The Mountain Ultra Trail Council of USA Track & Field has designated the Caumsett State Park 50K to once again be the USA 50K Championship. The national championship will take place in Huntington, N.Y. on Sunday morning, March 7, 2010. This is the fourth consecutive year that Caumsett has been awarded national championship status.The Caumsett 50K has also been designated as a "selection race" for the 2010 International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) 50K World Trophy to be held in Galway, Ireland on August 29.
The accompanying 25K run will also serve as the USATF Long Island Association Championship.
The finest endurance athletes from all over the United States will be making their way to Caumsett on March 7th, with the best of them setting their sights on breaking the course record of 2 hours, 55 minutes, 5 seconds set by Michael Wardian of Arlington, Virginia in 2008 or the women's course record of 3:29:20 established by Kami Semick of Bend, Oregon in 2009.
In addition to the overall prize structure, there will be a $1000 bonus for the first male finisher to break Josh Cox's U.S. 50K record of 2:47:17 or the first female finisher to break Janis Klecker's national record of 3:13:51.
Wardian has signed up for a return trip to Caumsett, and he will be challenged by Malcolm Campbell, with personal records of 1:03:46 for the half-marathon and 2:18:21 for the marathon. Campbell became a United States citizen on January 19, 2010, making him eligible to become the national champion if he can outleg Wardian on March 7th.
Among the notable women who have already signed up for the 31-mile event is Marine Corps Captain Michelle Macander, Assistant Professor of Naval Science at Georgia Tech, whose recent credits include a 3:13:41 finish in the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon and a 1:29:52 in the 2009 Philadelphia Half Marathon.
Local athletes are expected to be prominent in the 2010 Caumsett 50K once again as well. In the 2009 running of the event, Phil McCarthy of New York City finished 5th overall and Long Island superstar Byron Lane, Jr. finished in 18th place.
The event will once again be managed by the Greater Long Island Running Club, with GLIRC's Amy Goldstein serving as the Event Director. USATF Long Island Mountain Ultra Trail Council Chair Carl Grossbard will serve as the USATF liaison for the national championship.
"We are thrilled that USA Track & Field has once again chosen Long Island's own Caumsett Park as the site for its 50 Kilometer Championship," observed Ms. Goldstein. "We are going all out to welcome the best of the nation to compete against Long Island's top runners in what has become a classic endurance competition, and every runner who enters has my personal assurance that they are in for a great race and a great morning."
The Caumsett 50K and 25K are not "just" championship events. They are open to the average recreational Long island runner who wants to test his or her skill and endurance at either of two classic distances. The course is a 5K "loop" course on a paved path though the Park, with one aid station per loop, fully stocked with water, sports drinks and food snacks. Each entrant will receive a top quality commemorative shirt.
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