FLINT - Fasil Bizuneh (Flagstaff, Ariz.) pulled away from 2010 USA Half Marathon champion Antonio Vega (Minneapolis, Minn.), just after seven miles to win the USA Men's 10 Mile Championship Saturday in Flint, Mich. The championship was hosted by the Crim Festival of Races. Bizuneh ran 47 minutes, 29 seconds to finish fourth overall in the open field.
With near perfect conditions greeting a record field of over 10,000 runners at the 34th annual event, the field opened with a fairly relaxed first mile of 4:42 with Robert Letting, Julius Kogo and Kiprotich Kirui of Kenya leading the charge. Vega led the U.S. contingent of Bizuneh and Justin Young (Superior, Colo.) in the lead pack.
Shortly after two miles, Letting dropped a 4:32 mile to lead a break with Kogo and Kirui. Vega and Bizuneh led the chase pack about six seconds back.
Maintaining a pace between 4:32 and 4:35 from three to five miles, Letting and Kogo pulled away from Kirui while Vega looked to be in charge of the chase pack about 30 seconds back.
After seven miles, Kogo tested Letting with a short surge while Bizuneh made his move for the U.S. title. Over the final three miles, Kogo was clearly in charge of the overall race and Bizuneh increased his lead over Vega.
In the final mile, Kogo pulled away for the overall win in 47:06 with Letting and Kirui taking second and third in 47:15 and 47:24 respectively.
Crossing the line in fourth, Bizuneh celebrated his first USA title, finishing 14 seconds ahead of Vega. Young easily took third in 47:49 while Fernando Cabada (Buchanan HS, Clovis 2000) (Alamosa, Colo.), two-time fifth place finisher in the State Meet 3200 meters, and Sergio Reyes (Los Osos, Calif.) rounded out the top-five in 48:30 and 48:32 respectively.
Video highlights
Highlights of the USA Men's 10 Mile Championship are available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.
About the USARC
The USA Men's 10 Mile Championship was the seventh stop for the men on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC) and featured $17,200 in prize money with Bizuneh taking home $7,000 for the win.
The 2010 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 each for men and women. Vega leads the men's standings with 44 points.
The 2010 USARC will once again see a record amount of circuit prize money for a non-Olympic year with total prize purse of $623,850 offered by host events. U.S. athletes will also have the opportunity to qualify for various Team USA events, including the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and the Chiba International Ekiden.
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 2010 USA Men's 10 Mile Championship visit www.USARunningCircuit.com.
About USA Track & Field
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.
For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org
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