2013 men’s and women’s champions return to defend crowns
Woonsocket, R.I. (September 8, 2014) – Race officials of the 2014 CVS Health Downtown 5k, celebrating its 25th year, announced today the lineup of elite runners signed on to participate in this year’s 5k race on Sunday, September 21. The elite field includes Olympic runners, as well as a number of nationally ranked runners competing for USA championship honors.
The CVS Health Downtown 5k, formerly known as the CVS Caremark Downtown 5k, was renamed to reflect a recent announcement by the pharmacy innovation company. CVS Caremark announced on September 3 that it was changing its corporate name to CVS Health to reflect its broader health care commitment and its expertise in driving the innovations needed to shape the future of health.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the CVS Health Downtown 5k, which has been authorized by the USA Track & Field (USATF) organization to host the USA Men’s 5k National Championship since 2002. The authorization extended to include the USA Women’s 5k National Championship in 2005. Elite athletes may compete for both individual and team champion honors.
Amateur runners – both competitive and recreational – participate in the CVS Health Downtown 5k as well. The 5k race is also open to wheelchair athletes and walkers.
The upcoming race includes Olympic finalist and USA National 5k champion Molly Huddle – women’s defender of the 2013, 2012 and 2010 CVS Health Downtown 5k races and a resident of Providence. Andrew Bumbalough, the men’s victor of the 2013 race, will return to defend his title for a second consecutive year. Bumbalough lives and trains in Portland, OR.
This year’s race also welcomes Rhode Island native Andrew Springer, who will make his professional debut in the CVS Health Downtown 5k. Springer, a graduate of Westerly High School and Georgetown University, is returning to his home state to compete. He still holds the record for the fastest high school mile in the state at 4:02.70, which he ran as a student athlete at Westerly High School.
“As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the CVS Health Downtown 5k, we are very proud that this is both a nationally recognized professional race as well as a great community event for children and families,” said Eileen Howard Boone, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy for CVS Health. “This year is especially exciting, as we’ve renamed the event to align with our company name and reflect our commitment to shaping the future of health. The 2014 CVS Health Downtown 5k is a great example of how we bring our purpose of helping people on their path to better health to life.”
At this year’s CVS Health Downtown 5k, Charlie Breagy, one of the founders of the racing event, will mark his 25th year as race director. He said, “This year’s field of elite runners is packed with talent, including Andrew Bumbalough – first place finisher in last year’s CVS Health Downtown 5k, and Chris Solinsky who is among just five Americans who have ever run below 13 minutes in a 5k race.”
Breagy added, “And we’re very excited to welcome back last year’s first and second place finishers in the women’s field – defender Molly Huddle who is a USA record holder at 14:42.64 – and Emily Infeld – who placed second with a time of 15:30.8. We’re also excited to see Jennifer Rhines again, a three-time Olympian, who continues to be a strong performer after more than 25 years of competitive racing. Once again, our elite athlete coordinator Jim Harvey has done a fantastic job assembling a world-class field of runners for the CVS Health Downtown 5k. Mark your calendars now because this 25th anniversary event will be one for the books!”
Some of the elite men runners slated to run in the 2014 CVS Health Downtown 5k include:
Andrew Bumbalough
Andrew Bumbalough returns as the defending champion from last year’s CVS Health Downtown 5k. He timed his finishing kick to perfection to finish in first place at 13:45.9. He was the second place finisher in the 2012 event, which he viewed as a great learning experience. Bumbalough is a graduate of Georgetown University and lives and trains in Portland, Ore. He is a member of the Bowerman Track Club and is coached by Jerry Schumacher. Andrew has personal records of 3:37.15 for 1,500m and 13:12.01 for 5,000m.
Matthew Centrowitz, Jr.
Matt Centrowitz is a graduate of the University of Oregon and lives and trains in Portland, Ore. He runs for the Nike Oregon Project and is coached by Alberto Salazar. He is a two-time medalist at the World Track and Field Championships, finishing third in 2011 and second in 2013. He qualified for the US Olympic team and finished in fourth place in the 2012 London Olympics. He has personal records of 3:31.09 for 1,500m set in Monaco and 13:20.06 for 5,000m set in Stanford. Both performances were achieved this year.
Chris Solinsky
Chris Solinsky had a banner year in 2010. He became the first non-African to break 27 minutes in the 10k, running 26:59.60 at the Payton Jordan meet at Stanford University in May, breaking the American record by fourteen seconds. Later that summer, Solinsky went on to run the 5k with a personal record of 12:55.53 set in the DN Galan event in Stockholm, Sweden. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he was a five-time NCAA Champion. He followed his coach Jerry Schumacher to Portland, Ore., and now runs for the Oregon Track Club Elite.
