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IAAF World Road Running Championships berths also at stake
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - (August 31, 2006) - 2003 USA 20K champion and U.S. 20K record holder Marla Runyan (Eugene, Ore.) returns to New Haven, Conn. to lead the women's field at the 2006 USA 20K Championships, while 2006 USA 25K champion Fernando Cabada (Bristol, Va.) and USA 12K Cross Country champion Ryan Hall (Woodside, Calif.) headline the men's race. The national championship, hosted by the 29th NewAlliance New Haven 20K, will be held Labor Day, Monday, September 4.
Also looking to add a second USA 20K title to her growing resume will be 2004 national champion Turena Johnson Lane (Muncie, Ind.). Johnson Lane, a member of the 2005 U.S. World Championships marathon team, also won the 25K national title earlier this year at the Fifth Third River Bank Run in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Additional contenders for the women's title will be: two-time Olympian Elva Dryer (Albuquerque, N.M.); 2003-04 NCAA 10,000 meter champion Alicia Craig (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and 2005 World Championships marathoner Jenny Crain (Milwaukee, Wis.).
On the men's side, Cabada, the U.S. 25K record holder, and Hall of Team Running USA will see strong challenges from an array of U.S. standouts that includes Team USA Minnesota's Andrew Carlson (St. Paul, Minn.), the runner-up at this year's USA Men's 10 Mile Championship. Carlson also has top ten finishes at the USA Half-Marathon, USA 15K and USA Outdoor 5000 this year. Joining the chase for the title will be 2004 20K champion and two-time USARC grand prix champion Ryan Shay (East Jordan, Mich.); 2003 USA 10 Mile champion Chris Graff (Arlington, Va.); 2006 USA Men's 10 Mile third place finisher Jason Lehmkuhle (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Josh Moen (Rochester Hills, Mich.) of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project.
In addition to nearly $40,000 in prize money with $7500 each to the national champions, athletes will be competing for a berth on the U.S. team that will compete at the IAAF World Road Running Championships in Debrecen, Hungary on October 8.
This marks the 14th year that the NewAlliance New Haven Road Race has hosted the USA 20K Championships for men and the sixth for women and is the fifth stop for men and the fourth for women on the 2006 USA Running Circuit (USARC). The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series that features USA Championships from 5K to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The twelfth edition for the men and eleventh for the women, the 2006 circuit has eight events for men and seven events for women.
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 ($6000, $4000, and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships - Medtronic Twin Cities on October 1 - will be doubled.
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 over $5.5 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.
For more information on the 2006 USARC and USA 20K Championships visit: USATF.org.
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