20 May 2013

Media Contact Information:
(not for publication)

Keith Peters, Media Coordinator
307-690-6803 or [email protected]

Event Website: www.cherryblossom.org

May 20, 2013, Washington, DC: Organizers of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run released the final, certified results on May 3rd. U.S. Olympian Janet Bawcom ran 10 miles in 53:28, setting the single-sex American record and winning the USA Women’s 10 Mile Championship Presented by America’s Credit Unions at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run on April 7th. Formal approval of the mark is expected at USATF’s annual convention in Indianapolis, Indiana in December. In doing so, Bawcom, who earned a total of $9,000, led three other American women under the former record time of 54:38, and into the top-ten overall in the women’s field. If team results were tallied for the elite women, the Americans would have placed second only to the Kenyan women, who had Carolyn Rotich place first, Risper Gesawba placed third and Millicent Kuria placed fifth overall; Bawcom was fourth overall, with Brianne Nelson seventh, Sarah Crouch ninth, and Kellyn Johnson tenth.

On the men’s side, the top six finishers all hailed from Kenya, with Daniel Salel beating defending champion Allan Kiprono by judges’ decision in a remarkably close finish.

But official team results are not tallied for the field of elite runners. They are, however, kept for a wide range of other categories at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, including Corporate, Government, Military, Embassy, Media, and Credit Union teams as well as Local Running Club and Washington Metropolitan Area Elite Teams. $1,000 in prize money is awarded to the winning men’s and women’s teams in the Washington Metropolitan Area Elite Team division; all other teams compete simply for bragging rights. Team scoring is based upon the combined times of a team’s first three runners.

A team from Marriott won the corporate division with a time of 3:16:05; Cash Us If You Can (Federal Reserve FCU) won the Credit Union Division in 2:52:43; the USPTO Running Club (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) won the Government Division in 3:42:00; Washington Business Journal was the fastest of the Media teams in 3:55:16; Racing Full Speed (Potomac River Running store) won the Open Men’s Club competition in 2:39:23; Faster Masters (also Potomac River Running store) won the Mixed Masters Club competition in 2:54:42; Capital Area Runners RC won the Open Women’s Club competition in 3:14:11; GRC (Georgetown Running Club) won the Men’s Metropolitan Area Elite Team race in 2:36:56; and Capital Area Runners won the Women’s Metropolitan Area Elite Team in 2:59:47. All in all, a total of 159 teams were entered in the team competition this year.

Over 800 Capitol Hill staffers took part in the annual Capitol Hill Competition, highlighted by 34 Senate teams and 22 House teams. Top team honors went to the “Foreign Relaytions” team from the office of Senate Foreign Relations Committee with a combined time of 3:30:03, and the “Red, White and Blumenaur” team from the office of Congressman Earl Blumenauer in 3:18:24.

Heads turned in the accompanying 5K Run-Walk when the overall title was claimed by 12-year-old Nathan Davis of Frederick, Maryland in 17:22. Maggie Brill, 36, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania won the women’s crown in 19:44.

Ben Beach completed the race for the 41st consecutive time, running in 1:34:34. The 63-year-old Bethesda, MD resident is the only runner to have completed every edition of the race. Just over a week later, Beach, who was seeking his recording setting 46th consecutive Boston Marathon finish, was blocked from finishing due to the marathon bombing. He awaits word from the BAA about the status of his streak.

Twenty-five runners from Teens Run DC finished the race, establishing a new record for the four-year-old Washington, DC based program designed to empower at-risk youth to envision and work towards the achievement of personal goals through an adult mentoring and distance running program and community. Top runners in the 10 Miler included Ross Pendergast who placed 10th and Ahmed Ali who placed 22nd on the men’s side of the 19-and-under age group, while Zoe Frumin placed 11th and Yael Holtzman-Castellands placed 25th among females in the same age group. Every student from Teens Run DC finished the race they entered, making them all winners in the eyes of the mentors, teachers, and program friends who also raced with them.

The complete listing of 10 Mile and 5K results is available at http://trackshack.com/cherryblossom/.

Other noteworthy statistics include Metro ridership of approximately 14,000 on race day. (Race organizers have an arrangement with Metro to open stations early on the Sunday morning to encourage runners and spectators to take advantage of public transportation, rather than struggle to find parking and increase already heavy traffic in and around the National Mall.) In addition, race organizers encourage runners who cannot take advantage of Metro to purchase carbon offsets from NativeEnergy to mitigate the impact of their travel to the race; carbon offsets were priced at $3.75 this year to coincide with the average roundtrip Metro fare, and 1060 runners supported the program, raising $3153.75 for NativeEnergy.

On the fundraising front, a total of $483,000 was raised for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals this year, with $115,000 of that raised directly by Credit Union Cherry Blossom runners. Since the Credit Unions became the title sponsor of the race in 2002, over $6 million has been has been raised for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

This year’s event – the Runner’s Rite of Spring® – took place on the third weekend of the National Cherry Blossom Festival®, the nation’s greatest springtime celebration. The 2013 Festival, March 20 – April 14, commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. The gift and annual celebration honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and the continued close relationship between the two countries.

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run is a proud member of the Professional Road Running Organization (PRRO) Circuit, and is the only truly elite road race held in the Nation’s Capital. PRRO is an alliance of race directors who together organize and the PRRO Circuit, a nationwide series of premier non-marathon road racing events. Circuit events include the World’s Best 10K in San Juan, PR; the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run; the Lilac Bloomsday 12K in Spokane, WA; the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY; and the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, GA. Trips to the PRRO Race of Champions at the 2013 AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4, 2013 were awarded to Chris Kwiatkowski and British Olympic marathoner Claire Hallissey, the first local man and woman.

About the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile:

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom is known as “The Runner’s Rite of Spring®.” The staging area for the event is on the Washington Monument Grounds and the course passes in sight of all of the major Washington, DC Memorials. The event serves as a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, a consortium of 170 premier children’s hospitals across the United States. Since the Credit Unions became the title sponsor of the race in 2002, over $6 million dollars has been donated to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. About one-third of the funds raised support Washington, DC’s own Children’s National Medical Center (“Children’s Hospital”). The event also funds two $5,000 Road Runners Club of America “Roads Scholar” grants designed to support up-and-coming U.S. distance running talent.

Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc., a consortium of credit unions and credit union suppliers, is the title sponsor of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run and 5K Run-Walk. PSCU is the lead financial partner of Credit Union Miracle Day, Inc. Supporting sponsors include Gatorade, Navy Federal Credit Union, New Balance, Potomac River Running and Gold’s Gym.

About America’s Credit Unions:

Credit unions provide consumers choices for financial services such as checking accounts, investments and loans of all kinds including mortgages. Funds are federally insured, but unlike banks, there are no stockholders at credit unions. Earnings are returned to member-owners in the form of lower loan rates, higher savings rates, low or no-fee products and services. The credit union philosophy of placing members’^TM needs first is why more than 95 million Americans do their banking at one of America’s^TM 7,000 credit unions. Credit unions are for everyone-- no matter where you live, there is a credit union to meet your needs.

To find a credit union near you visit:

www.asmarterchoice.org or www.culookup.com