FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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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