Carlson, McGregor Win USA 25 km Championships

Aufdemberge, Reader USA Masters champions at 33rd edition; an event record 21,337 entrants

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – (May 8, 2010) – Andrew Carlson (Flagstaff, Ariz.) captured his second USA title, while Katie McGregor (St. Louis Park, Minn.) took her second road title of 2010 on Saturday at the USA 25K Championships in Grand Rapids. At the 33rd Fifth Third River Bank Run, Carlson, 28, led all competitors in the race that included international athletes, running 1 hour, 14 minutes, 42 seconds. McGregor, 32, took third overall behind Firehinot Dado of Ethiopia and Genoveva Kigen of Kenya, running 1:26:24 for the U.S. women’s crown. Dado won overall in a course record 1:23:46, with Kigen second (1:24:53).

Cold, breezy conditions met the 5,500 plus strong field at the start as the country’s largest 25K hosted the national championships for the 17th time. Passing the first mile in 4:46, Carlson, the 2008 USA 15K champion, was comfortably tucked into a lead pack of 15 men that included training partners Brett Gotcher and Nick Arciniaga (Flagstaff, Ariz.) as well as defending race champion Isaak Kimaiyo of Kenya and U.S. contenders Jason Hartmann (Boulder, Colo.) and Josh Eberly (Gunnison, Colo.).

By eight miles the pack was reduced to six men with Hartmann and Gotcher sharing the majority of the pacing duties. Going up a short hill approaching 10 miles, Carlson took command of the lead, breaking up the lead pack as only Gotcher tried to keep pace.

A 4:40 mile from 10 to 11 saw Carlson pull away from Gotcher, sending him on his way to a 24 second win over his training partner. Arciniaga took third in 1:15:18 as Hartmann and Eberly rounded out a U.S. sweep of the top 5 in 1:15:38 and 1:15:54 respectively.

“This is special to go 1-2-3 with my training partners. It just felt good to be out there, like we were just running a training run together until the big push got me the win,” said Carlson, who earned $10,000 and became the third fastest American for 25K (tie).

In the women’s race, Dado and Kigen pulled away from McGregor early, building a 10 second lead by the first mile. but Team USA Minnesota athlete easily won her second 25K title (also 2007) by 2:39 over national runner-up Samia Akbar (Herndon, Va.) who clocked a 1:29:03. Dot McMahan (Rochester Hills, Mich.) rounded out the top U.S. three in 1:30:08.

“It’s always nice to get another national championship since they’re not easy to come by,” said McGregor, who is now a six-time national champion (10K twice, 10,000m, 15K and 25K twice).

This year’s event again hosted the USA Masters 25K Championships featuring top 40 and over runners with pre-race favorites Paul Aufdemberge (Redford, Mich.) and Marybeth Reader (Bloomfield, Mich.) capturing the overall titles in 1:22:22 and due to a timing error Reader’s time was unavailable. Aufdemberge and Doug Winn, 60, Portland, Ore. (1:34:02) produced the top Masters age-graded performances (93.1%, tie).

At the 33rd edition, an event record of 21,337 entrants included the 25K, 10K, 5K run and walk and kids races.

33rd Fifth Third River Bank 25K: USA Championship
Grand Rapids, MI, Saturday, May 8, 2010

MEN
1) Andrew Carlson (AZ), 1:14:42, $10,000
2) Brett Gotcher (AZ), 1:15:06, $4500
3) Nick Arciniaga (AZ), 1:15:18, $3000
4) Jason Hartmann (CO), 1:15:38, $1000
5) Josh Eberly (CO), 1:15:54, $800
6) Fasil Bizuneh (CO), 1:17:28, $600
7) Abebe Yimer (NM), 1:17:43, $500
8) Nick Stanko (MI), 1:17:49, $400
9) Stephen Shay (MI), 1:18:03, $200
10) Miguel Nuci (CA), 1:18:46, $100

MASTERS MEN (40+)
1) Paul Aufdemberge, 45, MI, 1:22:22, $1000

WOMEN
1) Firehinot Dado (ETH), 1:23:46*, $3000
2) Genoveva Kigen (KEN), 1:24:53, $1500
3) Katie McGregor (MN), 1:26:24, $8000
4) Samia Akbar (VA), 1:29:03, $3000
5) Dot McMahan (MI), 1:30:08, $2000
6) Kelly Jaske (OR), 1:30:47, $1000
7) Jessica Graf (MI), 1:34:12, $800
8) Megan Lund (CO), 1:34:32, $600
9) Susannah Kvasnicka (VA), 1:34:47, $500
10) Molly Nunn (NC), 1:35:14, $400
11) Lara Johnson (MI), 1:36:16, $200
12) Megan Hovis (NC), 1:37:47, $100
*course record (previous record, 1:24:39, Svetlana Zakharova (RUS), 2001)

MASTERS WOMEN (40+)
1) Marybeth Reader (MI), nt, $1000

TOP MASTERS AGE-GRADED (90% world class)
1) Doug Winn, 60, OR, 1:34:02 (93.1%), $750
1) Paul Aufdemberge, 45, MI, 1:22:22 (93.1%), $750
3) Doug Goodhue, 68, MI, 1:42:20 (92.6%), $300

Complete results and more at: www.53riverbankrun.com

Video highlights and interviews are available at: www.runnerspace.com/USARunningCircuit