USATF 10 Mile Championships – News – Stepping Up In Distance, Hunter To Race Cherry Blossom 10-Mile On Sunday

STEPPING UP IN DISTANCE, HUNTER TO RACE CHERRY BLOSSOM 10-MILE ON SUNDAY
By David Monti, @d9monti.bsky.social
(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved – Used with permission.

(03-Apr) — Coming off of a year where he set personal bests from 1500m to 10,000m, two-time USATF national champion Drew Hunter will run the longest race of his career on Sunday, the 52nd edition of the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile in Washington, D.C.  Hunter, 27, who lives in Boulder, Colo., but grew up in nearby Virginia, will also be competing in the USATF 10-Mile Championships, the race-within-the-race at the Cherry Blossom, where he hopes to beat national road running champions like Hillary Bor, Biya Simbassa, Leonard Korir, Shadrack Kipchirchir, and Alex Maier.

“I feel like every year I put a race on the calendar that’s a challenge for me, but also just something different,” Hunter told Race Results Weekly in a telephone interview from Boulder on Tuesday.  “Last year that happened to be a track 10-K.  I’d never done one; I’d focused on the 1500 most of my career.  I was just like, this is going to be hard, challenging, but it’s something new.  I think it’s really important for us athletes to just stay inspired by our running.”

Hunter will face an extra challenge in Sunday’s race.  He’s still recovering from the 10,000m personal best he ran at The Ten in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., last Saturday night where he finished 11th (fourth American) in 27:24.49.  Coached by his mother, Joan, the 2021 USATF 5-K road running champion has been getting ready for this two-race peak since he started his winter training.

“Cherry Blossom fit in really well with my schedule,” Hunter continued.  “The 10-K was the priority, so I could run the 10-K and still race Cherry Blossom.  I think the 10-mile will be a good distance for me.”  He added: “I really wanted to hit the 10-K hard, then race the Cherry Blossom and see what I can do.  It’s a little freeing, not doing a 10-miler before.  It’s my longest race, ever.  Expectations are low, and that’s sort of fun for me.”

Although Hunter founded the adidas-backed Tinman Elite program in Boulder, he is no longer an official member of that group since his eight-year sponsorship with adidas lapsed at the end of 2024 and he signed a new four-year contract with Asics.  Still, Hunter does some of his training with the Tinman group which is evolving into a marathon-focused team.  That’s been particularly helpful for his build-up for…