Posted: February 14, 2007

Athletics: Top American Distance Runners to Race in Central Park at the 2007 USA Men's 8K Championship

New York Road Runners puts up $25,000 bonus for 8K U.S. record plus $35,000 total prize money purse NEW YORK - (February 12, 2007) - Olympic and American distance running standouts Adam Goucher, Abdi Abdirahman and Jorge Torres have entered the field for the 2007 USA Men's 8K Championship in New York City's Central Park on Saturday, March 17, it was announced by New York Road Runners President and CEO Mary Wittenberg. The race course will cover the last eight kilometers (4.97 miles) of the route that will be used when NYRR hosts the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon on Saturday, November 3, 2007. All three runners competed this past weekend at the USA Cross Country Championships in Boulder, Colo. Goucher was national runner-up in 37:35 on the 12K course and Torres was fourth in 38:07, while Abdirahman had an off day, placing 21st. "In 2007, we celebrate our nation's best runners as the competition heats up at every distance," said Wittenberg. "The male marathoners' road to Beijing goes through Central Park this year and the USA 8K Championship will serve as a tune-up on the course for many of the marathoners as well as a tune-up for a big year for our 5K and 10K runners. This championship is a meeting in the middle of America's best." NYRR is putting up a prize money purse of $35,000 including $10,000 for the national champion. Additionally, a $25,000 bonus will be awarded to the winning athlete who breaks the current 8K U.S. record of 22 minutes, 4 seconds. Goucher, 31, of Portland, Ore. will be running the USA 8K Championship for the first time. He was the 2006 USA Men's 4K cross country champion as well as the 12K and 4K champion in 2000. Goucher, a 2000 Olympian, has his sights set on breaking the national 8K record, which was set by none other than his coach, running legend Alberto Salazar, in 1981. Torres, 26, of Boulder, returns as the reigning USA 8K Champion, having won the title in 2005. An NCAA cross country champion at the University of Colorado, Torres was also the 2006 USA 10,000 meter champion. Abdirahman, 30, of Tucson, has run the USA 8K Championships four times, finishing in the top five in 2005 (second), 2003 (third) and 2002 (fourth). In 2006, he placed fourth at the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon in 2:08:56, the second-fastest U.S. time for the year and the fifth American to break 2:09. NYRR previously hosted the USA 8K Championships from 2002-05. The event was not held in 2006. For more information, visit: NYRR.org. Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director (805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016 Ryan@RunningUSA.org www.RunningUSA.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest