FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Top-of-the-Circuit field joins Minnesota Runners in
Medtronic TC 10 Mile For final test of fitness before
Olympic Trials in New York
October 7 race will serve as USA Men's 10 Mile Championship attracting
national field of competitors
(Minneapolis) – Some of the biggest names in running will join professional
runners from Minnesota in pursuit of the USA Men's 10 Mile Championship,
Sunday, October 7, in Saint Paul, Minn.
Two-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman and 10,000m and marathon Olympian Dan
Browne take to the field with Team USA Minnesota runners Jason Lehmkuhle,
Chris Lundstrom and Andrew Carlson, as well as local runners Zachary
Schendel and Donovan Fellows. Ryan Shay, two-time Medtronic Twin Cities
Marathon champion Mbarak Hussein, and Simon Sawe will round out the start.
The championship is part of the 9th annual Medtronic TC 10 Mile.
Abdirahman, who recently won the 2007 USA 10 km road and 10,000-meter track
titles, was the 2006 USA 10 Mile Champion. Browne, who picked up the men's
USA 5K Championship title Sunday in Providence, R.I., captured his third
USA 20km Championship title at the 2007 race in New Haven, Conn. on Labor
Day, and was the 2004 USA Men's 10 Mile Champion. Shay, who finished 3rd
at the 2006 USA Marathon Championship at Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon,
was also the 2003 USA Marathon Champion. And Lehmkuhle, who picked up
first at the Cow Harbor 10K September 15, finished 3rd at the 2007 USA 20k
Championships, and 3rd in the 2006 USA Men's 10 Mile Championship.
"We are pleased with the level of competition in this year's Medtronic TC
10 Mile," said Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. executive director Virginia
Brophy Achman. "The field set for the USA Men's 10 Mile Championship is
top-notch. The opportunity for us to host the championship this year
recognizes our desire to support long distance running and also training
efforts throughout the United States, such as Team USA Minnesota and the
USATF Distance Project, both of whom we support through our silver level
sponsorships."
Five Minnesotans, including Lehmkuhle, Carlson, Lundstrom, Schendel and
Fellows, will join the more than 30 Olympic Trials, Men's Marathon
qualifiers in the race that will serve as a tune up for the trials in New
York, November 3rd.
"I think people are really going to want to get out and watch the Medtronic
TC 10 Mile," said Team USA Minnesota Coach Dennis Barker. "Many of the
best distance runners in the U.S. will be here and it's going to be a great
battle. The top three from last year's USA Men's 10 Mile Championship are
back, including Team USA Minnesota's Jason Lehmkuhle and Andrew Carlson.
The runners will be in peak condition because many of them are also
preparing for the U.S. Olympic Trials – Men's Marathon, in New York. It's
a fantastic course with some very fast parts and some very tough parts,
which is going to make it a very compelling race."
The USA Men's 10 Mile Championship prize purse is $25,000. The 2007
Medtronic TC 10 Mile gets underway at 7:50 a.m., Sunday, October 7.
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