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ATLANTA - 2007 10,000 meter track champion Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) claimed the 10 km road title at the USA Men's 10 km Championship today in Atlanta. The championship was hosted by Atlanta-Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race. Running 28 minutes 12 seconds, Abdirahman finished second overall, 11 seconds behind Martin Irungu of Kenya.
Irungu and countrymen Nicholas Kamakya and Peter Kamais led the field through an opening mile of 4:26 with Abdirahman only a few steps behind, while Ryan Hall (Big Bear Lake, Calif.), Ed Moran (Williamsburg, Va.) and Jason Lehmkuhle (Minneapolis, Minn.) led a chase pack of Americans about 20 meters back.
Charging through the second and third miles in 4:24 and 4:26, Irungu and Kamakya opened a small gap on Abdirahman before the three-time U.S. track champion began to work his way back to the leaders.
Passing five miles in 22:32, Abdirahman made his bid to be the first U.S. winner of Peachtree since Ed Eyestone in 1991 but Irungu continued to match strides with him as the pair steadily pulled away from Kamakya.
Making the final turn towards the finish at Piedmont Park, Irungu found one more gear to pull away from Abdirahman. Kamakya held on for third in 28:20 while Boaz Cheboiywo (KEN) and Ryan Hall filled out the top five in 28:26 and 28:35 respectively. Moran finished in 9th, running 28:52 to round out the top three in the USA Championship division.
A total prize purse of $30,000 was paid to U.S. men with Abdirahman collecting $10,000 for the win.
Celebrating its 38th running, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race is the largest 10 km race in the world.
USA Running Circuit
The 2007 USA Men's 10 km Championship was the fifth event for men in the 2007 edition of USA Track & Field's 2006 USA Running Circuit (USARC).
The USARC, a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The thirteenth edition for the men and twelfth for the women, the 2007 USARC has nine 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 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 $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.
For more information on the 2007 USA Men's 10 km Championship and the 2007 USARC, visit USATF.org.
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