Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Grab-Bag

Down the Backstretch has learned that the 28th Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon will take place this weekend! Really.

To keep readers up-to-date on important matters relating to the event which will host the USA Women's Marathon Championships, the USA Men's 10 Mile Championships, and the USA Masters Marathon Championships for men and women, we've collected the following news items.

Late Scratches ... Marathon week always brings some late scratches. TCM has lost the following athletes to illness or injury in recent days: Olympian Elva Dryer and Samia Akbar from the USA Women's Marathon field; Kenya James Rotich and Ethiopian Genna Tufa from the men's marathon field, and Josh Rohatinsky from the USA Men's 10 Mile field.

We're expecting updated startlists later today, which we'll post as soon as possible. We posted THIS story on the TCM elite fields last week.

The Home Team ... Team USA Minnesota has a large contingent in this year's TCM events. Michelle Lilienthal and Kristen Nicolini Lehmkuhle will compete in the USA Women's Marathon Championship. Lilienthal placed 4th at the 2006 USA Women's Marathon hosted by Twin Cities and has a PR of 2:35:51. Nicolini Lehmkuhle is making her debut in the marathon.

Former Gopher star Antonio Vega will compete in the men's marathon. This will be Vega's second attempt at the distance, having run his first marathon at Twin Cities in 2008 in 2:23:41.

Jason Lehmkuhle, Josh Moen and Patrick Smyth will be among the competitors in the USA Men's 10 Mile Championship. Lehmkuhle was the runner-up in the event in 2007. He and Moen are preparing for the USA Men's Marathon Championships in November in New York.

Meghan Armstrong will run the TC 5K.

Team USA Minnesota's TCM complete press release is HERE.

Higdon on Marathon ... Carleton College alum Hal Higdon, a contributing editor for Runner's World and the author of some 35 books, will discuss his brand new novel Marathon at 2:00 p.m. Friday and 1:00 p.m. Saturday at the Target Health & Fitness Expo and Packet Pick-up at the River Centre in St. Paul.

Higdon's first novel counts down the final 72 hours before a major Midwestern marathon. While the event itself is styled after the Chicago Marathon, Higdon's Minnesota background still works itself into the book. Several characters in the book run for a team based at "Northland College," located 40 miles from the Twin Cities. A women's favorite in the race is a Hmong from St. Paul.

The Kindle edition of the book is available now, HERE. The "dead-tree" version of the book is due to ship shortly.