Alistair Cragg
Alistair Cragg is a three-time Olympian for Ireland having competed in Athens, Beijing and London. He now lives and trains in Providence, R.I. Cragg is one of the most successful distance runners in collegiate history, being a seven-time NCAA Champion while running for the University of Arkansas. He is the Irish record holder of the 5k at 13:03.53 and the 10k at 27:39.55.
Andrew Springer
Andrew Springer is the best high school middle distance runner in Rhode Island history. He holds every state high school record from the 1,500m to the 5,000m, including a 4:02.70 mile and a 9:02.92 two mile. He graduated from Westerly High School and Georgetown University, earning a degree from Georgetown this spring. He will return to his home state for this year’s race as a professional athlete looking to make his mark on the national running scene. Race officials anticipate great local interest in his participation in this year’s race, which will mark his debut as a professional on the road. Springer holds a personal record of 13:46.05 for 5,000m.
Ben Bruce
Ben Bruce was involved in one of the closest finishes in the history of the CVS Health Downtown 5k. He was caught in 2010 by Robert Cheseret at the finish line and had to settle for second place. Ben is one of a select group of Americans to run under 8:20 for the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 8:19.10. He has run 5,000m in 13:30.79 and was the first US finisher in the recent Falmouth Road Race.
Herman Fernandez
This year, Herman Fernandez will make his debut in the CVS Health Downtown 5k. A California native, he is one of the finest middle distance high school runners in the US. He set a world junior record for the mile indoors, an American Junior 5,000m record and won the 2009 NCAA 1,500m. He competes for the Bowerman Track Club out of Portland, Ore., and has run 5,000m in 13:25.46.
Hillary Maiyo
A native of Eldoret, Kenya, Hillary Maiyo will make his debut in a 5k road race at this year’s CVS Health Downtown 5k. He competed this spring in Diamond League 1,500m races as pacemaker for Olympic Champion Asbel Kiprop. He won a 1,500m race in Prague, Czech Republic in 3:36 and finished second in Huelva, Spain in 3:36.87 earlier this year.
Some of the elite women runners slated to run in the 2014 CVS Health Downtown 5k include:
Molly Huddle
Molly Huddle returns as a three-time defending champion of the CVS Health Downtown 5k for 2013, 2012 and 2010. If Huddle repeats her winning performance for this year’s race, she will match the current record, held by Lynn Jennings, for earning four crowns in the CVS Health Downtown 5k women’s category. Huddle lives and trains in Providence, R.I., and is in the best form of her career over a variety of distances on both road and track. She won the USATF US National 5,000m Championship in June and went on to break her own American record on July 18 with a time of 14:42.64 in the Monaco Diamond League. In the last year, she has earned a stellar list of achievements on the road: World Record for 12k at 37:50 in Alexandria, Va.; an American women’s only record of 31:37 in New York City; won the Bix 7 mile road race in Davenport, Iowa in 36:13; won the US 20k Championship in New Haven, Conn. in 1:08.34; and was the first American and third place finisher in the Falmouth Road Race in Mass. in 36:15, Huddle was a finalist in the 2012 Olympic Games in London and placed sixth in the World Championship in Moscow, Russia – the highest finish ever by an American in that event.
Mary Cain
At age 18, Mary Cain has had a phenomenal impact on the domestic and world running stage. On July 25, she won the World Junior 3,000m Championship in Eugene, Ore., becoming the first American ever to do so. In 2013 she became the youngest American athlete to compete in a World Track Championship in Moscow, Russia. Coached by Alberto Salazar and competing for The Nike Oregon Project, Cain followed the path less taken and turned professional directly out of high school. In doing so, she forfeited her collegiate eligibility and is now enrolled as a regular student at the University of Portland. She set the US National High School record at 800m, 1,500m, 3,000m, and 5,000m. She is National and Junior record holder for 1,500m both indoors and outdoors and holds the same record for both the mile and two miles indoors. The CVS Health Downtown 5k will mark her debut at the 5,000m distance in a road race.
Emily Infeld
The second place finisher in 2013, Emily Infeld returns to this year’s race after a difficult period in her career. She was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her sacrum in November, which kept her on the sidelines for the early part of the year. Running for the Bowerman Track Club and coached by Jerry Schumacher, Infeld is healthy again and hopes to be very competitive with this year’s field. She has run the 1,500m in 4:07.77, the 3,000m in 8:41.43 and the 5,000m in 15:28.60.
