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7 Olympians Confirmed for AJC Peachtree Road Race
$100,000 at Stake in USA 10 km Championships; Ryan Hall among Top Contenders
ATLANTA ÛÒ June 5, 2014 ÛÒ
U.S.
Olympians Ryan Hall, Abdi Abdirahman, Desiree Linden, Amy Hastings,
Julie Culley, Blake Russell and Jen Rhines are among the first athletes
confirmed for the 2014 AJC
Peachtree Road Race on July 4, Atlanta Track Club announced today.
For
the second consecutive year, the worldÛªs largest 10K will host the USA
10 km Championships for both men and women.
A total U.S. prize purse of $100,000 will be awarded this year, an
increase of $40,000 from 2013. The winning male and female will each
earn $15,000.
ÛÏA
national championship is the place where every U.S. athlete wants to
put it on the line,Û said Hall, a two-time
U.S. Olympian whose time of 2:04:58 in the 2011 Boston Marathon is the
fastest marathon ever run by an American. ÛÏI couldnÛªt be happier that
the AJC Peachtree Road Race is hosting the USA 10K Championships, with
the best American distance runners in the country
going after a big prize on the Fourth of July. ItÛªs perfect.Û
Hall, 31, of Redding, California, will be joined by Abdirahman, 37, of Tucson, Arizona, a four-time Olympian, four-time
USA 10,000-meter champion on the track, 2007 USA 10K champion on the roads and 2012 USA Half Marathon champion.
The
womenÛªs field is headlined by Linden, 29, of Rochester Hills, Michigan.
A 2012 Olympian in the marathon, Linden
in 2011 came within two seconds of becoming the first American woman to
win the Boston Marathon since 1985 when she finished second in 2:22:38,
a time that makes her the fourth-fastest woman in U.S. history.
Among her rivals will be Hastings, 30, of Providence, Rhode Island, a 2012 Olympian at 10,000 meters; and Culley,
32, of Arlington, Virginia, a 2012 U.S.
Olympian at 5000 meters. Both were Olympic Trials champions. Joining
them will be Rhines, of Boston, Massachusetts, a three-time Olympian and
2011 national champion at both 15K and the
half marathon who will turn 40 on July 1; and Russell, of Monterey,
California, a 2008 Olympian in the marathon and national champion at 15K
in 2006 and 20K in 2005.
Also
expected on the womenÛªs starting line are Sara Hall, the 2012 USA Cross
Country and 2011 USA 1-Mile Road champion;
Serena Burla, the reigning USA Half Marathon champion; Lauren Fleshman,
a two-time U.S. champion at 5000 meters on the track; and Katie
McGregor, a two-time USA 10K champion (2005, 2006) who has also won road
titles at 10 miles (2010) and 25K (2007).
For the men, Hall and Abdirahman will
be challenged by Aaron Braun, the 2013 USA 12K champion; and
Christo Landry, the 2013 USA champion at both 10 miles and 25K, the
latter in a time that tied the American Record.
More athletes are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Last
year, the USA 10 km Championships were won by Matt Tegenkamp of
Portland, OR (28:25, sixth overall)
and Janet Bawcom of Flagstaff, AZ, and formerly of Rome, GA (32:45,
eighth overall.) It was the first time the AJC Peachtree Road Race
hosted the USA WomenÛªs 10K Championships, while the men also raced for
the title here in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Additional
details about the event
are available at www.peachtreeroadrace.org.
About Atlanta Track Club
Atlanta
Track Club is a nonprofit committed to creating an active and healthy
Atlanta. Through running and walking, Atlanta Track Club motivates,
inspires and engages the community
to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. With more than 19,000 members, Atlanta
Track Club is the second largest running organization in the United
States. In addition to the AJC Peachtree Road Race (peachtreeroadrace.org)
ÛÒ the largest 10K running event in the world, the Atlanta Marathon (atlantamarathon.org),
and the Atlanta Half Marathon and Thanksgiving Day 5K (atlantahalfmarathon.org),
Atlanta Track Club directs more than 30 events per year. Through the
support of its members and volunteers, Atlanta Track Club also maintains
a number of community initiatives including organizing and promoting
the Kilometer Kids youth running program to metro
Atlanta youth, honoring high school cross country and track and field
athletes through Atlanta Track ClubÛªs All-Metro Banquets and supporting
the Grady Bicycle EMT program. For more information on Atlanta Track
Club, visit
atlantatrackclub.org.
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