Ian LaMere makes professional debut with 7th place finish at USA 10 Mile Championships
Ian LaMere finished 7th overall at the USA 10 Mile Championships held in conjunction with the Twin Cities Marathon. This was his debut race as a part of the Hansons Brooks Distance Project.
Ian LaMere finished 7th overall at the USA 10 Mile Championships held in conjunction with the Twin Cities Marathon. This was his debut race as a part of the Hansons Brooks Distance Project.
Just as in his collegiate debut 5 years ago, LaMere went out with the leaders of the race ignoring their credentials. Seeing himself as a top contender, LaMere ran alongside Olympians in the lead pack for most of the race. LaMere took the lead at the four mile mark stringing out the field. He remained with that lead pack for the first 9.5 miles of the race. With half mile to go, the leaders pulled away and LaMere hung on for seventh place with a time of 47:48. He finished only 15-seconds behind the top-2 finishers, two americans who represented the USA in the 2016 Olympics. LaMere crossed the finish as the day's top US born finisher.
Hansons Brooks Distance Project signed LaMere during the later part of the summer. The Rochester, Michigan (Detroit Metro) based group consists of 11 men and nine women. The group's ultimate focus is to qualify individuals to the Olympics and help their athletes achieve their highest potential. In a social media post prior to the race, LaMere thanked UW-Platteville, Hansons Brooks Distance Project, Brooks, and everyone that has helped him as he works to be the best runner he can be.
LaMere will compete next in three weeks at the Mayor's Cup Cross Country race in Boston, MA.
Men's USA 10 Mile Championship Top Ten Results:
1. Shadrack Kipchirchir 47:33
2. Leonard Korir 47:33
3. Emmanuel Bor 47:39
4. Haron Lagat 47:40
5. Elkanah Kibet 47:41
6. Abbabiya Simbassa 47:45
7. Ian La Mere 47:48
8. Martin Hehir 47:50
9. Jonathan Grey 47:54
10. Futsum Zienasellassie 48:23