NH’s Ben True Wins US 5K Title in RI

True, Culley win men’s and women’s titles at USA 5 km Championships

PROVIDENCE – Ben True (Hanover, N.H.) and Julie Culley
(Lebanon, N.J.) won the respective men’s and women’s titles at the USA 5
km Championships Sunday in Providence, R.I. True kicked to his second
U.S. title of 2011, running 13:44, while Culley ran 15:40 for her first
USA women’s crown.

Along with the championships, the 22nd running the CVS Caremark
Downtown 5K once again featured a strong international field and saw
more than a dozen men, including open athletes Sam Chelanga and Gilbert
Okari of Kenya, hit the first mile in 4:24.

At approximately one and a half miles True took charge of the
lead group, pulling the leaders through two miles in 8:53. Heading into
the final mile, True maintained a slight lead over Chelanga, Aaron Braun (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and defending champion Robert Cheseret (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Cresting the final hill, True held his ground, finishing two seconds ahead of Braun.

On the women’s side, Lindsey Scherf (San
Francisco, Calif.) led the race for the first 600 meters when Culley
asserted herself to take the lead. Passing the first mile in 4:55,
Culley cruised the final two miles for an eight-second over Kim Conley (Davis, Calif.). 2009 USA Cross Country champion Emily Brown (Minneapolis, Minn.) finished third in 15:58.

Video highlights

Video highlights of the USA 5 km Championships are available in
cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.

About the USARC

The USA 5 km Championships are the ninth stop on the 2011 USA
Running Circuit (USARC) and will pay $30,000 in U.S. prize money with
True and Culley each earning $5,000. The 2011 USARC is a USA Track
& Field road series, featuring USA Championships from one mile to
the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The circuit
features ten events for men and nine for women. True now holds a
one-point lead over Braun in the men’s standings, while Jen Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) leads the women’s circuit.

The 2011 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series,
featuring USA long distance running championships and for the first time
will include the USA Cross Country Championships. The USARC attracts
the best U.S. distance runners and has ten events for men and nine for
women.

The 2011 USARC will feature more than $450,000 in circuit prize
money with U.S. athletes competing for the right to represent Team USA
in various international competitions.

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 ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top
three men and women point scorers overall.

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 $6 million dollars to U.S. distance
runners.

For more information on the 2011 USA 5 km Championships visit www.USARunningCircuit.com.