By David Monti
(c) 2009 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
The 32nd edition of the Gate River Run will take place on Saturday in
Jacksonville, Fla., and will serve as the USA 15 km championships for
both men and women for the 16th time. A prize money purse of $58,000
is on the line, and eight Olympians have committed to the race, USA
Track & Field reported.
Defending champion Andrew Carlson leads the men's field. In extremely
winding conditions last year, Carlson won by nine seconds over Dan
Browne, 44:12 to 44:21. He pocketed the $12,000 first prize plus an
additional $5,000 "equalizer" bonus for getting to the finish line
ahead of Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor who, with the
other elite women, had a five minute head start.
"I'm from North Dakota so I'm used to wind," Carlson said after the race.
Carlson's key challengers will be Olympians Jorge Torres, Ian Dobson,
Anthony Famiglietti and Dan Browne, who won this championship back in
2000. Other top athletes include Tim Nelson, Ed Moran, Fernando Cabada
and Jason Lehmkuhle.
Olympian Amy Yoder Begley, the recently crowned USA indoor 3000m
champion, leads the women's field. Her most significant rivals should
be Olympians Elva Dryer and Amy Rudolph, plus former USA 10,000m
champion Katie McGregor and the reigning USA cross country champion
Emily Brown. Forty-four year-old Olympian Colleen De Reuck is also in
the field.
The Gate River Run is part of the USA Road Circuit (USARC). The first
ten USA 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.
