Posted: September 20, 2007

Athletics (RRW): USA 10 Mile Championship To Offer Olympic Trials Preview

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com The USA Men's 10 Mile Championship, hosted by the Medtronic TC 10 Mile in Minneapolis, Minn., on Sunday, Oct. 7, will give fans and athletes alike a preview of USA Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon coming up in New York about a month later. Abdi Abdirahman, the two-time Olympian at 10,000m and the reigning USA 10,000m champion, leads the list of entrants for the 10 mile championship and will certainly be a player for a podium finish in New York. The same can be said of 2004 Olympic marathoner, Dan Browne, who recently won the USA 20-K and 5-K road titles, and Ryan Shay, the 2003 USA Marathon champion. "We are pleased with the level of competition in this year's Medtronic TC 10 Mile," said Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. executive director Virginia Brophy Achman. "The field set for the USA Men's 10 Mile Championship is top-notch." Other leading athletes entered in the ten-miler include Jason Lehmkuhle, Mbarak Hussein, Simon Sawe, James Carney, Brandon Leslie, Andrew Carlson, Joe Driscoll and Chris Lundstrom. A $25,000 prize money purse will be on the line. Abdirahman won the last two editions of this championship which was held in 2005 and 2006 in Louisville, Ky. He dominated last year's race, running 48:23 to Carlson's 48:51. In 2005 he set a championship record of 47:27. The USA Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 3 in New York City's Central Park. The top-3 finishers will receive provisional berths on the U.S. Olympic Team. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest