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Road Runners Club of America

Road Runners Club of America and Cherry Blossom—A special relationship

ast year, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) awarded $2,400 in prize money to
Lthe top the finishers in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run that were either an
RRCA Roads Scholar or RunPro Camp alum. The race also served as the 2018 RRCA Ten Mile
National Championship.
This year, building upon the long tradition of cooperation and mutual support between the
Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile and the RRCA—America’s oldest and largest grass roots
organization of running clubs—race organizers and the RRCA will jointly award $1,500, $1,000
and $500 to the top-three men and women alumni of the two innovative RRCA programs de-
signed specifically to support up-and-coming American distance runners.
Since 1996, the RRCA has awarded 128 grants totaling $600,000 through its Roads Scholar
program to assist American post-collegiate road runners who show great promise to develop
into national and world class road running athletes. Over the past 20 years, the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Run has
contributed over $210,000 to the Roads Scholar grant program, making it the program’s largest single contributor.
To date, the following RRCA Roads Scholar grant recipients have committed to race in the 2019 Credit Union Cherry
Blossom Ten Mile: 2018 recipients Reed Fischer, Grayson Murphy and Samantha Bluske-Palmer; Emma Bates, Johnny
Crain, Tyler Jermann and Matt McClintock, all 2017 grant recipients; Martin Hehir and Maddie Van Beek who were
awarded Roads Scholar grants in 2016 and placed third in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile that same year; Katy
(Moen) Jermann, who was awarded a grant in 2015; 2011 Roads Scholar Meghan Armstrong-Peyton; and 1997 Roads
Scholar grant recipient Deena Kastor, who certainly fulfilled the RRCA’s goal of assisting American post-collegiate road
runners who show great promise to develop into national and world-class road racers—she won the 2004 Olympic Mara-
thon Bronze Medal in Athens.
Five of the above named RRCA Roads Scholars competed in the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile last year: Matt
McClintock was ninth overall in a time of 47:10; Johnny
Crain was 21 in 49:16; Tyler Jermann placed 24 with a time
st
th
of 49:50; Emma Bates placed 7 among women in 54:45: and
th
Katy (Moen) Jermann placed 12th among the women with a
time of 56:04.
RunPro is another RRCA-funded program that Credit
Union Cherry Blossom organizers are pleased to support.
Event Director Phil Stewart and Elite Athlete Coordinator
Bill Orr are regular presenters at the RunPro Camp weekend
in July of each year. Intended to assist newly-graduated, post-
collegiate runners seeking to make the transition to profes-
sional running, RunPro Camp provides attendees with the
information, knowledge, and networking resources necessary
to pursue a professional running career.
2017 RunPro Campers Futsum Zeinasellassie and Kelsey
Bruce have committed to race in the 2019 Credit Union
Cherry Blossom Ten Mile; so have 2016 alumni Willie
Milam, 2015 camper Bethany Satchleben, and 2014 alum Photo: Team Mallet
Danny Docherty. Two Roads Scholar grant recipients men-
tioned above—Johnny Crain and Katy Jermann—are also
RunPro Camp alumni (2015 ). RRCA Executive Director Jean Knaack (left) and RRCA
President Mitch Garner (right) presented $1,200 each
to 2016 RunPro Camper Abbabiya Simbassa and 2017
Roads Scholar Emma Bates, 2018 winners of the Roads
Scholar RunPro Alumni Challenge.
18 2019 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Media Guide