INDIANAPOLIS – 2012 Olympic 1,500m silver medalist Leo Manzano and 2009 World Championship 1,500m bronze medalist Shannon Rowbury lead the men’s and women’s fields at the USA 1 Mile Road Championships, hosted by the Grand Blue Mile in Des Moines, Iowa this Tuesday.
The USA 1 Mile Road Championships are the fourth stop on the USA Running Circuit, which will conclude this fall with the .US National Road Racing Championships. The top ten finishers at each race on the circuit qualify to compete in the .US National Road Racing Championships.
Along with Manzano and Rowbury, two-time Olympian Matt Tegenkamp, two-time Olympian Alice Schmidt, 800m Olympian Geena Gall and 2008 1,500m Olympian Christin Wurth-Thomas are entered in the field. Tegenkamp is coming off a strong showing at the USA Cross Country Championships, where he placed third.
In addition to the half dozen Olympians competing, 2012 USA 1 Mile Road Championship winners Craig Miller and Heather Kampf are entered. Both defending champions are coming off strong 2012 seasons, where Kampf placed 7th in the 800m at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, while Miller placed 8th in the 1,500m.
Other notable contenders on the women’s side include U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials 4th place 1,500m finisher Gabrielle Anderson, 6th place 1,500m finisher Sarah Bowman-Brown and Kate Grace, who ranked No. 2 in the U.S in the mile during the 2013 indoor track and field season.
On the men’s side, Will Leer should contend for the title. Leer is coming off of a dominating indoor campaign, where he won both the mile and 3,000m events at the U.S. Indoor Track and Field Championships.
U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials 1,500m finalists Jeff See and Miles Batty are also entered in Tuesday’s race, along with Garrett Heath, who ranked U.S. #5 indoors over the mile distance. Ryan Martin, who finished fourth in the 800m at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, should contend for the top five finish, as well.
Live Coverage
Live text updates of the USA 1 Mile Road Championships will be available at www.USARunningCircuit.com beginning at 7:15 p.m. CT. Video of the race, post-race interviews and photos will be available shortly after the race in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #USARC.
About the USARC
The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series featuring USA championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $20,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USA 1 Mile Road Championships.
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 those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.
The mission of the USARC is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.
Contributed by Scott Bush
