JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The 2018 Gate River Run, which also serves as the USA Track and Field 15K National Championship, will start 30 minutes earlier than in past years, with the first wave set to begin at 8 a.m.
The races, including a 5K, challenge mile and Junior River Run will be held on Saturday, March 10, and is expected to feature more than 20,000 runners and walkers in the events, all held in the sports complex area around EverBank Field.
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The Elite woman will be the first to start with a 7:54 a.m. start time.
The start of the 15K and 5K races have been moved to 8 a.m. instead of the traditional 8:30 a.m. start, helping runners to avoid warmer temperatures later in the morning.
Schedule of Events
GATE River Run 15K – Starts on Gator Bowl Blvd.
• Elite Women – 7:54 a.m.
• Wave One – 8:00 a.m.
• Wave Two – 8:06 a.m.
• Wave Three – 8:12 a.m.
• Wave Four – 8:18 a.m.
The Florida Times-Union 5K for Charity – Starts on Duval Street
• All racers – 8 a.m.
Brooks Rehabilitation Challenge Mile – Starts on Duval Street
• All racers – 10 a.m.
Junior River Run – Starts on Duval Street
• All racers – 11 a.m.
Registration is open online at www.GateRiverRun15K.com until Tuesday, March 6, 2018 at midnight. Registration is also available at the GATE River Run Expo on Thursday, March 8 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. or Friday, March 9 from 11 a.m. -8 p.m.
There is no registration on race day.
The championship will feature $60,000 in prize money with $10,000 awards for the first place male and female finishers. An equalizer gender bonus (elite women will start 6 minutes ahead of the men) of $5,000 will also be awarded to the first person to cross the finish line.
The reigning men’s and women’s champions are returning to defend their 15K national championship titles: Olympian Leonard Korir (43:22), running for the US Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) and Jordan Hasay (49:28), representing The Nike Oregon Project.
In addition to last year’s champions, the elite field includes a number of other highly decorated athletes, making for a very competitive race and has the potential to put the course records at risk. The men’s record of 42:22 was set by Todd Williams in 1995 while the women’s record of 47:00 was more recently set in 2014 by Shalane Flanagan.
Other prominent elite athletes running this year’s race include:
Men’s Elite
• Sam Chelanga (43:28)
• Kirubel Erassa (43:55)
• Emmanuel Bor (debut) – 13:43 5K / 47:39 10Mi
• Jared Ward (debut) – Olympian: Rio Marathon 6th – 13:34 5K / 28:36 10K
• Ryan Vail (43:43)
• Kiya Dandena (44:36)
Women’s Elite
• Molly Huddle (49:57) – 2x Olympian & American Record Holder - 5K / 10K / Half
• Natosha Rogers (50:01)
• Molly Seidel (debut) – 15:15 5K / 33:15 10K
• Diane Nukuri (debut) – 15:34 5K / 31:28 10K
• Elvin Kibet (debut) - 15:36 5K / 32:40 10K
For a complete list of elite athletes participating in the 2018 Gate River Run 15K National Championship, please visit the USATF website. The list can be found under Events / National Championships / 15K / Entry List or at:
http://www.usatf.org/Products---Services/Event-Registration-Status.aspx?e=113118