6 April 2014

Credit Union Cherry Blossom Media Contact Information:
(not for publication)

Keith Peters, Credit Union Cherry Blossom Media Coordinator
307-690-6803 or [email protected]

Website: www.cherryblossom.org

April 6, 2014, Washington, DC: U.S. Olympian Janet Bawcom ran 10 miles in 52:12 this morning to set the single-gender American record at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, pending verification by USA Track & Field officials at their annual meeting in December. In doing so, Bawcom, from Flagstaff, AZ, broke the record she set here a year ago by a whopping 1:16, and pulled American Sara Hall under her former record time as well; Hall ran 52:54, in a very impressive debut over the distance.

Both the Men’s and Women’s USA 10 Mile Championships Presented by America’s Credit Unions were held in conjunction with the 42nd Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run and, as such, took place amidst highly competitive international races.

After leading the overall women’s race early on, Bawcom fell off the pace of Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia and Aliphine Tuliamak of Kenya about six miles into the race, before storming back to pass Tuliamak in the final half mile, coming within seven seconds of winning the race outright. Daska’s winning time was 52:05; Tuliamak’s third place time was 52:16; Hall finished fourth and Makida Abdela rounded out the top five in a time of 53:54.

In the men’s event, Kenyans Stephen Sambu and last year’s Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run champion Daniel Salel finished in the same time of 45:29, with Sambu being the clear winner—unlike last year when it took the judges quite some time to declare Salel the winner over Allan Kiprono, who finished third here today in a time of 45:47. Edwin Kipyego, also of Kenya placed fourth in 46:19, Tolossa Gedefa of Ethiopia was fifth in 46:38, followed closely by Christo Landry in sixth place—first American and winner of the 2014 USA Men’s 10 Mile Championship.

When asked what it was like to win his first-ever USA Championship title on the roads, Landry said he was “thrilled to finally get that monkey off his back.” Needless to say, Bawcom was thrilled as well, both with her record-setting time and late race surge to overtake Tuliamak claim her fourth consecutive USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship.

From a total pool of $81,800 in prize money and bonuses, Stephen Sambu and Mamitu Daska each won $8,000, while Janet Bawcom won a total of $12,000 ($4,500 for her second place finish overall, $5,000 for the USA Championship, and $2,500 for setting the American record). Six other American women placed among the top-ten overall to “double-dip” in prize money: Sara Hall (Flagstaff, AZ) placed 4th /2nd U.S. and earned $4,000 total; Frances Koons (Philadelphia, PA) placed 6th /3rd U.S. and earned $2,900; Susanna Sullivan (Falls Church, VA) placed 8th /4th U.S. to earn $2,200; Brianne Nelson (Golden, CO) placed 9th /5th U.S. and won a total of $1,400; and 40-year-old three-time U.S. Olympian Jen Rhines (Lexington, MA) placed 10th /6th U.S. to take home $1,300. To round out the top-ten American women, Heather Cappello (Arlington, MA) earned $600 as 7th U.S. finisher, Meghan Peyton (Richfield, MN) won $500 as 8th U.S. finisher, Sara Slattery (Phoenix, AZ) 9th U.S. won $300 and Blake Russell (Pacific Grove, CA) earned $200 for her 10th U.S. placing.

Top-placing American men were also able to take home both overall and top American prize money: Christo Landry (Ann Arbor, MI) earned a total of $5,900 ($5,000 for the USA Championship and $900 for 6th place overall) and Girma Mecheso (West Chester, PA) took home $3,000 ($2,500 for 2nd U.S. and $500 for 10th overall). The remainder of the USA 10 Mile Championship prize money was distributed as follows: Mo Trafeh (Duarte, CA) $2,000 for 3rd U.S.; Ben Bruce, (Flagstaff, AZ) $1,500 for 4th U.S.; Tim Young, (Fredericksburg, VA) $1,000 for 5th U.S.; Matt Tegenkamp (Portland, OR) $800 for 6th U.S.; Joseph Gray (Colorado Springs, CO) $600 for 7th U.S.; Tyler McCandless (Boulder, CO) $500 for 8th U.S.; Ian Burrell (Tucson, AZ) $300 for 9th U.S. and Lucas Meyer (Washington, DC) $200 for 10th U.S.

A complete listing of men’s and women’s results as well as prize money payouts are available on www.CherryBlossom.org. Pictures of the overall winners and USA Champions are available for media use here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5ru918qao4a6b7o/3g5zXSqPlj

On the fundraising front, a total of $487,000 was raised for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals this year. Since the Credit Unions became the title sponsor of the race in 2002, over $6.5 million has been has been raised for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

About the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile:

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom is known as “The Runner’s Rite of Spring®,” and is the only truly elite road race in our Nation’s capital. 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. 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.

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run is a proud member of the Professional Road Running Organization (PRRO) Circuit. PRRO is an alliance of race directors who together organize the PRRO Circuit, a nationwide series of premier non-marathon road racing events. The PRRO Circuit races share a common commitment for a drug-free sport. All the circuit events pay for elite athlete drug testing in partnership with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).Circuit events include the World's Best 10K in San Juan, PR, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 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 Utica Boilermaker 15K on July 13, 2014 will be awarded to the first local man and woman.

Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc., a consortium of credit unions and credit union suppliers, is the title sponsor of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run and 5K Run-Walk. PSCU is the lead financial partner of Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc. Supporting sponsors include New Balance, Gatorade, Navy Federal Credit Union, Larabar, Potomac River Running and BAE Systems.

Complete information about the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run and 5K Run-Walk can be found at: http://www.cherryblossom.org. 

About America’s Credit Unions:

Credit unions provide consumers choices for financial services such as checking accounts, investments and loans of all kinds including mortgages. Funds are federally insured, but unlike banks, there are no stockholders at credit unions. Earnings are returned to member-owners in the form of lower loan rates, higher savings rates, low or no-fee products and services. The credit union philosophy of placing members’ needs first is why more than 98.9 million Americans do their banking at one of America’s 6,800 credit unions. Credit unions are for everyone—no matter where you live, there is a credit union to meet your needs.