Posted: May 25, 2006

Athletics: PRRO Circuit Offers $25,000 Bonus Pool

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

The Professional Road Running Organization (PRRO) unveiled a plan today to offer a $25,000 bonus, called the PRRO Championships Run Off, which will be paid to any athlete who wins two of the first four races in the five-race series and also goes on to win the PRRO Championship race hosted by the 2007 Peachtree Road Race.

"We hope that by next Peachtree, we will have one if not two athletes who have won two of our sister PRRO events," said Julia Emmons, PRRO President and Director of the Peachtree Road Race, in a press release. "It would make for a most exciting finale to the 2006-07 PRRO Championship Season if we have one – or two – athletes battling it out for the bonus pool in the championship race."

The series kicks off at the Utica Boilermaker 15-K on Sunday, July 9, in Upstate, N.Y. The second race is not until next winter at the World’s Best 10-K in San Juan, Puerto Rico (Feb. 25, 2007), and continues with the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in Washington, D.C. (Apr. 1, 2007), the Lilac Bloomsday 12-K in Spokane, Wash. (May 6, 2007), and culminates with the series championship, the Peachtree Road Race 10-K in Atlanta, Ga. (July 4, 2007).

Each of the participating races adds to the bonus pool each year, so if no athlete wins the bonus during the 2006-2007 season, the bonus grows to $30,000 for 2007-2008. The bonus is in addition to over $375,000 in prize money that the races pay out individually.

"We are proud to be the inaugural event of each championship season," said Boilermaker race director, Bob Ingalls. "The male and female winners of Boilermaker will know they have one down, and two tough ones to go. This adds spice to an already exciting circuit of world class races."

Should a male and a female athlete both win two of the first four races AND the Peachtree Road Race in 2007, the $25,000 bonus would be divided equally, with $12,500 going to each athlete.

The PRRO circuit has a website at PRRO.org where more complete information and links to the other races can be obtained.

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