Jennifer Rhines
Jen Rhines holds the distinction of competing in three Olympic Games in three different events – the 5,000m, the 10,000m and the marathon. She is a graduate of Villanova University and has won multiple national titles since becoming a professional athlete. She is part of a select group of ten American Women that have broken 15 minutes for 5,000m with a best time of 14:54.29, which was run at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. She has run the 1,500m in 4:09.53, the 3,000m in 8:35.03, the 10,000m in 31:17.31 and the marathon in 2:29:32. Jen is coached the by Boston Athletic Association Elite Athlete Coach Terrence Mahon, who is her husband.
Jordan Hasay
Jordan Hasay is part of the Nike Oregon Project coached by Alberto Salazar. She had a stellar high school career winning two Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships. While attending the University of Oregon, she was a two-time NCAA indoor champion for the mile and 3,000m. Hasay competed in the 2013 World Championship in Moscow, Russia. She has personal records of 15:28.56 for 5,000m and 31:39.67 for 10,000m.
Sara Hall
Sara Hall competed for the US in two World Indoor Championships and was US Cross Country Champion in 2012. She has placed amongst the top athletes several times in this race and has personal records of 15:28.06 for 5,000m, and 33:58.48 for 10,000m. Hall is in the process of moving up to the marathon. She returns to Providence after recently recovering from surgery for a burst appendix. Her husband Ryan Hall holds the US record for the half marathon and has the fastest marathon time recorded by a US athlete.
Neely Spence Gracey
Neely Spence Gracey was an eight-time NCAA Division Champion while attending Shippenburg University. She runs for the Hansons-Brooks team out of Rochester Hills, Mich., and has a best 5k time of 15:27.72. Gracey was the second place finisher in the 2012 CVS Health Downtown 5k Championship. Her father and former coach Steve Spence won a bronze medal at the 1991 World Marathon Championship.
Alice Kaymunya
Alice Kaymunya is a Kenyan athlete who will run the CVS Health Dowtown 5k for the first time. She is a prolific road racer and races distances ranging from the mile to the half marathon. Her best time for the 5k this year is 15:35 run at Westfield, Mass.
Emily Sisson and Laura Nagel
This year, two athletes who spearheaded the Providence College team victory in the 2013 NCAA Cross Country Championship will run in the CVS Health Downtown 5k. Both women have collegiate eligibility for the coming track season and will not accept prize money from the race.
Sisson has held the title of Big East Individual Champion on five occasions and was named 2013 Female Scholar Athlete of the year. She has personal records of 15:33.6 for 5,000m and 32:31.06 for 10,000m, making her very competitive in this race.
Nagel hails from New Zealand and is a three-time Big East Champion. She has personal records of 15:42for 5,000m and 33:46.60 for 10,000m.
Additional information about the 2014 CVS Health Downtown 5k is as follows:
Overview of Races
The CVS Health Downtown 5k includes 21 different races for children, pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, including the CVS Health All Kids Can™ Inspirational event for children with physical and intellectual disabilities (youth races run from 8 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.); a 3k Inspirational event for high school runners that incorporates a costume contest and is sponsored by Tufts Health Plan (3k begins at 12:15 p.m.); and the 5k event, which draws elite athletes, as well as amateur runners competing as individuals or on college, corporate and gym teams. Walkers and wheelchair athletes are also welcome to participate. The 5k event begins at 11:15 a.m.
Registration and Race Packet Pickup
Registration is available online through Tuesday, September 17 at www.cvsdowntown5k.com. Onsite registration and packet pickup will be available at Rhode Runner, 657 North Main Street, Providence, onFriday, September 19, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, September 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Registration and packet pickup will also be available on race morning (starting at 7:15 a.m.) at Station Park in Providence – located at the corner of Francis Street and Gaspee Street; adjacent to the Providence Place Mall and the Rhode Island State House.
For More Information
For more information about the 2014 CVS Health Downtown 5k, go to www.cvsdowntown5k.com or call the race hot line at 401-751-7287.
About the Downtown 5k
The Downtown 5k is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that promotes health and fitness through road racing. Proceeds from the annual race event are donated to local youth charities in Rhode Island and Southern New England.
About CVS Health
CVS Health is a pharmacy innovation company helping people on their path to better health. Through our 7,700 retail pharmacies, 900 walk-in medical clinics, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 65 million plan members, and expanding specialty pharmacy services, we enable people, businesses and communities to manage health in more affordable, effective ways. This unique integrated model increases access to quality care, delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the future of health at www.cvshealth.com.