03-15-2007
Contact:
Jim Estes
LDR Programs Manager
USA Track & Field
317-713-4661
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The USA Men's 8 km Championship is set to return to New York's Central Park for the first time since 2004 this Saturday. Leading the field will be 2005 8 km champion Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.), who won this event the last contested.
The 2006 USA 10,000 meter champion on the track, Torres will mix it up with two-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.), and 2004 Olympian and hometown favorite Anthony Famiglietti (New York, N.Y.).
Also looking to dethrone Torres will be 2006 USA 25 km champion and American record holder Fernando Cabada (Bristol, Va.), former William and Mary All-American Ed Moran (Williamsburg, Va.) and 2004 U.S. Olympic marathoner Dan Browne (Portland, Ore.).
In addition to a total prize purse of $35,000, with $10,000 going to the champion, the New York Road Runners will be offering a $25,000 bonus to the to the winning athlete who breaks the current U.S. 8 km record of 22:04 set by Alberto Salazar in 1981.
The race will be run on a Central Park 8 km (4.97 miles) loop that makes up the main section 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.
USA Running Circuit
The 2007 USA 8 km Championship is the third event of 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. Ryan Hall (Big Bear Lake, Calif.) currently leads the men's standings with 27 points.
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 8 km Championships and the 2007 USARC, visit www.usatf.org.
