Posted: May 21, 2007

Athletics (RWire): Team USA Set for BolderBOULDER International Team Challenge

U.S. women and Sara Slattery to defend titles; Culpepper leads the U.S. men BOULDER, Colo. - (May 20, 2007) - Team USA has had great recent success at the BolderBOULDER International Team Challenge as the U.S. women have won four of the last five team titles as well as five of the past six individual crowns, while the U.S. men took home the 2004 title, and this year, another strong Team USA contingent has been put together to compete against some of the world's best road runners and teams. Four of the six 2007 Team USA members are local residents, and all six are altitude trained for the May 28th Memorial Day 29th annual 10K event. Below is the 2007 BolderBOULDER Team USA: U.S. MEN Alan Culpepper, 34, Lafayette, CO - the 1995 graduate of the University of Colorado won his most recent (and perhaps most satisfying) national title at the USA Cross Country Championships in Boulder last February. In 2006, the two-time Olympian was 5th at the Boston Marathon and in 2004, the Olympic Marathon Trials champion. At the BolderBOULDER, Culpepper has run well and in 2004, the 2002 race runner-up was a member of the first winning U.S. men's team at the International Team Challenge; 10K track PR = 27:33.93 (2001). Edwardo Torres, 26, Boulder, CO - like Culpepper, he is a graduate of the University of Colorado. In 2001, Torres helped his school win its first NCAA Cross Country Championship and was an All-American at 10,000 meters in 2002. Torres has run 28:28 for 10,000 meters twice this April and finished 10th overall at the USA XC Championships held in Boulder last February. James Carney, 27, Boulder, CO - the Penn State grad recently moved to Boulder from California, and on April 29, the 2004 Olympic Trials track qualifier set a 10,000 meter personal record of 27:43.64 at the Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, California. U.S. WOMEN Sara Slattery, 25, Boulder, CO - the surprise winner of the 2006 BolderBOULDER returns to defend her crown as well as the team title. The University of Colorado graduate won the 2005 NCAA 10,000m title; 10K track PR = 31:57.94 (2006). Elva Dryer, 35, Albuquerque, NM - the two-time Olympian has been part of three winning U.S. teams at BolderBOULDER including last year, and the four-time USA road champion - including the 2007 U.S. half-marathon titlist - won the 2005 race; 10K track PR = 31:21.92 (2005). Kate O'Neill, 27, Mammoth Lakes, CA - the Yale graduate was a 2004 Olympian at 10,000 meters and is near top racing form after returning from post-2004 injury. O'Neill is a member of Team Running USA which includes three-time BolderBOULDER champion Deena Kastor; 10K track PR = 31:34.37 (2004). At the 2007 BolderBOULDER International Team Challenge, there are 19 teams representing 12 countries. On the men's side, the nine teams include: USA, Team Colorado, British Commonwealth Composite Team (Australia, New Zealand and Tanzania), Ecuador, Ethiopia, England, Kenya, Mexico and Morocco, while the women's 10 teams include: USA, Team Colorado, Japan, England, Ethiopia, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Morocco and Romania. The International Team Challenge runs after the Memorial Day Tribute on Monday, May 28. Team introductions in Folsom Field on the University of Colorado campus precede the professional races. The women's race starts at 11:30am and the men's race starts at 12:20pm. Teams compete on a 10K 5-lap criterium course along Folsom Street with one lap through Folsom Field. Spectators can watch both races along Folsom Street or from inside the stadium on the BuffVision big screen TV. The BolderBOULDER is also telecast live on the Denver CBS affiliate, KCNC-TV Channel 4 from 9:00am-1:00pm on race day. The International Team Challenge, started in 1998, is the largest international road racing team competition held annually in the United States. International teams are made up of three runners per gender. The teams compete for one of the largest non-marathon prize purses in the world. Monies are awarded in both team and individual categories. Teams are scored cross-country style with points awarded on the basis of finishing place. The team with the lowest score for all three runners is the winner. Ties are broken by the position of the third-place finishers. For more information, visit: BolderBOULDER.com or call (303) 444-7223. Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director (805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016 Ryan@RunningUSA.org www.RunningUSA.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest