Team USA Minnesota Eyes Busy Week

Team USA Minnesota has a busy week of running ahead of it -- with five athletes competing in California and Jason Lehmkuhle headed to London.

Five Team USA Minnesota tracksters – Meghan Armstrong, Megan Hogan, Jamie Cheever, Emily Brown, and Chris Rombough – are set to compete at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, Cheever will compete in one of the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase events, while Brown is entered in a section of the women’s 10,000-meters.

Cheever has a steeplechase best of 10:11.2, set while at the University of Minnesota. Brown will be competing in the 10,000-meters on the track for the first time; she has run 34:00 on the road in the 10K.

On Friday, Armstrong and Hogan will run in a section of the women’s 5000-meters and Rombough will compete in one of the men’s 5000-meter events.

Armstrong has a best of 15:41.10 in the 5000, and Hogan has posted 16:09.54. Rombough has run 13:48.8 for the distance.

The 53rd annual event will be held at Hilmer Lodge Stadium, which is located on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College.

Lehmkuhle to London ... On Sunday, Team USA Minnesota’s Jason Lehmkuhle will be part of the deep international field at the Virgin London Marathon.

Lehmkuhle is seeking a fast time on the flat course that passes London landmarks and finishes at Buckingham Palace. He has a marathon best of 2:12:24 which he set at Boston in 2010 when he finished ninth overall.

“I wanted to get on a course that gave me the best chance to run in the 2:10 to 2:11 range and something that would more closely simulate the flatish course that the 2012 U.S. Trials will be run on,” Lehmkuhle told DtB earlier this month.

(Find the full DtB interview HERE.)

So far this year, Lehmkuhle has finished fifth at the USA Half Marathon Championships in January with a time of 1:02:49, was first in the Ohme 30K Road Race in Japan in February with a time of 1:32:08, and was 16th at the NYC Half Marathon in March with a time of 1:02:58.

Lehmkuhle has run marathons at Twin Cities, Chicago, New York and Boston and was a rabbit for a 2:11 pace group at the London Marathon in 2008. He finished fifth in the 2007 U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials and ninth in the 2004 Marathon Trials.

He plans to compete in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials, which will be held next January in Houston.

Live video coverage of the London Marathon will be shown HERE.