Four Runners Vie for $10,000 PRRO Circuit Bonus at AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4
Mamitu Daska, Sammy Kitwara, Buzunesh Deba and Belete Assefa to Contend for PRRO Circuit Payout
Four runners—two men and two women—head into Thursday’s AJC Peachtree Road Race with a chance to add $10,000 in Professional Road Running Organization (PRRO) Circuit bonus money to the $15,000 awarded for race winners. The AJC Peachtree Road Race serves as the PRRO Circuit finale for the 2012-2013 PRRO Circuit season.
Mamitu Daska became eligible to compete for the bonus by winning the women’s race at the Utica Boilermaker 15K on July 8, 2012,
Sammy Kitwara earned eligibility with a win in the men’s race at the World’s Best 10K on February 24, 2013, and
Buzunesh Deba and Belete Assefa met the standard by winning their respective divisions at the Lilac Bloomsday Run on May 5, 2013. Boilermaker, World’s Best 10K, and Lilac Bloomsday were three of the events preceding Peachtree on the 2012-2013 PRRO Circuit schedule, with the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile being the fourth. Winners of PRRO Circuit events become eligible to compete for the PRRO Circuit bonus at Peachtree, which serves as the PRRO Circuit Championship each year.
Under rules of the 2012-2013 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, can claim the PRRO Circuit Bonus. The bonus reset to $10,000 this season after Mamitu Daska won last year’s prize. 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 the stellar field Peachtree has every year, it won’t be easy for any of the four contenders to prevail,” says PRRO President Don Kardong. “But their victories earlier in the PRRO season certainly show they’re capable of winning and taking home the bonus.”
“We’re thrilled to have four runners in contention in this race within a race at the AJC Peachtree Road Race,” stated Tracey Russell, Executive Director of the Atlanta Track Club, which organizes the event. “It adds further depth and excitement to the world-class field set to toe the line on the Fourth of July.”
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.
The 2012-2013 PRRO Circuit included the Boilermaker in Utica, New York on July 8, 2012; the World’s Best 10K in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 24, 2013; the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile in Washington, DC on April 7, 2013; the Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K in Spokane, WA on May 5, 2013; and the upcoming PRRO Championship at the AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4.
A summary of results from the 2012-2013 PRRO Circuit to date appears below.
2012-2013 Events and Results (to date):
Boilermaker 15K, July 8, 2012, Utica, NY.
Men’s winner:
Tilahun Regassa, Ethiopia, 43:01. Women’s winner: Mamitu Daska, Ethiopia, 49:26.
World’s Best 10K, February 24, 2013, San Juan,
Puerto Rico. Men’s winner: Sammy Kitwara, Kenya, 28:42. Women’s winner: Joyce Chepkirui, Kenya, 31:40.
Credit Union Cherry
Blossom Ten Mile,
April 7, 2013, Washington, DC.
Men’s winner Daniel Salel, Kenya, 46:06. Women’s winner: Caroline Rotich,
Kenya, 52:46.
Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K,
May 5, 2013, Spokane, WA. Men’s winner: Belete Assefa, Ethiopia, 34:21.
Women's winner: Buzunesh Deba, Ethiopia, 39:53.
The AJC Peachtree Road
Race (2012-2013 PRRO Championship),
July 4, 2013, Atlanta, GA.
###
