09-03-2009
Contact:
Jim Estes
Associate Director of LDR and Marketing
USA Track & Field
317-713-4661
INDIANAPOLIS - James Carney (Boulder, Colo.) and Jill Swope (formerly Jill Steffens) of Athens, Ga., are set to defend their titles Monday at the USA 20 km Championships in New Haven, Conn. The championships will be hosted by the 31st Stratton Faxon New Haven Road Race.
Also looking to take home the women's title will be 2008 Olympic marathoner Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.); Kelly Jaske (Portland, Ore.), the 2009 USA Half Marathon runner-up behind Boulet; and Ilsa Paulson (New York, N.Y.), the fourth-place finisher at this year's USA 7 Mile Championships.
In the men's race, Carney will face 2009 USA Half Marathon third-place finisher Bret Gotcher (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and 2009 USA 25 km runner-up Jason Hartmann (Boulder, Colo.).
In addition to the national championship titles, athletes will be competing to secure positions for the Team USA World Half Marathon Championships to be held October 11, in Birmingham, England.
About the USARC
The USA 20 km Championships is the seventh stop on the 2009 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and will pay $40,000 in U.S. prize money with $8,000 going to the respective champions.
The 2009 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon, which attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The 2009 USARC has ten events each for men and women. Boulet currently leads the women's standings with 49 points, while Anthony Famiglietti (Knoxville, Tenn.) leads the men with 39 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 ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) 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 $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.
For more information on the 2009 USA 20 km Championships visit www.usatf.org.
