True wins USA Mens 10 km title

Ben True wins US 10k Title

ATLANTA – Ben True (Hanover, N.H.) outkicked defending U.S. champion Ed Moran (Williamsburg, Va.) to take the 2011 USA Men’s 10 km title Monday at the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Ga. True ran 28:28 to power his way to a fifth-place finish in a top international field, winning his first U.S. title in the process.

The early miles saw Matthew Kisori and Sammy Kitwara of Kenya open a gap on the field, while True, Moran and U.S. contenders Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) and Brian Olinger (Westerville, Ohio) and were slightly more conservative in the oppressive heat and humidity.

Shortly after two miles, Kisori surged to a five-meter lead on Kitwara and Peter Kamais of Kenya and Ridoune Harroufi emerged from the chase pack in a race for third with the chase pack about 50 meters behind.

As the course began to climb towards four miles, Kitwara, maintained contact with Kisori to stay within striking distance and Kisori made one more effort to break the 2009 champion. Meanwhile, Olinger took control of the chase pack, steadily closing the gap on Kamais and Harroufi.

Making the final turn towards the finish at Piedmont Park, Kitwara had one more gear, pulling away for his second AJC Peachtree victory, running 28:05, two seconds ahead of Kisori.

As Kamais and Harroufi battled for third, they managed to hold off the hard charging pack of Americans, with Harroufi claiming third in 28:27 and Kamais taking fourth in 28:28. True finished a step behind in the same time to claim fifth overall and the U.S. title.

Moran claimed second in the U.S. race, running 28:29 while Abdirahman took the third U.S. spot in 28:32 and Olinger was fourth American in 28:35. Christo Landry (Ann Arbor, Mich.) rounded out the championships top-five running 28:52.