Registration closes on August 15 for September 12th race; Metro to open at 5 a.m. on race day
August 3, 2021, Washington, DC: American and World Record holder Keira D’Amato will be wearing a third hat throughout the upcoming Credit Union Cherry Blossom race weekend — that of race committee member. But her clear focus will be on improving upon the record setting 10-mile time of 51:23 that she ran at the Up Dawg Ten Miler in Washington DC’s Anacostia Park in a women’s only invitational race. The event was organized by the Credit Union Cherry Blossom race committee members last November at a time when mass participation road races had ceased and had been replaced by a tiny number of elite only “micro-events.” Keira’s time was ratified as the American record by USATF last December and as the World Record by the Association of Road Racing Statisticians in July. (ARRS is the only organization keeping world records at the 10 mile distance.)
On September 12, D’Amato will be joined on the starting line by many of the best American female distance runners as they race for the 2021 USATF 10 Mile Championships Presented by Toyota. The women will start at 7:18 a.m., while the elite men’s field will be sent off at 7:30 a.m. The early start for women removes any questions of pacing or other assistance by men and qualifies the winner for a single-sex women’s only record. When the U.S. men take off 12 minutes later, they, too, will be in pursuit of the 2021 USATF 10 Mile Championships as well as the men’s American 10 mile record of 45:54 set by Galen Rupp last fall. Rupp’s time bettered the American Record of 46:13 set by Greg Meyer at the 1983 Cherry Blossom. (Updated entries to both the men’s and women’s fields will be provided in mid-August and in the week leading up to the race.)
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 (the bonus will be split if both the first American man and first American woman break the record). International elite runners will be part of the field competing for an additional $20,000 in prize money, and American runners can double-dip on American and International prize money if they finish in the top-10 overall. Should a World Record be set, there will be an additional $10,000 bonus paid (split if both the winning male and female break the record).
