D’Amato, Tuliamuk Ready to Race at the USATF 25 km Championships

USATF Release

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato, who broke the American record in the marathon back in January, along with Olympian Aliphine Tuliamuk, headline the fields set to compete Saturday morning at the USATF 25 km Championships presented by Toyota in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The USATF 25 km Championships, hosted by the Amway River Bank Run, are the fifth stop on the 2022 USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota. On demand race videos for Saturday’s race will be available on USATF.TV shortly after the races conclude, available with a +PLUS subscription.

Back in January, D’Amato stunned the distance running community when she bested Deena Kastor’s American record set in 2006, running an incredible 2:19:12 performance at the Chevron Houston Marathon.

Since her American record performance, D’Amato has raced twice, once running 31:50.58 over 10,000m at the Payton Jordan Invitational in late April, while two weeks earlier she placed sixth in 15:25 at the BAA 5K. The 37-year old is only speeding up comes into Saturday’s contest as the pre-race favorite

Two weeks ago in Pittsburgh, Aliphine Tuliamuk placed second at the UPMC Health Plan Pittsburgh Half Marathon in 1:09:56. The race was the Olympian’s first of 2022, since then turning her sights to this weekend at the USATF 25 km Championships. Tuliamuk enters Saturday’s contest as a three-time winner at the USATF 25 km Championships, having won in Grand Rapids in 2016-2018.

Lindsay Flanagan and Andrea Pomaranski are two others to watch early on Saturday. Flanagan is coming off a 2:26:54 tenth place performance at the Paris Marathon in April, as well as a fifth place 1:09:50 effort at the United Airlines NYC Half earlier this season. She placed sixth at the 2021 USATF 25 km Championships and enters as the top returnee from last year.

For Pomaranski, the goal is to double back from her fine runner-up finish at the USATF Half Marathon Championships last weekend, while looking to earn points towards her USATF Running Circuit total. Pomaranski currently sits fourth overall with 18 points. Emily Sisson leads the overall standings with 37.5 points, while Emily Infeld and Emily Durgin are second and third with 20 and 19 points.

A number of USATF 25 km Championship returnees are seeking top five finishes on Saturday. Kelsey Bruce finished top eight three times from 2016 to 2019, while Molly Bookmyer and Dakotah Lindwurm placed third and fifth at the 2019 USATF 25 km Championships. Their collective experience racing the Grand Rapids course should help them considerably.

Sarah Pagano enters the mix having placed fourth at the USATF 15 km Championships earlier this season, while Joanna Stephens and Sakiko Minagawa look to build off of their sixth and seventh place finishes last weekend at the USATF Half Marathon Championships. Lauren Paquette is another experienced veteran looking for a top finish. She placed seventh in the 5000m at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last summer in Eugene.

A week off of finishing second at the USATF Half Marathon Championships, Futsum Zeinasellassie looks to compete for another national title, this time on the streets of Grand Rapids, as he leads a competitive field of competitors on the men’s side.

Zeinasellassie narrowly lost to Leonard Korir last weekend, finding himself edged at the line, 1:02:35-1:02:36. He’ll have his shot at redemption this coming weekend, along as scoring major points on the USATF Running Circuit, where he currently sits second overall with 25 points, only behind Korir, who leads with 41.5 points.

Zeinasellassie should be joined up front by 2019 USATF 25 km Championship winner Parker Stinson, three-time USATF 25 km Championship top ten finisher Will Nation, and two-time USATF 25 km Championship top six finisher Kiya Dandena.

Stinson has had a quiet start to his 2022 season, having only raced once at the USATF 15 km Championships in March, where he placed 15th overall. Nation is having a fine season on the roads, including winning the 3M Austin Half Marathon back in Jaunary. 

For Dandena, he placed 19th at the USATF 15 km Championships, while also having a strong half marathon performance at the Mesa Half Marathon in February, where he placed third in 1:02:29.

Two-time USATF 25 km champion Fernando Cabada is also entered, having won in Grand Rapids in 2006 and 2011. He’s joined by Tyler Jermann, John Crain Jr., Ian Carter, and others in rounding out the top list of competitors.

On demand race videos, results, and post-race interviews will be available shortly after the race in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com. Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #USARC.

About the USATF Running Circuit

The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $42,600 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF 25 km Championships.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF 25 km Championships, scoring is set as 22.5 for first, 18 for second, 15 for third, 10.5 , 9, 7.5, 6, 4.5, 3 and 1.5, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.

The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.

Contributed by Scott Bush