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Twin Cities plays host to top U.S. distance runners this weekend
Published by
Sep 29th 2010, 11:57pm
29/September/2010 |
Jim Estes USA Track & Field USATF Associate Director of LDR Programs/Marketing 317-713-4661; [email protected] |
Twin Cities plays host to top U.S. distance runners this weekend
INDIANAPOLIS - October in the Twin Cities means that, once
again, the top long distance runners in the U.S. will toe the line as
the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon plays host to the championships for
the USA Men's Marathon, Masters Marathon and Women's 10 Miles
Championships. The USA Women's 10 Mile Championships will start the
day's events on Sunday at 7:03 a.m. Central Time with the marathon
starting at 8:00 a.m. The USA Women's 10 Mile Championship will feature local favorite Katie McGregor (Saint Louis Park, Minn.), the 2010 USA 15 km and 25 km champion. McGregor will be challenged for the title by Jen Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), a two-time USA 15 km champion. Rhines finished
second behind McGregor at the 15 km championships in March. Additional challengers for the title will include Sally Meyerhoff (Tempe, Ariz.), the 2009 USA 25 km champion, and Renee Metivier Baillie, the 2010 USA Indoor champion at 3,000 meters. The championship will offer $25,000 in total prize money with the champion earning $10,000. Men's Marathon The USA Men's Marathon Championship will conclude the 2010 edition of
the USA Running Circuit (USARC) and will feature 2010 USA 15 km
champion Mo Trafeh (Duarte, Calif.), who is making his marathon debut and is
poised to take the 2010 USARC title on Sunday. Standing between Trafeh
and his second U.S. title of 2010 will be 2008 USA Marathon champion Fernando Cabada (Alamosa, Colo.), the current American record holder at 25 km. Local favorite Josh Moen (Minneapolis, Minn.), who took the runner-up spot at the 2009
USA Men's 10 Mile Championship in his hometown last year, will also be
in the hunt for the title, as will masters standout Mbarak Hussein (Albuquerque, N.M.), who took both the overall and masters titles at this event in 2005 and 2006. The men's marathon will feature $72,500 in prize money with $25,000 going to the champion. Masters Marathon For the 20th consecutive year, the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon hosts
the USA Masters Marathon Championships and will see Hussein face
masters standouts such as Paul Aufdemberge (Redford, Mich.), Dave Olds (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Sean Wade (Houston, Texas), while recent masters additions will include Keith Mulhollon (Lake Geneva, Wis.) and Matthew Sandercock (Exton, Pa.). Racing for the masters women's title will be 2007 champion Susan Loken (Phoenix, Ariz.) and 2008 runner-up Meghan Arbogast (Corvallis, Ore.). Also new to the masters women's field will be Heather May (Auburn, Ala.) and Lucie Mays (Westfield, Ind.). The USA Masters Marathon Championships will feature $55,000 in prize
money with the overall men's and women's masters champions earning
$7,500 each. Video highlights The USA Women's 10 Mile and Men's Marathon Championships will be
webcast live in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at
www.USARunningCircuit.com. About the USARC The USA Women's 10 Mile Championship is the eighth stop for women while
the USA Men's Marathon Championship is the tenth and final stop for men
on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC). The USARC is
a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from
one mile to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners.
The circuit features ten events each for men and women. Antonio Vega (Minneapolis, Minn.) currently leads the men's standings with 44 points, while Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.) leads the women with 31 points. The 2010 USARC will once again see a record amount of circuit prize
money for a non-Olympic year with total prize purse of $623,850 offered
by host events. U.S. athletes will also have the opportunity to qualify
for various Team USA events, including the IAAF World Half Marathon
Championships and the Chiba International Ekiden. The
first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12
for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500
grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and
women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon
Championships will be doubled. The mission of the USA
Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners.
Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over
$6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners. For more information on the 2010 USA Running Circuit, visit www.USARunningCircuit.com.
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About USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track
& field, long-distance running and race walking in the United
States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the
World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the
Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory
sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: www.usatf.org. |
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