ATLANTA, GA — The Atlanta Track Club welcomes over 250 of the fastest Masters runners in the country to contest the USATF Masters 5 km Championships this Saturday, February 26. After two Cross Country Championships, the 2022 Masters National Grand Prix switches to the roads. A crisp 40 degrees, but no precipitation is expected to greet the athletes when they toe the line at 7:30 AM on Saturday. Laurie Knowles, the winner in 2018 and 2019, is back for the Atlanta Track Club. She defends her Overall Masters title on her home turf. The staunchest competition should come from Jessica Hruska, who took the 10,000 meter title on the track at the Outdoor Masters Championships in Ames, IA last summer, and Shawanna White, who clocked a 37:09 10K at Peachtree last year. Jesse Davis, a 2-time qualifier for the Olympic Marathon trials, and a 5th place finisher at the 2015 World 50K Championships, took the overall Masters title at the Club Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, FL last December. He will try to repeat that magic on the streets of Atlanta. The main challenges should come from his Indiana Elite teammate, Bryan Lindsay, who clocked a 15:29 5K last October, and the always dangerous Christopher Naimoli, who took the 2019 15 km Masters title in Tulsa in 48:37. Jacques Sallberg, the dominant Masters Cross Country runner over the last few years, will try to work his magic on the hilly roads of Atlanta. Age-grading is the top prize awarded for the best performances relative to age across all Masters Age Divisions. Jeannie Rice, the 2019 USATF Masters Athlete of the Year, is the favorite to take the Women’s title. The holder of the Women’s 70-74 American Records in the Half Marathon and Marathon has numerous National Championships at distances as short as the 1 Mile Run. Last November, at 73, she clocked 22:31 for a 5K. That age grades at 97.63%, a world class effort. Nora Cary, three Greater Philadelphia Track Club teammates Michelle Rohl, Marisa Sutera Strange, and Lorraine Jasper, along with the 12 km American Record holder, Lisa Veneziano, will try to derail Rice. On the Men’s side, Gene Dykes, the American 70-74 Marathon Record holder at 2:55:22 and the 10 km record holder at 39:02 would, ordinarily, be the favorite on the Men’s side, but he is coming back from some significant injuries. Jacob Nur took the age grading title at the USATF Cross Country Championships in San Diego in January and broke the 65-69 American 10 km Record with a 35:42 last November. Nur becomes the favorite, but will also have to hold off Rick Lee, who holds the Men’s 60-64 American Records at 50 km and 50 miles and took the 60-64 12 km national title last September. A newcomer to National Championships, Richard Larsen, who turned 70 last fall, ran a 19:55 5K earlier this month, and has an 18:54 5K to his credit from last November. The Age Division National Championships will be hotly contested. These athletes are expected to fare well: 40-44 Davis/Knowles, 45-49 Jason Ritter/Sarah Girotto, 50-54 Mark Andrews/Fiona Bayly, 55-59 Michael Collins/Rohl, 60-64 Lee/Jasper, 65-69 Nur/Cary, 70-74 Larsen/Rice, 75-79 Ron Wells/Norma Thomas, 80-84 Stan Edelson/ Joyce Hodges-Hite, 85-89 Adrian Craven/Edna Hyer, 95-99 Betty Lindberg. Lindberg, who took the 90-94 title in 2019, should she be successful, would become our oldest women’s national champion in recent memory. Favorites for the coveted Team Championships include, for the Women/Men: 40+ Atlanta Track Club/Indiana Elite; 50+ Greater Philadelphia TC/Atlanta; 60+ Greater Philadelphia TC/Shore AC; 70+ Atlanta/Boulder Road Runners; M80+ Atlanta. Submitted by: Paul Carlin Masters LDR/Media Coordinator Running Professor, LLC/www.runningprof.com