03/October/2010 |
Jim Estes USA Track & Field USATF Associate Director of LDR Programs/Marketing 317-713-4661; [email protected] |
U.S. champions crowned in Twin Cities
MINNEAPOLIS
- Four U.S. champions were crowned Sunday as the Medtronic Twin Cities
Marathon hosted the USA Men's Marathon, Masters Marathon and Women's 10
Mile Championships. The USA Women's 10 Mile Championship started the day's events with local favorite Katie McGregor (Saint Louis Park, Minn.), taking her seventh career U.S. title in 54:21. Sergio Reyes (Palmdale, Calif.) took the men's marathon title in 2:14:02 and Mbarak Hussein (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Susan Loken (Phoenix, Ariz.) took the men's and women's masters titles in 2:16:58 and 2:44:43 respectively.
As the women's 10 mile started under ideal conditions with clear skies and temperatures near 40 degrees, Renee Metivier Baillie (Boulder, Colo.) took control of the women's race, opening a small lead
as she passed the first mile in 5:41, only McGregor and Jen Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) gave chase. Just before three miles, Rhines
lost contact as Baillie and McGregor ran the next two miles together.
Shortly after five miles, McGregor took advantage of a short
uphill to open a ten meter lead on Baillie and looked to be on her own
for the last half of the race. As McGregor approached seven miles,
Baillie reestablished contact and tried to ease into the lead. McGregor
was content to let Baillie lead for the next mile but as the pair
crested another small hill after eight miles, McGregor made her final
move, steadily pulling away from Baillie for a 16 second win.
In the race for third, Alissa McKaig (Blowing Rock, N.C.) led a chase pack that included Meghan Armstrong (Richfield, Minn.) and Sally Meyerhoff (Tempe, Ariz.), to eventually overtake Rhines after seven miles.
McKaig's effort paid off as she held on for third in 55:18. Armstrong
and Meyerhoff took fourth and fifth in 55:20 and 55:22 respectively.
Rhines faded to ninth in 55:41.
The women's championship offered a total of $25,000 in prize money with
McGregor earning $10,000 for the title.
Reyes shines in men's marathon
In the men's marathon, which saw six personal best performances in the top-ten, David Jankowski (Blowing Rock, N.C.) and Seth Pilkington (Harrisville, Utah) take the early pace, maintaining a 400 meter lead
as they passed the half-marathon in 1:06:43. A chase pack that included
Reyes, Jeff Eggleston (New York, N.Y.) and 2008 USA Marathon champion Fernando Cabada (Alamosa, Colo.), began to close the gap.
Jankowski pulled away from Pilkington around 14 miles but was
overtaken by the chase pack by 25 km as the race was down to three men.
As the trio climbed the hills into St. Paul, Reyes and Eggleston looked
easy as Cabada began to struggle just after 22 miles.
Reyes
and Eggleston continued to duel until 23 miles when Reyes made his move
to drop his final rival and cruised to the finish in 2:14:02 for his
first U.S. title and a spot on Team USA for the 2011 World Championships
Marathon. Eggleston took the runner-up position in 2:14:09, also
earning a spot on the U.S. team for Daegu. Cabada rounded out the
top-three in 2:15:25, as Jankowski held on for fourth in 2:16:15 and Drew Shackleton (Los Angeles, Calif.) finished fifth in 2:16:31. The men's marathon offered $72,500 in prize money with Reyes taking home $25,000 for the win. Masters Marathon
For the 20th consecutive year, the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon
hosted the USA Masters Marathon Championships. Masters standout Mbarak Hussein (Albuquerque, N.M), who took both the overall and masters titles at
this event in 2005 and 2006, returned to take another U.S. masters
title, finishing seventh overall in 2:16:58, while Susan Loken (Phoenix, Ariz.) returned to Twin Cities, running 2:44:43, to reclaim the masters women's title she last won in 2007.
The USA Masters Marathon Championships featured $55,000 in prize money with Hussein and Loken earning $7,500 each. Video highlights The USA Women's 10 Mile and Men's Marathon Championships are
available in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at
www.USARunningCircuit.com. About the USARC The USA Women's 10 Mile Championship was the eighth stop for
women while the USA Men's Marathon Championship was the tenth and final
stop for men on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC).
Antonio Vega (Minneapolis, Minn.) finished the year on top of the men's standings with 44 points, while his Team USA Minnesota teammate Katie McGregor (St. Louis Park, Minn.) now leads the women with 45 points. 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. 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.
# # #
|