Rojas out sprints Simpson for USA 10 Mile title in Washington D.C.

Results

The 2021 USATF 10 Mile Championships were held on Sunday (12-Sept) in Washington D.C. The championships were held in conjunction with the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run.  Fourteen (14) athletes from Colorado were among the 31 competitors in the USATF championships.

The storylines of the day for the Colorado athletes were the one-two finish by Nell Rojas, 33, of Boulder and Jennifer Simpson, 35, of Boulder in the women's race and the 2,3.4 finish by Colorado athletes in the men's race.  In all, nine Coloradans claimed top 10 finishes - four women and five men.

In the women's race fellow Boulderians Rojas and Simpson were joined by Annie Frisbie (Minnesota) and Sara Hall (Arizona) and lead the race through 10 km in 32:30. The quartet  continued to push the pace in a tight-knit pack for much of the final miles. At nine miles the quartet was still together, racing stride for stride. Hall started to fall off with less than a mile to go and the race became a three woman race. With a half mile to go, Frisbie started to fade, as Rojas took the lead and really pushed the pace. With the finish in sight, Rojas continued to drive, peeking over her shoulder a few times to gage just how far Simpson was behind her. Simpson continued to maintain contact as Frisbie dropped, making it a two woman race with a quarter mile to go. Just as Simpson started to show signs of one final kick to the finish, Rojas was able to counter with her own move, shifting into another gear and pulling away from Simpson, claiming her first USATF title in 52:13. Simpson crossed the line second in 52:16, an incredible performance for her ten mile debut.

Finishing fifth was Carrie Verdon, 27 of Superior in 52:51 and grabbing ninth was Bria Wetsch, 33, of Broomfield in 54:38.

In the men's race Coloradans claimed three of the top four places and added two more top-10 finishes.  

A pack of three that included eventual race winner Abbabiya Simbassa of Arizona, Augustus Maiyo, 38 of Colorado Springs, and Frank Lara, 25 of Westminster ran through the 10 km mark in 28:27.  Lara fell off shortly afterwards leaving Simbassa and Simbassa to run stride-for-stride over the next 3¾ miles.  In the final quarter mile, Simbassa used his superior speed to overpower Maiyo. With one final look over his shoulder, Simbassa keyed in on the finish line, raising his arms as he hit the tape, claiming his first USATF title in 46:18.
 
Maiyo finished strong to earn a runner-up finish in 46:23, well ahead of the rest of the field and showing he’s in top form as he now turns his sights to competing in the Boston Marathon on October 11.

The listed U.S. record is 46:13 by Greg Myer from 1983.  

Behind the lead duo, Reed Fischer, 26, of Boulder overtook Lara in the final stages of the race, claiming third in 46:59. Lara hung on and earned a fourth place finish in 47:13, well ahead of the rest of the field. Also grabbing top 10 finishes were Elkanah Kibet, 38, of Colorado Springs in seventh in 47:39 and Noah Droddy, 30, of Boulder placing 10th running 47:47.

The complete Colorado results scoreboard the full championship result can be found here.

On-demand races and coverage of the championships are available and can be viewed with a +PLUS subscription on USATF.TV.
 

---