The North American 5K Championships, also known as the North American 5 km Team Challenge, was an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

competition over

5 kilometres The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually distinguished from the 5000 met ...

between three

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n countries:

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The event was created in 2002 and held as part of the Arturo Barrios Invitational races each October in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

. It would be the permanent host of the competition, until the final edition in 2005. The competition had three elements: a men's 5K run, a women's 5K run, and a team competition. The team scores were decided by combining the finishing places of the top two men and top two women for each nation. The lowest overall score was the team winner. A total of three athletes could be entered per nation in each race.North American 5 Kilometres Challenge
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-03-20.Canadians will North American 5K Team Championship
sic].

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

(2005-10-23). Retrieved on 2015-03-20. All three participating nations won a team title over the competition's four-edition history, with Mexico winning the first, the United States the second, and Canada the final two titles. Mexico was the most successful in the men's race, having three wins, and

Alejandro Suárez Alejandro Suárez Velázquez (born 30 November 1980 in Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro) is a Mexican former long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres. His personal best time is 13:18.13 minutes, achieved in June 2003 in Victor ...

was the most successful male athlete with his back-to-back wins in 2003 and 2004. Canada was the most successful in the women's race, courtesy of

Émilie Mondor Émilie Mondor (April 29, 1981 – September 9, 2006) was a Canadian Olympic athlete, who was a two-time national champion in the women's 5,000 metres. Early life She was born in Mascouche, Quebec in 1981. Mondor studied at McGill University, ...

's three straight wins from 2003 to 2005 and a runner-up place in 2002. The United States failed to win an individual title, despite being the host nation. Mondor set the women's championship record of 15:16 minutes in 2004 (also a Canadian national record), while Mexico's

David Galván José David Galván Martínez (born 6 April 1973 in Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila) is a Mexican long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 and 10,000 metres. Nicknamed ''Keniano Mexicano''. Career He was the winner of the inaugural North A ...

inaugural winning time of 13:47 minutes was never bettered.

Editions

* American

Lauren Fleshman Lauren Fleshman (born September 26, 1981) is an American runner, coach, author, and retired professional track and field athlete. She was the U.S. 5000 meters champion in 2006 and 2010, and competed at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in ...

was entered in the women's race, but was a non-starter.

Medallists

Men's individual

Women's individual

Team

References

;Individual medalists
North American 5 Kilometres Challenge
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2015-03-20. {{defunct athletics competitions 5K runs 5K runs in the United States Athletics (track and field) competitions in North America Athletics team events North American international sports competitions Annual sporting events in the United States Defunct athletics competitions Sports in Chula Vista, California Sports competitions in San Diego County, California Foot races in California Recurring sporting events established in 2002 2002 establishments in California 2005 disestablishments in California Recurring events disestablished in 2005