Photo: Ryan Shay pictured at the 2005 ING New York City Marathon

2004 USA 20K champion Turena Johnson Lane and five-time national road champion Ryan Shay are among the top contenders for the USA 25K Championship, hosted by the 29th Fifth Third River Bank Run in Grand Rapids, Mich. this Saturday, May 13.

A 2005 World Championships marathoner for the U.S., Johnson Lane, 30, is set to win her second career U.S. title, but will be challenged by 2005 World Championships half-marathoner Laura Turner as well as Melissa White and Dot McMahan of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project.

Shay, 27, the 2003-04 USA Running Circuit champion, will be looking for his first U.S. title since winning the 2005 USA 15K title. Shay, a Team Running USA athlete, can anticipate to face-off for the national title with 2005 USA Marathon champion Mbarak Hussein, NAIA All-American Fernando Cabada and in-state favorites Josh Eberly and Kyle Baker.

This marks the twelfth consecutive year that the Fifth Third River Bank Run has hosted the USA 25K Championships, which is the fourth stop for men and the second for women on the 2006 USA Running Circuit (USARC), a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from 5K to the marathon.

For more information on the 2006 USARC and USA 25K Championships, visit: USATF.org