INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Thrilling finishes defined Sunday’s action at the USATF 10 Mile Championships presented by Toyota, as Abbabiya Simbassa outkicked Augustus Maiyo and Nell Rojas held off Olympian Jenny Simpson, both athletes claiming their first USATF titles in Washington, D.C., at the sixth stop on the USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota. On-demand races and coverage of the USATF 10 Mile Championships, hosted by the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run, are available and can be viewed with a +PLUS subscription on USATF.TV. As the gun sounded to start the men’s race, the early pace was pushed by a quartet of runners, as Simbassa (Flagstaff, Arizona / USATF Arizona), Maiyo (Colorado Springs, Colorado / USATF Colorado), Frank Lara (Westminster, Colorado / USATF Colorado), and Elkanah Kibet (Colorado Springs, Colorado / USATF Colorado) showed tremendous early form, passing through the 5 km split in 14:04, a pace that stretched the field and made it a four-man race. While Kibet dropped from the lead group by mile four, Simbassa, Lara, and Maiyo took turns leading the way. As packs formed behind the lead trio finding their own rhythms along the streets of Washington D.C., the trio continued to push the pace, passing through 10 km in 28:27. Just past the 10 km split, Lara started to fall off the pace, leaving Simbassa and Maiyo running stride-for-stride with less than four miles to go. The duo would stick together much of the rest of the way, neither pushing the pace nor making a decisive move to separate from the other, that is until the finish came into view. In the final quarter mile, Simbassa used his superior speed to overpower Maiyo. With one final look over his shoulder, Simbassa keyed in on the finish line, raising his arms as he hit the tape, claiming his first USATF title in 46:18. Maiyo finished strong to earn a runner-up finish in 46:23, well ahead of the rest of the field and showing he’s in top form as he now turns his sights to competing in the Boston Marathon on October 11. Behind the lead duo, Reed Fischer (Boulder, Colorado / USATF Colorado) overtook Lara in the final stages of the race, claiming third in 46:59. Lara hung on and earned a fourth place finish in 47:13, well ahead of the rest of the field. Things were close for the next grouping of runners, as a mere 12 second separated fifth and tenth place and eight seconds separated fifth from ninth. Shadrack Biwott (Folsom, California / USATF Pacific) showed he’s in tremendous shape as he readies for a fall marathon, claiming fifth overall in 47:35, holding off a late charge from Minnesota Distance Elite’s Joel Reichow (White Bear Lake, Minnesota / USATF Minnesota), who placed sixth one second back in 47:36. Veterans Kibet and Chris Derrick (Portland, Oregon / USATF Oregon) claimed seventh and eighth place overall in 47:39 and 47:42, while John Raneri (Flagstaff, Arizona / USATF Arizona) and Noah Droddy (Boulder, Colorado / USATF Colorado) rounded out the top ten in 47:43 and 47:47 respectively. While the men’s race got off the line in furious fashion, the women’s race was a bit more conservative, as the lead pack of challengers passed through the 5 km mark in 16:16, with Annie Frisbie, Rojas (Boulder, Colorado / USATF Colorado), Simpson, Sara Hall (Flagstaff, Arizona / USATF Arizona) and Diane Nukuri (Flagstaff, Arizona / USATF Arizona) leading the way. By mile four, the lead group had started to dwindle from a dozen runners down to a half dozen, with that numbers shrinking to four by the 10 km mark, as Frisbie and Hall continued to push the pace. The duo, along with Simpson and Rojas, passed through 10 km in 32:30. The quartet of Frisbie, Rojas, Hall, and Simpson continued to push the pace in a tight-knit pack for much of the final miles. At nine miles the quartet was still together, racing stride for stride. Hall started to fall off with less than a mile to go and the race became a three woman race. With a half mile to go, Frisbie started to fade, as Rojas took the lead and really pushed the pace. With the finish in sight, Rojas continued to drive, peeking over her shoulder a few times to gage just how far Simpson was behind her. Simpson continued to maintain contact as Frisbie dropped, making it a two woman race with a quarter mile to go. Just as Simpson started to show signs of one final kick to the finish, Rojas was able to counter with her own move, shifting into another gear and pulling away from Simpson, claiming her first USATF title in 52:13. Simpson crossed the line second in 52:16, an incredible performance for her ten mile debut. Rojas now turns her attention to the marathon distance, as she is set to compete at the Boston Marathon next month. Behind the lead duo, Frisbie hung on and closed well to claim third place in 52:26, while Hall came home in fourth place in a time of 52:43. Veteran Carrie Verdon (Superior, Colorado / USATF Colorado) attacked the final miles of the race, nearly catching Hall in the final mile, placing fifth overall in 52:51. Nukuri finished sixth in 53:23, a minute ahead of seventh place Amy Davis (Rochester Hills, Michigan / USATF Michigan), who came home in 54:23. Susanna Sullivan (Reston, Virginia / USATF Potomac Valley) finished in 54:37 to earn eighth place, Bria Wetsch (Broomfield, Colorado / USATF Colorado) finished a second back in 54:38 for ninth, while Natosha Rogers (Denver, Colorado / USATF Michigan) finished tenth in 55:02. With his victory on Sunday, Simbassa moves into first place in the USATF Running Circuit standings with 52.5 points, ahead of second place Clayton Young, who has a total of 37 points. Ben True currently sits third with 22.5 points. In the women’s standings, Frisbie’s third place effort moves her up to second place overall with 30.5 points. Emily Durgin continues to lead the standings with 49 points, while Erika Kemp moves down one spot to third with 28.5 points. The next stop on the USATF Running Circuit is the USATF 25 km Championships presented by Toyota, set to take place on Saturday, October 23 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, hosted by the Amway River Bank Run.
The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF 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 $26,000 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 10 Mile Championships The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 10 Mile Championships, scoring is set as 22.5 for first, 18 for second, 15 for third, 10.5 ,9, 7.5, 6, 4.5, 3 and 1.5, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series. The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners. Contributed by Scott Bush