Running News Daily

Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run Will Host 2021 USATF 10 Mile Championships

In a joint statement today, the USATF Men’s and Women’s Long Distance Running Committees and the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Race Committee (CUCB) announced that the 2021 USATF 10 Mile Championships Presented by Toyota will be held in conjunction with the one-time-only fall running of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run on September 12, 2021.

This will be the third time one or more of the USATF 10 Mile Championships have been hosted by CUCB: the women’s championships were part of the 2013 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile, while race organizers hosted both the men’s and women’s championships in 2014. This year’s 48th running of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom moved from its traditional April date during cherry blossom season to September 12 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Participants in the Women’s Championship will start 12 minutes before the men so performances will be eligible for ratification as women's-only records. While eliminating any benefit of being paced by males, the separate start format also provides increased visibility for these talented female athletes.

The last time the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile hosted both the men’s and women’s USATF 10 Mile Championships in 2014, Janet Bawcom set an American women’s-only record of 52:12, a time that CUCB Race Committee member and former American University standout Keira D’Amato lowered to 51:23 last November in an elite-only, women’s-only pop-up event called the Up Dawg Ten Mile in Anacostia Park. Due to the homespun, ad hoc nature of the Up Dawg event, D’Amato earned no prize money.

D’Amato is planning to defend her record on September 12, this time with the added incentive of winning her first U.S. Championship and earning up to $15,000 — $5,000 for the win and $10,000 for an American Record.

“I am anticipating intense interest in the 10 mile championships as top U.S. athletes return to the roads after 18 months of limited opportunities due to Covid-19 and just a few months after being totally focused on the Olympic Track and Field Trials and the Olympic Games,” said Event Director Phil Stewart. “It should be quite a coming out party, well positioned before the plethora of fall marathons, including five of the six World Marathon Majors, taking place within six weeks. I am also excited about returning to our popular Memorial Bridge course after four years of bridge reconstruction.”

USATF Women’s Long Distance Running Chair Mickey Piscitelli added: “We are grateful that the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run continues, after nearly forty years, to make it possible for our elite athletes to earn a living doing a job they love. We are especially thankful in 2021 to have CUCB hosting our USATF 10 Mile Championships for both men and women. Professional runners throughout the world are anxious to get back to the business of setting World and American Records on the famously flat and fast course.”

While the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile has offered a prize purse for elite runners of all nationalities since 1984, the 2013 USATF Women’s 10 Mile Championships marked the first time the organizers introduced a separate prize purse of $14,400 for American Women. When the Men’s 10 Mile Championships were added to the slate in 2014, so, too, was an additional $14,400 for the American Men’s prize purse. In recent years, the event has also partnered with the RRCA for an additional $6,000 in prize money for RRCA Road Scholars and RunPro Campers.

The prize pool for the 2021 USATF 10 Mile Championships totals $26,000 for men and women. An additional $10,000 bonus will be awarded if a man or woman breaks the American Records of sub-45:54 and sub-51:23 respectively. International elite runners will be part of the field competing for an additional $20,000 in prize money.

The 2021 USATF 10 Mile Championships will be the fifth U.S. Championship Presented by Toyota this year. The 15K championship took place at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, FL in early March, and will be followed by the 10K at the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, GA on July 4, the 6K at the Women’s 6K Festival in Canton, OH on July 7, and the 20K at the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race in New Haven, CT on September 6.

Held virtually this year and last, the 2021 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Runs mark the 20th year of title sponsorship by Credit Union Miracle Day. Since 2002, over $10 million has been raised for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, including $439,000 in 2020. Of that $439,000, $66,000 came from runners donating their entry fees instead of asking for a refund when race weekend in our Nation’s Capital was wiped out by Covid-19.