Posted: December 17, 2004

Athletics: U.S. 10 Mile Championships Course Found Short

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

USATF reported yesterday that the course of the Papa John's 10 Miler, the site of the U.S. Men's 10 Mile Championships in 2003 and 2004, did not measure the full ten mile distance upon validation.

"The Papa John's 10 Miler course in Louisville, Ky., failed validation," said USATF Records Vice Chair, Ryan Lamppa, in an e-mail message to selected statisticians.

The course had been remeasured to validate Eddy Hellebuyck's pending U.S. 40-44 record of 48:20 set in 2003. Chris Graff won the open title the same year in 47:09, then the U.S. championships record. Dan Browne lowered that record to 46:32 in the 2004 edition of the race on 10-Apr, in what appeared to be the third-fastest 10 miler ever run by an American. Although Graff and Browne will keep their titles, their performances are no longer valid for all-time lists.

"Times run on said course in 2002, 2003 and 2004 should be removed from your [performance] lists as appropriate and/or denoted accordingly," continued Lamppa.

The Papa John's 10 Miler is a very popular championship with U.S. athletes, paying over $20,000 in prize money and offering the winner a $10,000 check. Papa John's is a very successful national chain of pizza restaurants, and their sponsorship of a national championship race is widely appreciated.

The event will once again host the U.S. Men's 10 Mile Championship on April 9, 2005.