Masters athletes from across the country are set to compete this Saturday, August 24, chasing national titles at the 2024 USATF Masters 10 Mile Championships. The HAP CareSource Crim Race, in its 47th running, hosts these top Masters runners. Overall, age grading, age division and team championships are at stake. With a forecast of temperatures in the low 60s, with winds and humidity moderate, conditions look good. Four women are prime contenders for the top spot overall: Hidi Gaff, was the top Masters finisher at the Glass City Half Marathon in April and the Amway Riverbank Run 25K in May. Erika Suhy enjoyed a top 10 Masters finish at the nationally prominent Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile this spring. Jacqueline Cooke finished fifth at the 2023 Masters 10 Mile Championships in Sacramento. Fiona Bayly took third overall at the 2023 Masters Half Marathon Championships and finished fourth overall at the 2023 Masters 10 Mile Championships. Joel Conn, a newly minted Masters runner, has top credentials, among the men. At the Gate River Run, Conn finished among the top thirty men overall in March, right behind the elite open runners. Conn was almost four minutes ahead of the Masters winner. Conn also knows the Crim course, where he finished sixth overall in each of the last two years. His chief rival is David Angell, who finished first Overall at the Masters 5 Km Championships in Atlanta this past February and third overall at the Masters 10 Km Championship in April. John Fernandez, Matt Yacoub, and John Yoder will also be in the hunt. Fernandez finished third overall at the Masters 5 Km Championships in February. Yacoub finished as the second Masters athlete at the Akron Half Marathon, and Yoder was the top Masters finisher at the Newport Oregon Half Marathon. American Record Holders in the field include Bayly who holds the 55-59 8 Km record at 30:03; Nora Cary who holds the 65-69 12 Km record at 51:09; and Lisa Veneziano, holder of the 55-59 12 Km at 46:13. Other top runners include: Rick Becker, 69, a 3-time Masters Harrier of the Year, and Suzanne La Burt, who won the Age Grading competition at the 5Km Championships in February, synonymous with the top overall performance across all age divisions. Two of the most highly contested team battles are in the women’s 60+ and men’s 60+ team divisions. The Atlanta Track Club; the Impala Racing Team from the San Francisco Bay area; and the Shore Athletic Club, out of New Jersey, renew their rivalry for the 2024 Masters National Grand Prix Women’s 60+ title. In men’s 60+, the Ann Arbor Track Club will try to defend the Michigan roads against Atlanta, the Genesee Valley Harriers, from upstate New York, and the Shore AC. Submitted by Paul Carlin