PRRO Circuit Eases Bonus Purse Eligibility
Athletes Will Become Eligible to
Compete for $35,000 Bonus After One Victory at a
Qualifying Circuit Race
The Professional Road Running Organization (PRRO)
Circuit has adopted new eligibility rules for
runners planning to compete for the 2008-2009
$35,000 PRRO Circuit
Bonus Purse. Under the new rules, an
athlete who wins any
one
of the qualifying PRRO Circuit races
will automatically become eligible to compete for
the bonus at the 2009
PRRO Race of Champions at the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race on July 4,
2009.
Previously, an athlete had to win
two PRRO
Circuit events to become eligible to compete for the
bonus. The 2008-2009 qualifying circuit races
include the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY (held on
July 13, 2008), the World’s Best 10K in San Juan,
Puerto Rico on March 1, 2009, the Credit Union
Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run in Washington, DC on
April 5, 2009 and the Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K in
Spokane, WA on May 3, 2009.
Once an athlete is eligible, he or she needs to win the
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race
to take home the Bonus Purse. If an eligible male
and female runner both win at Peachtree, the two
will share the Bonus Purse. Two athletesTerefe
Maregu and Ashu Rabo Kasim, both of Ethiopiaare
already eligible based on winning their respective
divisions at the Boilermaker 15K on July 13. The
Boilermaker was the inaugural race of the 2008-2009
PRRO Circuit, and the new rule applies retroactively
to the 2008 Boilermaker champions. If the bonus is
claimed next July in Atlanta, the Bonus Purse will
be $15,000 for 2009-2010.
“This rule change makes it dramatically more likely
that someone will win the Bonus Purse,” said PRRO
President Don Kardong, who is also Race Director of
the Lilac Bloomsday Run. “With this change, we could
have as many as eight runnersfour male and four
femalebattling it out for the Bonus Purse next July
in Atlanta.”
The new policy was adopted at a recent PRRO Circuit
meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The PRRO Circuit
offers world-class competition for athletes of all
nations in events at less than the marathon
distance. Along with offering the Bonus Purse, PRRO
Circuit events have also agreed to implement drug
testing at all Circuit events, and the races also
share a policy of not providing travel or lodging
assistance to athletes who have begun competing
again after serving a drug suspension.
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