Crouch, 5th in the 2011 USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship; Clara Grandt, 7th in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials; Kellyn Johnson, 10th in the 10,000 meters at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials; Renee Metevier-Baillie, 2nd in the 2010 USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship; Stephanie Pezzullo, 6th in last year’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run; and Molly Pritz, 7th in the 2011 USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship.

In addition to Janet Cherebon-Bawcom, a finalist in the 10,000 meters for the U.S. in last summer’s London Games; Jen Rhines, who represented the U.S. in the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and marathon in the Beijing, Sydney and Athens Olympics respectively; and Colleen De Reuck, who competed for the U.S. in the marathon in Athens, after representing South Africa in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney; other American women who have committed to the race to date include Ladia Albertson Junkans, 8th in the 2012 USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship; Alvina Begay, who ran a personal best 32:35 for 10,000 meters on the track at last April’s Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational; Sarah Crouch, 5th in the 2011 USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship; Clara Grandt, 7th in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials; Kellyn Johnson, 10th in the 10,000 meters at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials; Renee Metevier-Baillie, 2nd in the 2010 USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship; Stephanie Pezzullo, 6th in last year’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run; and Molly Pritz, 7th in the 2011 USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship.

The 41st running of the “Runners Rite of Spring®” is sure to see some fast times on both the men’s and women’s side, with the prize money pool including bonuses of $1,000 for the first man to run sub-46 minutes, $1,000 for the first woman to run sub-52 minutes, and $2,500 for the first U.S. woman to break the single-sex American Record of 54:38, which was set by the late Sally Meyerhoff in the 2009 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run.

A total of $50,000 in prize money and bonuses will be awarded in equal amounts to the top 10 men and top 10 women, with an additional $14,400 to be awarded to the top 10 American Women; a total of $1,750 will be awarded to the top three U.S. men who finish among the top 15 overall finishers.
The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run is the only truly elite road race in our Nation’s Capital, and is a proud member of the Professional Road Running Organization (PRRO) Circuit. PRRO is an alliance of race directors who together organize and the PRRO Circuit, a nationwide series of premier non-marathon road racing events. Circuit events include the World’s Best 10K in San Juan, PR; the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile; the Lilac Bloomsday 12K in Spokane, WA; the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY; and the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, GA. A trip to the PRRO Race of Champions at the 2013 AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4, 2013 will be awarded to the first local man and woman.

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom is known as “The Runner’s Rite of Spring®.” The staging area for the event is on the Washington Monument Grounds and the course passes in sight of all of the major Washington, DC Memorials. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a consortium of 170 premier children’s hospitals across the United States. Since the Credit Unions became the title sponsor of the race in 2002, over $5.5 million dollars has been donated to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. About one-third of the funds raised support Washington, DC’s own Children’s National Medical Center (“Children’s Hospital”). The event also funds two $5,000 Road Runners Club of America “Roads Scholar” grants designed to support up-and-coming U.S. distance running talent.

For more, visit http://www.cherryblossom.org/