PRRO Circuit Bonus Resets to $10,000 after Kitwara Victory at AJC Peachtree Road Race
Ridouane Harroufi and Alice Timbilili First Runners Eligible to Compete for 2012 Bonus after Boilermaker Wins
Sammy Kitwara
of
Kenya won the PRRO Race of Champions and collected the $10,000 PRRO
Circuit Bonus at this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race 10K in Atlanta,
GA on July 4. Kitwara, who became eligible for the circuit purse by virtue of
his victory at the World’s Best 10K in San Juan, Puerto Rico in February,
turned back fellow Kenyan Simon Ndirangu, who became eligible by winning
at the Lilac Bloomsday 12K in May. Kitwara did not have to split the
$10,000 bonus because Lilac Bloomsday women’s winner Misiker Mekonnin
of Ethiopia, the only eligible female, failed to win the women’s division at
Peachtree. [Peachtree’s women’s champion Werknesh Kidane of Ethiopia was not
eligible since she did not qualify with a win at any of the 2010-2011 PRRO
circuit events.] Kitwara became the second runner to collect a second PRRO
Circuit Bonus, joining Lineth Chepkurui, who won the $10,000 bonus outright in
2010, and, along with Kitwara, split the PRRO bonus purse of $35,000 in 2009.
A week after the Atlanta race, on July 10, Ridouane
Harroufi of Morocco and Alice Timbilili of Kenya became the first
runners to become eligible to compete for the 2011-2012 PRRO Circuit Bonus when
they won the Utica Boilermaker 15K.
“Kitwara and Chepkurui have been tough to beat at the AJC
Peachtree Road Race,” said PRRO President Don Kardong. “But Harroufi and
Timbilili have become the first runners with the right to give it their best
shot on July 4, 2012.”
Under rules of the 2011-2012 PRRO Circuit, an athlete who
wins one of the first four PRRO Circuit events, and finishes first at the
PRRO Championship at the AJC Peachtree Road Race, claims the PRRO Circuit Bonus.
[The Bonus is split if an eligible male and female both win the Championship at
Peachtree.] If no eligible athlete wins, then the Bonus grows by an additional
$5,000 for the following season. With Kitwara’s win, the 2011-2012 Circuit Bonus
resets to $10,000.
The 2010-2011 PRRO Circuit included the Boilermaker 15K in
Utica, NY on July 11, 2010; the World’s Best 10K in San Juan, Puerto Rico on
February 27, 2011; the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile in Washington, DC on
April 3, 2011; the Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K in Spokane, WA on May 1, 2011; and
the PRRO Championship at the AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4, 2011.
The PRRO Circuit offers world-class competition for athletes
of all nations in events shorter than the marathon distance. The circuit has
shown its commitment to a drug-free sport by funding mandatory drug testing for
elite athletes at all the PRRO Circuit events. The testing is carried out by the
United States Anti-Doping Agency.
A summary of results from the 2010-2011 PRRO Circuit appears
below, along with a list of the 2011-2012 Circuit events.
2010-2011 Events and
Results:
Boilermaker 15K
July 11, 2010, Utica, NY
Men’s winner: Lelisa Desisa, Ethiopia, 42:46.
Women’s winner: Edna Kiplagat, Kenya, 47:57.
World’s Best 10K
February 27, 2011, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Men’s winner: Sammy Kitwara, Kenya, 27:35.
Women’s winner: Sentayehu Ejigu, Ethiopia, 31:50.
Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile,
April 3, 2011, Washington, DC
Men’s winner Lelisa Desisa, Ethiopia, 45:36.
Women’s winner: Jelliah Tinega, Kenya, 54:02.
Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K, May 1, 2011, Spokane, WA
Men’s winner: Simon Ndirangu, Kenya, 33:58.
Women's winner: Misiker Mekonnin, Ethiopia, 40:25.
The AJC Peachtree Road Race (2010-2011 PRRO Championship)
July 4, 2011,
Atlanta, GA.
Men’s winner: Sammy Kitwara, Kenya, 28:05.
Women's winner: Werknesh Kidane, Ethiopia, 31:23.
2011-2012
Events:
Boilermaker 15K
July 10, 2011 (next year July 8, 2012), Utica, NY
$40,000 in prize money with $6,000 for 1st.
Elite athlete contact: Dick Mattia, 315-732-1949.
2011 Men’s winner: Ridouane Harroufi, Morocco, 43:30.
2011 Women’s winner: Alice Timbilili, Kenya, 48:40.
World’s Best 10K
February
26, 2012, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Over $120,000 in prize money and bonuses. $25,000 for 1st.
Elite athlete contact: Rafael Acosta, 787-767-2000.
Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile
April 1,
2012, Washington, DC
$42,000 in prize money and bonuses. $7,500 for first. Elite athlete contact:
Bill Orr, 863-533-0654.
Lilac Bloomsday 12K
May 6,
2012, Spokane, WA
$81,000 in prize money. $7,000 for 1st.
Elite athlete contact: Jon Neill, 509-747-0101
The AJC
Peachtree Road Race (2011-2012 PRRO Championship)
July 4, 2012, Atlanta, GA
Over $113,000 in prize money. $15,000 for 1st. $10,000 PRRO Circuit Bonus for
eligible runners.
Elite athlete contact: Elizabeth Unislawski, 404-231-9064 x11.
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