For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 13, 2010
 
Contact:
Jim Estes
USA Track & Field
Associate Director of LDR & Marketing
317-713-4661; [email protected]

Torrence defends men's title, Pierce takes women's at USA 1 Mile Road Championships

MINNEAPOLIS - David Torrence (Oakland, Calif.) successfully defended his title as Anna Pierce (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) took the women's crown at the USA 1 Mile Road Championships Thursday night in Minneapolis, Minn.  Torrence ran 4:04.0 and Pierce was timed in 4:33.9.

In the women's race, Christin Wurth-Thomas (Springdale, Ark.) jumped to a five-meter lead after the first 400 meters. Choosing to maintain a position along the center of the course, Wurth-Thomas was gradually caught by the chase pack that included Pierce and Sarah Bowman (Warrenton, Va.).

Heading into the final 200 meters, Pierce made her move and pulled clear of the field for her first USA road title.  Bowman moved up to take second in 4:34.9 while Wurth-Thomas held on for third in 4:36.3.

The men's race saw virtually the entire field packed together until 200 meters to go when 2008 Olympian Lopez Lomong (Colorado Springs, Colo.) made his bid to take the lead but his move was quickly covered by Torrence, Dan Huling (Columbus, Ohio) and Jordan Horn (Flagstaff, Ariz.).

In a repeat of 2009, Torrence made his move in the last 150 meters, easily pulling ahead of the field to win by more than a second.  Huling took second in 4:05.4 while Horn rounded out the top-three in 4:05.7.

The championships featured a total prize purse of $22,500, with the men's and women's USA Champion earning $4,000 each.

Video highlights

Video highlights of the USA 1 Mile Road Championships and pre- and post-race video interviews with top athletes are available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.

About the USARC
 
The USA 1 Mile Road Championships were the fourth stop on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC).  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.

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 1 Mile Road Championships 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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