To all:
As I have made most of you aware, we will be holding an elite team competition for the Gate River Run 15k – March 14, 2009.
Team competition is sponsored by JTC Running (formerly known as Jacksonville Track Club) and named after John TenBroeck, a long-standing member of the club who passed away in October of leukemia. Award will be named “The TenBroeck Cup”. Trophy will be permanently housed in The Gate River Run Hall Of Fame with winning team inscribed on the trophy each year.
This competition has a separate prize money structure of $20,000 – on top of – and completely independent of individual prize money of $65,000.
I have worked closely with Jim Estes of USATF in hammering out rules which comply with USATF rules for team competition.
NOTE – All team members must be US citizens
IMPORTANT – To be eligible for team competition, teams must be registered teams with the USATF for 2009.
Prize money will be identical for men and women:
1st place - $6,000
2nd place - $3,000
3rd place - $1,000
Teams may allocate winnings among their runners however they see fit.
Teams may enter as many runners as they wish, but top three (3) will score – by place – cross-country type scoring.
See rules below …
Eligibility Requirements
Clubs
· All clubs must be registered with USATF for 2009. Please submit your club application to your local Association office.
· Only teams consisting of duly accredited representatives of a member club shall be eligible to score as a team.
· All athletes entering as part of a club must be affiliated with that club as part of their USATF membership (an athlete's current affiliation can be viewed in his/her membership profile and as part of the online entry process) and meet the requirements of USATF Competition Rule 4. Athletes wishing to change affiliations can make such a request through their local Association (note that this request must be made by the athlete--see Regulation 7 in the USATF Governance Manual, Section III).
· The formation of club teams must meet all of the parameters as noted in Regulations 7 and 8 in the USATF Governance Manual, Section III and the USATF Rules of Competition, specifically Rule 4. This will be strictly enforced. Please note that in Long Distance Running, an athlete who is a non-resident member of an Association is eligible to compete for a team in that Association only if the athlete: (a) resides in an adjoining Association and the Association of residence does not offer the program, or (b) neither the Association of residence nor any Association adjoining the Association of residence offers the program. Note: An athlete with historical membership (at least 3 continuous USATF membership years) in a club is eligible to compete for that club.
We will be setting up a link for all elite runners to register on-line which will automatically confirm USATF membership and team affiliation.
In the spirit of full transparency and open competition, below are the teams we are “targeting” – we believe most will field a squad.
· Hansons/Brooks
· Indiana Elite
· McMillan Elite
· Nike OTC
· Marathon Performance
· Tempo Sports
· TEAM USA California
· Team USA Minnesota
· ZAP Fitness
· Ragged Mountain Running
· We are very excited about this competition. We are hoping it is a trend that most of the big American road races – particularly USATF championship events - will emulate.
· I believe that our total prize money of $85,000 is the richest “all US” purse for a “non-marathon” road race in 2009
· A few of you have expressed concerns regarding athletes shoe contracts and possible conflicts with competing with a USATF club.
· Jim Estes – of USATF – is well-versed in the nuances of “shoes vs. clubs” and has strong relationships with the shoe companies and has offered to discuss any concerns you may have and/or discuss them with any shoe sponsors.
· Jim can be reached at
jim.estes@usatf.org
We look forward to seeing all of you in Jacksonville in March.
I will be your best point of contact between now and the race for any issues or concerns whatsoever.
My e-mail is
Richard_Fannin@ml.com
Cell number is 904.662.3814
Below is prize money structure – identical for men and women:
· 1st - $12,000
· 2nd - $5,000
· 3rd - $3,000
· 4th - $2,000
· 5th - $1,000
· 6th - $900
· 7th - $800
· 8th - $700
· 9th - $600
· 10th - $500
· We also offer $5,000 as the “Equalizer Bonus” for the first finisher – male or female - to cross the line – with women given a 5 minute head start.
· We also offer $5,000 for an American Record and $3,000 for a Course Record.
· Since the American Records were both set at Gate River Run – anyone achieving either (both) would get the full $8,000
· Men’s AR – Todd Williams – 42:22
· Women’s AR – Deena Kastor – 47:15
· Lastly, $10,000 for a World Record
· Men’s WR is 41:29 (Felix Limo)
· Women’s WR is 46:55 (Kayoko Fukushi)