RI’s Huddle Tops List for NY’s Mini 10K

OAKLEY NEW YORK MINI 10-K SHOWCASES USA ATHLETES

By David Monti, @d9monti

(c) 2014 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

(Used with permission)



NEW YORK (11-Jun) -- Saturday's Oakley New York Mini 10-K

 --the oldest road race for women in the world, founded in 1972

-- features one of the best groups of American athletes in the 

event's 43-year history.  Over 7000 women have registered for 

the women's-only event which starts on Central Park West and 

finishes in Central Park on the same finish line as the TCS 

New York City Marathon.



Topping the list is world 12-K record holder Molly Huddle, 29, of Providence, R.I.  Huddle, 

a 2012 Olympian, will be making her Mini debut, and she is coming off of a big 30:47.59 personal best at 

10,000m at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford University last month where she finished a 

close second to Olympic silver medalist Sally Kipyego of Kenya.



"I have many good memories of racing in New York City in recent years and always jump at opportunities to

 return to NYRR events, from the Fifth Avenue Mile to the NYC Half and now the Oakley New York Mini 10-K,

" Huddle said in a statement provided by race organizers.  "As the world's original all-women's race, the

 Mini makes a bit of history every year, and I look forward to being a part of it, along with great 

American and International fields in 2014!"



Here in New York, Huddle has a chance of breaking Mary Decker Slaney's USATF-ratified 10-K road running 

record of 31:38 set 30 years ago.  Huddle split 31:40 for 10-K at the .US Road Running Championships 12-K

 in Alexandria, Va., last November, so that mark is entirely possible.



Also racing for the red, white and blue, will be 2004 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor.  

The 41 year-old from Mammoth Lakes, Calif., also has a good chance of breaking a national record: 

Colleen De Reuck's national masters 10-K record of 32:50 set at the Mini back in 2004.  She could also 

break Ruth Wysocki's USA masters 8-K mark of 26:19 en route to the finish (the event has certified the 

8-K point for record-setting).



The other top Americans in the field are 2012 Olympic marathoner Desiree Linden of Washington, Mich.; 

2012 USA Olympic Trials 10,000m champion Amy Hastings of Providence, R.I.; 2013 .US Road Racing 

Championships third place finisher Laura Thweatt of Boulder, Colo.; 2013 USA Marathon champion Annie 

Bersagel of Oslo, Norway; 2006 Fifth Avenue Mile champion Sara Hall of Redding, Calif.; 2:28 marathoner 

Lauren Kleppin of Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; and 2013 USA Half-Marathon champion Adriana Nelson of Boulder, 

Colo.





The Americans will face a very tough international field, including previous Mini champions Mamitu Daska 

of Ethiopia (2013) and Linet Masai of Kenya (2010 and 2011).  Also scheduled to run are Britain's Gemma 

Steel, Ethiopia's Buzunesh Deba, Burundi's Diane Nukuri-Johnson, and Canada's Lanni Marchant.



"We are thrilled to welcome back such talented and influential women from the United States and throughout

 the world to this year's competition," said New York Road Runners President and CEO Mary Wittenberg 

through a statement.  "This race gives every participant the chance to celebrate the positive changes 

associated with the acceptance and advancement of women's participation in all athletic endeavors. 

Our elite female athletes have helped tremendously at the forefront of this change, and they continue 

to inspire women from all different backgrounds all over the globe to lead active and healthy lives."





RESOURCE: Download a course map and elevation profile here - http://www.nyrr.org/download/file/31119



RESOURCE: See a race history of the event here: http://www.arrs.net/HP_MnM10.htm



PHOTO: Women lined up for the 2012 edition of the Oakley New York Mini 10-K 



NOTE: Race Results Weekly Inc. provides professional athletes consulting for the New York Road Runners and

 the Oakley New York Mini 10-K --Ed.