Five Team USA Minnesota Runners Will Participate in the US 15K Championships This Weekend

Defending champions Janet Bawcom and Mohamed  Trafeh lead strong fields chasing after $53,000 in prize money at the US 15K Championships hosted by the Gate River Run this Saturday in Jacksonville, FL. The event is the second stop on the USA Running Circuit, which will conclude this fall with the US National Road Racing Championships. The top ten finishers at each race on the circuit qualify to compete in the .US National Road Racing Championships. Bawcom and Trafeh won their gender divisions in  first race in the series, the Medtronic Twin Cities 10-Mile in October of 2012.

Five Team USA Minnesota distance runners will be running. Meghan Peyton will be making her fifth appearance at Gate River.  She has a best in the 15K of 51:18 and has finished as high as fifth in the championships.  She will lead her teammates – Jamie Cheever,McKenzie Melander, Ladia Albertson-Junkans and Jon Peterson – who will each be making their first trip to Jacksonville.

Live text updates of the race will be available at www.USARunningCircuit.com  beginning at 8:20 a.m. ET.  Video of the race, post-race interviews and photos will be available shortly after the race in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #USARC