INDIANAPOLIS - American record holder Molly Huddle (Providence, R.I.) and two-time reigning 15 km champion Mo Trafeh (Duarte, Calif.) lead talent-filled fields at the USA 15 km Championships Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. This year marks the 19th consecutive year that the Gate River Run has hosted the championships.

Huddle, the 10,000m record holder, recently took second at the USA Cross Country Championships in a photo-finish with Sara Hall. Huddle will face Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (Rome, Ga.), who won the overall standing of the women’s 2011 USA Running Circuit and recently finished fifth at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon.

Other women to watch include Katie McGregor (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Olympians Magdalena Lewy-Boulet (Oakland, Calif.) and Blake Russell (Pacific Grove, Calif.). Also in the hunt is Clara Grandt (Morgantown, W.V.) who finished 7th in the Trials.

Trafeh has been victorious at the 15 km championships the past two years in identical times of 42:58. His top challenger will be Bobby Mack (Raleigh, N.C.) who recently won the USA Cross Country Championships and sits in fourth in the USA Running Circuit standings.

Other notable men include Fasil Bizuneh (Flagstaff, Ariz.), Nick Arciniaga (Flagstaff, Ariz.), Jimmy Grabow (Running Springs, Calif.) and Ben Bruce (Eugene, Ore.).

Video highlights

The USA 15 km Championships will be streamed live beginning at 8:20 a.m. EST in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.

About the USARC

This year's race will once again feature the Equalizer Bonus, awarding $5,000 to the first male or female to cross the finish line. The top 25 seeded women will start 6 minutes ahead of the rest of the field.

The USA 15 km Championships are the third stop on the 2012 USA Running Circuit (USARC), and features a total championship prize purse of $53,000. The men's and women's champion will each earn $12,000.

The 2012 USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA long distance running championship. The USARC attracts the best U.S. distance runners and has ten events for men and women. The 2012 USARC will feature more than $909,000 in circuit prize money.

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 ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. 

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 $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information on the 2011 USA 15 km Championships visit www.usatf.org.