Dan Browne, the winner of the 2002 Twin Cities Marathon, will headline the men's field in this year's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on October 5, a race that will serve as the 2008 USA Men's Marathon Championships.A 2004 Olympian whose win at Twin Cities in 2:11:35 earned him a Runner's World cover photo, Browne will face a field that includes USA 25K record-holder Fernando Cabada, who sports a 2:12:27 marathon PR, and 2006 Twin Cities runner-up Simon Sawe, a 2:13:40 man.
There's a strong local flavor in the men's field as well. Five Team USA Minnesota runners will populate the field: Chris Lundstrom, the 4th place finisher at the 2006 TCM, Matt Gabrielson, Macharia Yuot, and marathon debutantes Josh Moen and Antonio Vega. In addition, former University of Minnesota star Chad Johnson and former Sauk Rapids prep Chris Raabe will also race for a share of the event's total prize purse of $300,000.
Another Chance for Akor ... Mary Akor, the winner of the Grandma's Marathon the past two years, will get another chance to become the first woman to win Grandma's and Twin Cities in a single year. Last year, fighting a head cold, Akor was forced to drop out of the race near the half-way point.
The Nigerian-born American leads an international field in the event's women's race that includes Russians Silvia Skvortsova, who sports a 2:27:07 PR and Olga Glok who has run 2:30:40. American Deeja Youngquist, a sub-2:30 racer who served a two-year suspension for doping after failing a drug test in 2004, will also participate.
2007 Champion Svetlana Ponomarenko is not entered in this year's race.
Lokken and Loken Return ... Defending USA Masters Marathon champions Tracy Lokken and Susan Loken return to defend their national titles as TCM serves as host of the USA Masters Championships for the 18th straight year.
For More Details ... You can find the full TCM media release on the elite field HERE. It includes a list of headliners for the Open and Masters divisions.
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