New American Female Record Set at 37th Annual Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run

Meyerhoff Breaks Three-year-old Mark;  Harroufi and Chepkurui Repeat as Champions in Men's, Women's Races

WASHINGTON, DC -- Sally Meyerhoff made history at Sunday's 37^th annual Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, setting the American record for a women's-only race.

The 25-year-old Phoenix, Ariz. native posted a time of 54 minutes, 38 seconds, breaking the old mark of 55:42, set by Turena Johnson Lane in 2006.

That record-setting performance was part of a great day of racing under ideal conditions on a mild, sunny day in the District. One year ago, Moroccan Ridouane Harroufi and Kenyan Lineth Chepkurui celebrated their first visits to the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run with victories in the male and female races.

The experience was so much fun the duo made a return appearance on Sunday morning on the Washington Monument Grounds. And -- while they did so in vastly different ways -- both runners defended their titles.

Harroufi, 27, broke away from a tight pack of six runners in the final 500 yards to finish with a first-place time of 45 minutes, 56 seconds. He became the first competitor in a decade to break the 46-minute mark.

The final group of male runners included 19-year-old Ethiopian Feyisa Liesla, who demonstrated great poise for a teenager down the stretch. Liesa placed just two seconds behind Harroufi at 45:58. Kenyan Silas Sang, 31, was right there with them, finishing third at 45:59.

Karim El Mabchour, 26, was fourth (46:00) and Kenyans Stephen Chemlany (46:08) and Cosmas Koech Kimuati (46:08) placed fifth and sixth respectively.

The women's race, meanwhile, featured no such drama at the finish line. Chepkurui, a 21-year-old Kenyan, pulled away from a pack of 16 runners just after the eight-mile mark. She finished with a time of 53:32, which was 23 seconds ahead of Belianesh Zemed Gebre (53:55) and 26 seconds ahead of Ethiopian Teyba Naser (53:58). Naser's performance was notable considering she had just finished second in the highly competitive Cooper River Bridge 10K Run in Charleston, S.C. on Saturday.

Countrywoman Abebu Gelan (54:26) led the next group, which included two-time Olympic silver medalist Catherine Ndereba (54:27) and 2003 Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile champ Olga Romanova (54:32) in fifth and sixth place.

The top American male was Jason Hartman (48:03), a Boulder, Colo. resident who earned 14th. Arlington's Bert Rodriguez (51:07) was the best Washington, DC-area male finisher at 22^nd place. Amanda Trotter (57:11), also of Arlington, was the top local female.   Runners competed for the largest purse in event history - $40,000 in prize and bonus money.

One familiar face among the starters was Bethesda runner Ben Beach, who participated in his 37th consecutive Cherry Blossom race. An editor at The Wilderness Society, Beach is the only runner to have finished every year since the race started in 1973. He also will start his 42nd consecutive Boston Marathon on April 20th.

A 400-runner satellite race organized for U.S. troops serving in Iraq began simultaneously with the start of the mass race at 7:40 a.m. The organizing committee provided t-shirts and bib numbers for the event at Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq and promised a free entry into the 2010 race for any soldier competing in the event at Camp Victory who wants to participate next year.

Also in this year's field were approximately 25 runners from "Students Run LA," who raised $25,000 to make the trip from Los Angeles to participate. The group consists of at-risk high school and middle school students who commit to a rigorous running program and meeting strict academic standards to help escape the hard-scrabble life of inner-city Los Angeles. Event organizers waived the entry fees for the student-athletes, who were making their first visit to the Nation's Capitol.

The Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run also serves as the Road Runners Club of America's 10 Mile National Championship. The race will be televised on WJLA ABC Channel 7 in a half-hour special at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 11 and on NewsChannel 8 at 1:00 p.m. the same day.

The title sponsoring Credit Union Miracle Day Committee is a partnership of over 70 Credit Unions and affiliated organizations, partners and event participants. Nearly $1 million was raised for the Children's Miracle Network this year. Approximately $400,000 of that money will go to Washington, DC's own Children's Hospital. More than 600 Credit Union members served as volunteers and over 6,200 race entrants were Credit Union members.  

Supporting sponsors include Gatorade Endurance Formula, Navy Federal Credit Union, and Metro Run & Walk. The event is part of the Professional Road Running Association (PRRO) Circuit and the 2009 National Cherry Blossom Festival held from March 28 to April 12. This year's festival celebrates the 97th anniversary of the gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the citizens of the United States and Japan.

Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run Results

April 5, 2008     Washington, DC   10 Miles                                                                                

MALES (OVERALL):
                                                                          Gun      Prize
                                                                          Time    Money

      1      1 Ridouane Harroufi       27                       45:56     7500  
      2      9 Feyisa Liesla            19 Ethiopia            45:58     4000
      3     13 Silas Sang              31 Kenya               45:59     2000
      4     29 Karim El Mabchour       26                    46:00     1500
      5     81 Stephen Chemlany        26 Kenya         46:06     1000
      6     83 Cosmas Koech Kimuati    23 Kenya      46:08       900
      7     17 Philemon Terer          24 Kenya             46:28       800
      8     19 Samuel Ndereba          32 Kenya           46:58       700
      9      7 Kiplimo Kimutai         27 Kenya              47:03       600
     10     25 Lee Troop               36 Australia            47:43      500

FEMALES (OVERALL):
                                                                          Gun      Prize
                                                                          Time    Money

      1      2 Lineth Chepkurui        21 Kenya            53:32     7500
      2     22 Belianesh Zemed Gebre   21 Ethiopia   53:55      4000
      3     34 Teyba Naser             22 Ethiopia          53:58      2000
      4      6 Abebu Gelan             19 Ethiopia          54:26      1500
      5      4 Catherine Ndereba       36 Kenya           54:27      1000
      6     16 Olga Romanova           28 Russia         54:32        900
      7     26 Sally Meyerhoff         25 USA               54:38        800
      8     58 Neriah Asiba            31 Kenya             54:39        700
      9     24 Aziza Ayilu                Ethiopia             54:43        600
     10     56 Alevtina Biktimirova    26 Russia          54:46        500

Full results are available on the race website at http://www.cherryblossom.org/results/resultsindex.htm.

- End -