Fernando Cabada, the emotional victor of last year's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, will be a favorite at tomorrow morning's Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, held in conjunction with Grandma's Marathon in Duluth.Cabada finished runner-up to Mathew Chesang in the Bjorklund Half last year, four month's before he'd win a rain-soaked USA Marathon Championships at Twin Cities in October.
(If you haven't heard Cabada's honest, emotional post-race interview before, we recommend it here ... )
Cabada has stuggled a bit in 2009, however. After a 10th-place, 1:03.31 finish at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston in January, he placed only 23rd at the USA 15K Championships in March and 20th at the USA 25K race last month, where he was runner-up in 2008.
Aside from Chesang, who also returns to Duluth, other men's favorites include Ernest Kebenei of Kenya, who has the fastest PR in field with his 1:01:50, Team USA Minnesota's Matt Gabrielson, the TCM runner-up who will race the IAAF World Championships Marathon later this summer, Ryan Meissen, the course record-holder at 1:04:19, and Mike Reneau, the third place finisher here in 2008.
The full elite men's startlist for the Bjorklund half is HERE.
The full women's startlist is HERE.
The top contenders in the women's race include Hyvon Ngetich of Kenya who has the fastest PR in the field at 1:09:45, compatriot Caroline Rotich, last year's runner-up, and Belainesh Gebre of Ethiopia.
Team USA Minnesota's Michelle Lilienthal is the top local contender.
The Duluth News-Tribune's Kevin Pates wrote about the Bjorklund Half yesterday, HERE.
Can Akor Three-Peat? ... Pates also has a story today about Mary Akor's attempt to match Lorraine Moller's feat of winning three-straight Grandma's Marathon titles. Moller won the race in 1979, 1980, and 1981, setting a course record that stood until 2003.
Read Pates' story HERE.
Pates also wrote a short piece about tonight's William A. Irvin 5K, HERE,
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