05-31-2006
   
Contact:
Jim Estes
LDR Programs Manager
USA Track & Field
317-713-4661

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - 2006 USA 25 km champion Turena Johnson Lane (Muncie, Ind.) leads contenders for the USA Women's Half Marathon Championship title, hosted by the Hospital Hill Run in Kansas City, Mo., this Saturday, June 3.

Johnson Lane' victory last month at the USA 25 km Championships was her second career U.S. title, with her first coming at the 2004 USA 20 km Championships.

A 2005 World Championships marathoner for the U.S., Johnson Lane will be challenged for the title by 2005 World Championships Marathon teammate Jenny Crain (Milwaukee, Wis.); Team USA Minnesota's Annie Bersagel (Minneapolis, Minn.), who placed 10th at the USA Cross Country Championships in the 8 km and who will be making her debut at the half marathon distance; and USA 25 km third-place finisher Dana Coons (Charlottesville, Va.).

The 2006 Hospital Hill Run is the third stop for women on the 2006 USA Running Circuit (USARC), a USA Track & Field road series, features USA Championships from 5 km to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The twelfth edition for the men and eleventh for the women, the 2006 circuit has eight events for men and seven events for women.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6000, $4000, and $2500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.

The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $4 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information on the 2006 USARC and USA Women's Half Marathon Championships visit www.usatf.org.