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 Apr 7 RRCA National Championship NewsRRCA NATIONAL 10 MILE CHAMPIONSHIPWASHINGTON, DC -- Sally Meyerhoff, 2008 RRCA Roads Scholar, made history at Sunday's 37th annual Credit Union Cherry Blossom10 Mile Run, setting the American record for a women's-only race. The 25-year-old Phoenix, AZ, native posted a time of 54 minutes, 38 seconds, breaking the old mark of 55:42, set by Turena Johnson Lane, also an RRCA Roads Scholar, in 2006. That record-setting performance was part of a great day of racing under ideal conditions on a mild, sunny day in the District. One year ago, Moroccan Ridouane Harroufi and Kenyan Lineth Chepkurui celebrated their first visits to the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run with victories in the male and female races. The experience was so much fun the duo made a return appearance on Sunday morning on the Washington Monument Grounds. And -- while they did so in vastly different ways -- both runners defended their titles. Harroufi, 27, broke away from a tight pack of six runners in the final 500 yards to finish with a first-place time of 45 minutes, 56 seconds. He became the first competitor in a decade to break the 46-minute mark. The final group of male runners included 19-year-old Ethiopian Feyisa Liesla, who demonstrated great poise for a teenager down the stretch. Liesa placed just two seconds behind Harroufi at 45:58. Kenyan Silas Sang, 31, was right there with them, finishing third at 45:59. Karim El Mabchour, 26, was fourth (46:00) and Kenyans Stephen Chemlany (46:08) and Cosmas Koech Kimuati (46:08) placed fifth and sixth respectively. The women's race, meanwhile, featured no such drama at the finish line. Chepkurui, a 21-year-old Kenyan, pulled away from a pack of 16 runners just after the eight-mile mark. She finished with a time of 53:32, which was 23 seconds ahead of Belianesh Zemed Gebre (53:55) and 26 seconds ahead of Ethiopian Teyba Naser (53:58). Naser's performance was notable considering she had just finished second in the highly competitive Cooper River Bridge 10K Run in Charleston, S.C. on Saturday. Countrywoman Abebu Gelan (54:26) led the next group, which included two-time Olympic silver medalist Catherine Ndereba (54:27) and 2003 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile champ Olga Romanova (54:32) in fifth and sixth place. The top American male was Jason Hartman (48:03), a Boulder, Colo. resident who earned 14th. Arlington's Bert Rodriguez (51:07) was the best Washington, DC-area male finisher at 22nd place. Amanda Trotter (57:11), also of Arlington, was the top local female. Runners competed for the largest purse in event history - $40,000 in prize and bonus money. RRCA NATIONAL 10 K CHAMPIONSHIP San Francisco, CA - The Presidio 10 K served as the RRCA National 10 K Championship. The event was organized by the The Guardsmen; a service organization founded in 1947 that is devoted to providing disadvantaged youth an opportunity to participate in camping, educational and other culturally enriching opportunities. Racers lined up at the starting line on the beautiful sunny morning of March 29th. Shortly after the gun went off, runners were treated to a steep uphill climb to the Golden Gate Bridge. “The wind at the bridge took my breath away for a brief second,” commented RRCA Maryland State Rep and 16th overall finisher, Phil Lang. As the mass of runners crossed over the bridge, they could see Jonathon Pierce on his way back across the bridge, running alone with a large gap between him and the rest of the lead pack. Pierce won the RRCA National 10 K Championship title with a time of 31:31 and a pace of 5:05. Pierce was one of the 2008 RRCA Roads Scholar grant recipients and is currently training in Mammoth Lakes, CA with the Mammoth Track Club. For the women’s race, Kristi Rossi, age 40, from Hillsborough, CA was awarded both the RRCA National 10 K Championship title along with the RRCA Masters Champion title. She won the women’s race with a time of 41:23 with a pace of 6:39. The RRCA 10 K National Male Master Champion was won by Sherwick Min, age 42, with a time of 40:51 and a pace of 6:35. The RRCA 10 K National Grand Masters Male and Female winners were Trevor Ward from Merrimack, NH with a time of 41:50 and Mary Bihr of Petaluma, CA with a time of 53:10. Ward was in town with his wife, Leeann, who received the 2008 RRCA Outstanding Youth Program Director award. ###
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