CANTON, Ohio — Three weeks ago, Olympian Aliphine Tuliamuk and American marathon record holder* Keira D’Amato battled it out at the USATF 25 km Road Championships, with Tuliamuk pulling away in the final miles. On Saturday, the two stars race again - this time at the USATF Women’s 6 km Road Championships presented by Toyota. The USATF Women’s 6 km Road Championships, hosted by the Women’s 6K Festival, are the sixth stop on the 2022 USATF Running Circuit presented by Toyota. Tuliamuk opened her 2022 campaign with an eye-opening performance in mid-May, winning the USATF 25 km Road Championship title in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tuliamuk (Flagstaff, Arizona/USATF Arizona) battled with D’Amato (Midlothian, Virginia/USATF Virginia) over the first two-thirds of the race, but in the final miles Tuliamuk pulled away to a decisive win, finishing 45 seconds ahead of runner-up D’Amato. The HOKA Northern Arizona Elite standout, who shines over the half marathon and marathon distances, added a shorter title to her list of accomplishments with an impressive BOLDERBoulder 10K win last weekend. D’Amato is also back on the roads for the first time since the USATF 25 km Road Championships. D’Amato set the American record* at the Chevron Houston Marathon in January when she ran 2:19:12. While she’s raced well since then, she’s also challenging herself on a much shorter distance this weekend in Canton. One of the surprise standouts, if not the surprise standout, of the 2022 USATF Running Circuit season is Andrea Pomaranski (Wolverine Lake, Michigan/USATF Michigan). Pomaranski most recently placed fifth at the USATF 25 km Championships, which came after placing second at the USATF Half Marathon Championships. Pomaranski’s two top-five finishes currently place her second overall in the USATF Running Circuit standings with 27 points, sitting behind only Emily Sisson (Flagstaff, Arizona/USATF New England) and her 37.5 points. Tuliamuk ranks third in the overall standings with 22.5 points. Paige Stoner (Charlottesville, Virginia/USATF New England), Sarah Pagano (San Diego, California/USATF San Diego-Imperial), and Ednah Kurgat (Colorado Springs, Colorado/USATF Colorado) are three others showing fine form this season. Stoner placed 12th last weekend at the USATF 10,000m Championships in Eugene, while also having a third-place finish at the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run to her name. Kurgat placed 16th in Eugene at the USATF 10,000m Championships after finishing 11th last summer in the 10,000m at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Pagano also has recent success on her resume, having placed fourth at the USATF 25 km Road Championships and fourth at the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run. Other notable contenders include Elaina Tabb (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania/USATF Three Rivers), who placed 16th at the Boston Marathon earlier this season, Kurgat’s U.S. Army teammate Caroline Sang (Colorado Springs, Colorado/USATF Colorado), who placed 13th at the USATF 10,000m Championships, and Grayson Murphy (Millcreek, Utah/USATF Montana), the incredibly accomplished trail and ultra runner who has demonstrated the ability to drop down in distance and be competitive. Live results will be made available here. On-demand race videos, results, and post-race interviews will be available shortly after the race in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com on USATF.TV. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.
The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $21,500 in prize money will be awarded at the USATF Women’s 6 km Championships. The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the USATF Women’s 6 km Championships, scoring is set as 15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7 ,6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series. The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners. Contributed by Scott Bush