Posted: November 7, 2004

Athletics: Pearson wins USA Men's 10 km title

Chad Pearson (Raleigh, N.C.) ran away with his first U.S. title Saturday at the 2004 USA Men's 10 km Championship, held as part of the Food World Senior Bowl Charity Run in Mobile, Ala. His winning time of 28:33 was a personal record, and easily ahead of second-place Adam Tenforde (Palo Alto, Calif., 28:50) and Jason Hubbard (Alamosa, N.M., 28:57).

A recent graduate of N.C. State, Pearson entered the race with a plan to make his move at 4 miles, and he did just that. He pulled away from a lead pack that included Tenforde, Hubbard, James Carney and Ryan Kirkpatrick.

Running at just over 4:30 pace, the group passed 4 miles in 18:32. Pearson then put in a strong surge that quickly separated him from his competitors, and he went on to win with Tenforde and Hubbard in tow.

"I knew if it came down to a kick, the odds were against me," Pearson said. "I was just glad to see the finish line."

For his efforts, Pearson won $7,500 in prize money. Tenforde took home $5,000 and Hubbard won $3,500.

Collette Liss won the women's division of the Food World Senior Bowl Charity Run in a personal-best time of 33:04. (The women's race was not a USA championship event).

The Men's 10 km Championship is the concluding event of the 2004 USA Running Circuit (USARC), whose overall title went to Ryan Shay. For more information on the 2004 USA Men's 10 km Championships and the USARC, visit www.usatf.org.