March 30, 2016
For immediate release
Past winners and former national champions headline strong field
Past champions Jordan Chipangama, Tesfaye Alemayehu and Jane Kibii and former national champions Sara Hall and Nicholas Arciniaga headline a strong elite field for Sunday’s Credit Union SACTOWN Run.
The sixth annual event, which helps raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, including UC Davis Children’s Hospital, serves as USA Track & Field’s Pacific Association 10-Mile Championship.
The SACTOWN 5k run begins at 8:00 a.m. and the 10-mile race begins at 8:40 a.m. The UC Davis Children’s Hospital Miracle Mile is set for 7:30 a.m.
The race, organized by the Sacramento Running Association and sponsored by local credit unions, features a picturesque start and finish near the state Capitol.
The 10-mile field looks loaded with strong contenders on the men’s and women’s sides.
Zambian Chipangama will be looking to defend his 2015 title while Alemayehu of Ethiopia and American Arciniaga both appear capable of winning the men’s race and the $2,000 first prize on the 10-mile course.
Chipangama, who trains in Flagstaff, Ariz., pulled away from Shadrack Biwott, the race’s 2014 champion, in the closing stretch down Capitol Mall from the Tower Bridge en route to a 48:24 finish and a six-second victory last year.
Alemayehu, the SACTOWN course record-holder and Antioch, Calif. resident, captured the title in 2012 and 2013 before finishing second in 2014 and fourth in 2015. He enters the race with the fastest 10-mile (46:53), half marathon (1:01:36) and marathon (2:11:18) times in the field.
Arciniaga, who trains with Chipangama in Flagstaff, Ariz., finished 10th at the 2016 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials and captured the 2013 U.S. National Marathon Championship. Arciniaga also made noise when he finished seventh at the 2014 Boston Marathon in 2:11:47, good for second among U.S. finishers behind winner Meb Keflezighi.
Americans Phillip Reid (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) and Craig Leon (Eugene, Ore.) also look like strong contenders.
Kibii, a former Auburn resident who is originally from Kenya, looks to defend her 2015 title against serious competition in the women’s race.
She surged ahead of Kristen Zaitz in last year’s race around the six-mile mark and cruised home in an event-record time of 54:16. Kibii also finished second to Olympian Kim Conley in the 2014 SACTOWN race.
Hall (Redding, Calif.) and Lauren Jimison (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) look to be strong contenders for the title and $2,000 first prize.
Hall, the wife of U.S. Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall, boasts a field-best 52:54 10-mile personal best and finished 16th overall, the second American, at last Saturday’s IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. Hall also claimed the 2012 U.S. National Cross Country Championship and the 3,000-meter steeplechase title at the 2011 Pan American Games.
Jimison, a member of the Sacramento Running Association’s elite team, finished seventh at the 2015 U.S. Marathon Championships and was third at the 2013 SACTOWN Run.
“The Sacramento Running Association is committed to bringing world class running to the Sacramento sporting landscape, and the Credit Union SACTOWN Run is a key event in helping us fulfill our mission,” Sacramento Running Association Executive Director Scott Abbott said.
“The 10-mile race at the Credit Union SACTOWN Run continues to be one of the nation’s premier spring foot races and one of the top 10-mile races annually on American soil.
“The race attracts a top notch international elite field drawn by Sacramento’s amazing spring weather, a fast and spectator-friendly course, and first class organization and athlete support.
“The 2016 edition figures to be among our best ever, as we have an elite field that includes both defending champions from 2015 and a number of 2016 Olympic hopefuls.”
The Pacific Association Championship includes team competition. The Sacramento Running Association’s women’s team expects to challenge for honors and is led by Jimison, Tori Tyler and Lindsay Tollefson. The Asics Aggies, led by Phillip Reid, enter the event as the men’s team favorite.
Boundaries for the Pacific Association stretch from the California-Oregon border on the north to San Luis Obispo on the south. The east boundary is just beyond Reno.
The event helps raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which includes Sacramento’s UC Davis Children’s Hospital. The SACTOWN event emulates the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run held in Washington, D.C. on the same day.
Credit Unions for Kids is the brand under which America’s credit unions and affiliated organizations fundraise for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. To date, credit unions have raised more than $150 million since the introduction of the CU4Kids program back in 1996.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is an affiliation of children’s hospitals throughout the country. Each year these non-profit hospitals provide state-of-the-art care, cutting edge research and preventative health education.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals treat more than 17 million patients each year, including 98 percent of all children needing heart or lung transplants and 88 percent of all children with cancer.
Registration is available at www.runsactown.org. Cost for the 5k is $40 through April 1 and $45 from April 2-3. The 10-miler costs $60 through April 1 and $65 from April 2-3.
The Miracle Mile is free to kids 12 and under until April 2 and $10 at packet pickup and on race day. The cost for adults is $10 until April 2 and $15 on race day.
The SACTOWN Run continues the 2016 Buzz Oates Run SAC Series, a yearlong competition for area runners of all ages and abilities. For more information, visit www.runsacraceseries.com.
The 5k race includes the Credit Union Team competition, with the lowest combined time for all three team members determining the winner.
The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.
Other SRA events include the Gold Rush 50k on May 14, the 34th annual California International Marathon on Dec. 4 and the recently concluded Super Sunday Run.
A look at the elite field for the Credit Union SACTOWN Run:
MEN
Bib # Name Country Age 10-mile PR
1 Jordan Chipangama Zambia 27 48:00
3 Nicholas Arciniaga USA 32 49:08
5 Tesfaye Alemayehu Ethiopia 32 46:53
7 Phillip Reid USA 30 49:28
9 Craig Leon USA 31 49:14
11 Sergio Reyes USA 34 48:27
15 Sean Davidson USA 24 1:04:34 (HM)
17 Mario Macias USA 34 49:18
21 Paul Yak South Sudan 23 1:06:28 (HM)
23 Steve Chu USA 33 52:02
25 Tim Tollefson USA 31 51:00
WOMEN
Bib # Name Country Age 10-mile PR
2 Sara Hall USA 32 52:54
4 Jane Kibii Kenya 31 54:17
6 Lauren Jimison USA 25 56:56
8 Tori Tyler USA 28 56:41
10 Lindsay Tollefson USA 30 58:48
12 Hiruni Wijayaratne USA 25 1:17:31 (HM)
14 Molly Friel USA 48 59:47
16 Heather McWhirter USA 38 1:19:51 (HM)
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