Papa John's race will be interesting

(NOTE: This is the fifth in a series of stories about the Papa John's 10 Miler/USA Men's 10 Mile Championship, which will be run in Louisville on Saturday.)

For the second year in a row, no Triple Crown champion will be recognized after the Papa John’s 10 Miler ends tomorrow morning. So much for that storyline.

But there will be others:

With several perennial contenders out of the picture, which man and which woman will win the final race in the Louisville Triple Crown of Running? Good question.

Which elite athlete will triumph in the fourth Papa John’s edition of the USA Men’s 10 Mile Championship? Ask Abdi Abdirahman.

Will the race break participation records in its sixth year? Yes.

And will there be storms? Don’t worry about it.

The Papa John’s 10 Miler could be wide open. Louisville resident Westley Alkin was the men’s winner in the first Triple Crown race - the Anthem 5K on March 11 - but did not want to finish the series. Richmond, Ky., resident James Mutuse was the men’s winner in the second Triple Crown race - the Rodes City Run on March 25 - for the fourth time but it isn’t known if he will show tomorrow. And Lexington, Ky., resident Susie Bush, the 2004 Triple Crown champion, was the women’s winner in both races but decided to run elsewhere tomorrow.

Abdirahman is the favorite in the USA Men’s 10 Mile Championship, which is the third of eight national championship road races in the USA Running Circuit. A two-time U.S. Olympian in the 10,000 meters, Abdirahman won the race last year in record time (47:27) en route to the overall USARC title.

His challengers include two other former Olympians, 2004 champion Dan Browne and steeplechase specialist Anthony Famiglietti; Andrew Carlson, who was fifth at the USA Men’s Half Marathon Championship on Jan. 15; and Matt Lane and Matt Downin, who were fourth and fifth, respectively, in this race last year.

The winner will receive $10,000 out of a purse that exceeds $26,000.

Entries for the Papa John’s 10 Miler already were hovering at record levels on Wednesday, when company spokesperson Tish Muldoon said the number stood at 5,350 with more online entries still to be counted and registration available all day today and before the race tomorrow.

“Isolated thunderstorms” are in the forecast, of course. But that’s true for the next 36 hours or so, and there’s no more than a 30 percent chance of rain during most of that day-and-a-half period. And lightning already struck once in this series, remember?

So let’s assume the race will be just fine.