CVS Caremark Downtown 5K Announces Preliminary Elite Runner Field for Sept. 18 Race

The streets of Providence will soon be filled with some of the most elite runners from around the world.

The professional runners – 29 to date – will converge in Providence on Sept. 18 for the 22nd anniversary of the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K. The allure of this race is the opportunity for these athletes to earn a national title.  Since 1998, the Downtown 5K has been authorized by the USA Track & Field (USATF) organization to host the USA National Championship.

“The CVS Caremark Downtown 5K is a fantastic race for the community, one where friends and family members from throughout the region come together to enjoy the sport,” said Eileen Howard Boone, senior vice president of Corporate Communications and Community Relations for CVS Caremark. “We are also proud  that this is a nationally recognized professional race, where athletes from across the world gather to compete.”

Among the elite runners who will be competing in this year’s CVS Caremark Downtown 5K are the defending champion from the 2010 Downtown 5K Robert Cheseret – a member of the U.S. Army Racing Team and a native of Kenya; “In the Arena” New Hampshire team member Ben True, a graduate of Dartmouth College who placed as the American winner in this year’s AJC Peachtree 10K Road Race in Atlanta; Sam Chelanga, a 14-time All-American from Liberty University who won back to back NCAA Cross Country titles in 2009 and 2010; Anthony “Fam” Famiglietti, a two-time United States Olympian, six-time U.S. Champion and a two-time winner of the Downtown 5K; and Sarah Hall, women’s winner of the 2006 Downtown 5K and seven-time All-American from Stanford University.

“This year’s field of elite runners is flooded with premium racing talent from across the country,” noted Charlie Breagy, race director of the CVS Caremark Downtown 5K. “Given that True and Chelanga have truly progressed their racing this year – True took 2nd place in this year’s Diamond League 5K Grand Prix in London and Chelanga placed 4th in his Boston Athletic Association 10K debut this summer – we expect a dogfight of a race. Not to mention the countless other prolific racers, many of whom are Downtown 5K veterans, who will be running as well.”
 
Breagy added, “On the women’s side, we’ll pay close attention to Hall, a former Downtown 5K champion and two-time U.S. Indoor 3,000 meter champion. We also expect a great showing from Kim Conley, a graduate of UC Davis who spent a month in Mexico at altitude to prepare for the 2011 season and Julie Culley, who ran in the 5,000 meter race for the U.S. at the World Track and Field Championship in Berlin in 2009.”

The CVS Caremark Downtown 5K includes 21 different races for children, pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, including a CVS Caremark All Kids Can™ Inspirational event for children with physical and intellectual disabilities; a 3K Inspirational event for high school runners that incorporates a costume contest and is sponsored by Tufts Health Plan; and the 5K event, which draws elite athletes competing for the USA Track & Field (USATF) 5K championship, as well as amateur runners competing as individuals or on college, corporate and gym teams. Walkers are also welcome to participate.

Late registration and race packet pickup will be on the Rhode Island State House Lawn, Gaspee Street in Providence on Saturday, September 17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday (race day), September 18, 7:15 to 10:45 a.m. All registrants will receive a CVS Caremark Downtown 5K T-shirt. The first 5,000 individuals who registered for the 5K race received a custom technical shirt and a CVS/pharmacy goody bag. The CVS Caremark Downtown 5K will start and finish on Francis Street in front of the Rhode Island State House. Additional information can be accessed at www.cvsdowntown5k.com.

Proceeds from the annual race event are donated to local youth charities in Rhode Island and Southern New England.