Posted: August 31, 2005

Athletics: Shay to Defend USA 20K Title, De Reuck, Russell Lead Women's Field at New Haven

Defending USA 20K champion Ryan Shay tops the list of American men as the USA Running Circuit (USARC) resumes action at the 28th NewAlliance New Haven Road Race, repeat host of the USA 20K Championships, in New Haven, Conn. this Monday, September 5.

Shay, two-time defending USARC Grand Prix champion, goes for his second USA road title of 2005 (he won the 15K national title at Gate River in March). His main challengers should be two-time Olympian and 2005 USA 10 Mile champion Abdi Abdirahman and 2004 20K national runner-up and 2003 USA 10 Mile champion Chris Graff. Shay, 26, from East Jordan, Mich. also could see pressure from last year's third place finisher, Matt Downin.

Last year at New Haven's Labor Day tradition, Shay, a Team Running USA athlete, ran 59:53 to Graff's 1:00:07, while Turena Johnson Lane won her first U.S. title in 1:08:49. Johnson Lane will not defend her 20K title because she recently ran the marathon at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

In the women's race, the evergreen Colleen De Reuck, 41, from Boulder, Colo., like Shay, seeks her second USA title of 2005 (after winning the USA 25K title in May at Fifth Third River Bank). The 2002-04 USARC Grand Prix champion's main competition will likely be Blake Russell, the 2005 10,000 meter national runner-up. De Reuck, the 2002 USA 20K champion at New Haven, set a then 20K world record of 1:05:11 at the 1998 race.

In addition to $36,000 in national championship prize money, athletes will be competing for selection to the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships in Edmonton, Canada on October 1.

Top Seeds at New Haven
MEN
1 Ryan Shay, East Jordan, MI
2 Abdi Abdirahman, Tucson, AZ
3 Chris Graff, Arlington, VA
4 Matt Downin, Westwood, NJ
5 Teren Jameson, Taylorsville, UT
6 Clint Wells, Superior, CO
7 Jason Hartman, Boulder, CO
8 Ryan Kirkpatrick, Colorado Springs, CO
9 Ryan Meissen, River Falls, WI
10 Kevin Collins, Manlius, NY
11 Matt Levassiur Alamosa, CO
12 Brandon Leslie, Mammoth Lakes, CA
13 Kyle Baker, Westfield, IN

WOMEN
30 Colleen De Reuck, 41, Boulder, CO
31 Dana Coons, Burnsville, MN
32 Jenny Crain, Milwaukee, WI
33 Nicole Aish, Gunnison, CO
34 Blake Russell, Marina, CA
35 Sarah Wells, Minneapolis, MN
36 Laura Turner, Tacoma, WA
37 Ann Alyanak, Bellbrook, OH
38 Stephanie Bylander, Alamosa, CO
39 Christina Blackmer, Beaverton, OR
40 Emily Jameson, Taylorsville, UT
41 Leigh Daniel, Ashland, OH
44 Carly Graytock, Royal Oak, MI

The USARC, a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5K to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The eleventh edition for the men and tenth for the women, the 2005 circuit has nine events for men and seven events for women.

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 ($6000, $4000, and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled. Abdi Abdirahman now leads the men's circuit with 33 points and Jen Rhines is the women's leader with 27.

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 $5 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information on the 2005 USARC, visit: .