Posted: October 5, 2007

Athletics: Star-studded field set for USA Women's 10 km Championship Monday

BOSTON - 2004 Olympic marathon bronze medalist Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.); two- time defending women's 10 km champion Katie McGregor (Minneapolis, Minn.); and defending U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon champion Colleen De Reuck (Boulder, Colo.) will lead the field for Monday's USA Women's 10 km Championship in Boston, Mass. The Championship will be hosted for the 13th time by the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women. As McGregor looks to win her third consecutive 10 km road title she will face challenges from Kastor, and De Reuck, but the trio also will see competition from a 2007 USA Half-Marathon champion Elva Dryer (Gunnison, Colo.) and 2007 USA 20 km champion Alicia Craig (Flagstaff, Ariz.). The USA Women's 10 km Championships is the final race on the women's 2007 USA Running Circuit (USARC). The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The thirteenth edition for the men and twelfth for the women, the 2007 circuit has nine events for men and seven 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. Kastor currently leads the circuit with 45 points, with Dryer in second with 37 points and Kate O' Neill in third with 28 points. 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 $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners. For more information on the 2007 USARC and USA Women's 10 km Championships visit www.usatf.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest