She's Back! Tollefson to Race Friday

The longest year in Carrie Tollefson's storied running career is just days from being over.

The 2004 Olympian who is the face of elite track and field in Minnesota, returns to competition Friday after nearly a year on the sidelines.

Tollefson, who finally found injury relief after undergoing surgery for what was termed "athletic pubalgia" in April, will race the mile in the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Tollefson will compete against a field that includes four-time NCAA champion Tiffany McWilliams, the 2006 USA Indoor runner-up, and former Team USA Minnesota teammate Jenelle Deatherage, the winner of the Reebok Boston Indoor Games mile last month.

The 13-time MSHSL champion in her prep days last competed as a member of the silver medal-winning USA squad at the Yokohama International Women's Ekiden on February 25, 2007.

Tollefson's long struggle with abdominal injury has been well chronicled HERE and HERE. You can gauge Tollefson current mood, HERE, via her recent New York Road Runners' journal posting.

Tollefson is scheduled to race at 9:25 p.m. on Friday. The Tyson Invitational will be broadcast on ESPN on Sunday, February 17. Check local listings.

Photo by Victor Sailer, courtesy of Team USA Minnesota.