20 June 2018

Media Contact Information:
(not for publication)

Keith Peters, Media Coordinator
307-690-6803 or [email protected]

Website: www.cherryblossom.org

2018 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run Final Results Uploaded to All-Time Searchable Database

Team Results Confirmed for 11 Different Categories

June 20, 2018, Washington, DC: Race organizers announced today that the names of all 19,188 finishers in the 2018 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run and the 5K Run-Walk have been uploaded to the event's All-time Searchable Database. The addition of the results of the 2018 event, which served as the Professional Road Running Organization's (PRRO) 2018 Championship event as well as the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) National 10-Mile Championship, brings the total number of performances in the database to 352,053 since the first running of the race in 1973. The All-time Searchable Database can be accessed via the URL www.cherryblossom.org, allowing participants to view their entire competitive history in the Runners Rite of Spring®.

Event Director Phil Stewart said, "It is fun for every runner to be able to track his or her performances over the 46 editions of the race and see a number of graphics depicting trends."

The All-time Searchable Database also makes it easy for race organizers to identify members of the "100 Mile Club," runners whose finishes total 100 miles or more in the event. Members of the 100 Mile Club are eligible for a guaranteed entry into next year's race, set for April 7, 2019. (Note: The 100 miles required for entry into the 100 Mile Club can consist of any combination of finishes in the 10-mile and 5K events that total 100 miles or more.)

One other addition to the Cherry Blossom website is a downloadable PDF or Flipbook that contains the names and times of all 2018 finishers in both the 10-mile and 5K as well as photos, articles and interesting statistics about the event. By not printing and mailing the results booklet to all participants, as was done up until 2009, over 50,000 pounds of CO2 is being kept out of the atmosphere each year.

Before closing the books on this year's event, here's one last look at many of the highlights of the 46th Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile:

On his first trip to America, 21-year-old Jemal Yimer broke away from a dwindling lead group in the last mile of the race to win in a time of 46:17. His compatriot Buze Diriba won the women's race in 53:45 after finishing second here the past two years. Both earned titles as the 2018 PRRO Champions and the 2018 RRCA National 10 Mile Champions. In a race full of stories, another highlight was two new 5-year age group event records - 60-year-old Joan Benoit Samuelson's new 60-64 women's age group time 1:07:56 and 86-year-old George Yannakakis' new 85-89 men's age group time of 1:51:06.

In addition to 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson's stellar record run, two other Olympic medalists enjoyed the race. Matthew Centrowitz, who won Olympic Gold in the 1500 Meters in Rio in 2016, ran 50:38 as a hard training run; Meb Keflezighi, Silver Medalist in the Marathon in Athens in 2004, ran 58:01 to pace a large group of runners hoping to break 60-minutes.

Bethesda, MD's Ben Beach, running his 46th Cherry Blossom Ten Mile just eight days before completing his 51st consecutive Boston Marathon, finished in a time of 1:50:03.

In the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 5K Run-Walk, presented by Hood Cottage Cheese, Logan Yu ran 16:05 to win, Hibah Abuhamdieh won the women's race in 20:24, and 93-year-old Dixon Hemphill ran 1:06:44 to finish a Cherry Blossom event for the 30th time since 1984, and up his total Cherry Blossom miles run to 245.

Top local runners were Clint McKelvey from Washington, DC, and Bethany Sachtleben from Alexandria, VA. Both McKelvey and Sachtleben won trips to the 2019 PRRO Circuit Championship, to be held in Spokane, WA, at the Lilac Bloomsday 12K on May 5, 2019.

This year's team results recognize the accomplishments of 114 teams in 11 different categories; team scoring is based on the combined times of a team's first three runners. $1,000 in prize money is awarded to the winning men's and women's teams in the Washington Metropolitan Elite Team division; all other teams compete simply for bragging rights.

Pacers/GRC-New Balance prevailed in the men's Washington Metropolitan Elite Team division with a time of 2:37:11, while Capital Area Runners won the women's Washington Metropolitan Elite Team division with a time of 3:01:55. Marriott #1 won the corporate team competition in a time of 3:29:59; NASA FCU Meteors was the first credit union team with a time of 3:09:36; among the government teams, FAA/ITF-1 won in a time of 3:31:53; GVPT UMD won the competition among educational institutions in 3:52:34; Howard County Striders won the men's open club competition with a time of 2:50:01; PR Races_DC Elite were the fastest co-ed masters team in 3:03:23; Dojo of Pain won the open women's club title with a time of 3:09:26; Heinrich Maneuver prevailed among teams from the Senate in a time of 3:21:18; and Model Runners was the fastest House team in 3:00:34.

Over 27,000 runners submitted applications to participate in the 2018 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile and 5K Run-Walk, and the list of accepted runners represented all 50 states and 14 foreign countries. There were 16,658 official finishers in the Ten Mile and 2,530 in the 5K Run-Walk.

The 2018 event marked the 17th year of title sponsorship by Credit Union Miracle Day. Since 2002, over $8 million has been raised for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, including $380,000 from this year's race.

About the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom, organized by Cherry Blossom, Inc., a 501c(3) chapter of the Road Runners Club of America, is known as "The Runner's Rite of Spring®" in the 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 North America. About one-third of the funds raised support Washington, DC's own Children's National ("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 event is a proud member of the PRRO Circuit (PRRO.org), a series of non-marathon prize money road races in Tampa, FL; Washington, DC; Spokane, WA; Utica, NY; and Pittsburgh, PA, with the 2018 PRRO Championships hosted by the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile on April 8. The circuit is committed to a drug-free sport and funds Clearidium to conduct drug testing at all circuit events in compliance with the standards of international and U.S. drug testing authorities.

In addition to being sanctioned by USA Track & Field and the Road Runners Club of America, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Run has earned Gold Level Inspire Certification from the Council for Responsible Sport in recognition of its legacy of commitment to sustainability and thoughtful resource management. To learn more, visit www.CherryBlossom.org.

Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc., a consortium of credit unions and credit union suppliers in partnership with CUNA Mutual Group and PSCU, is the title sponsor of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, 5K Run-Walk and Kids' Run. Hood Cottage Cheese is the presenting sponsor of the 5K Run-Walk. Supporting sponsors include Baroody Camps, E-Trade, Garmin, Gatorade, GEICO, Gold's Gym, Mamma Lucia, MedStar Sports Medicine, Navy Federal Credit Union, Old Ox Brewery, Potomac River Running, Suburban Solutions, and Under Armour.

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 113 million Americans do their banking at one of America's 5,800 credit unions. Credit unions are for everyone - no matter where you live, there is a credit union to meet your needs.