Twin Cities to Announce Equalizer Time Today

Organizers of Sunday's Medtronic TC 10 Mile, which hosts the 2011 USA Men's and Women's 10 Mile Championships, are set to reveal the length of the head-start given to the race's elite women for the event's "Equalizer Bonus" which will award $10,000 to the USA Champion -- male or female -- who crosses the race's St. Paul finish line first.

The length of the handicap will be announced shortly after 12:30 p.m. today at the the media conference for the event and for the 30th Annual Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon to be held at the St. Paul riverCentre.

Twin Cities In Motion officials say the head start will be determined by " ... past Medtronic TC 10 Mile course results, as well as the outcomes from a number of Championship races and ten-mile records."

If the battle-of-the-sexes works out as planned, the USA Men's Champion will be kicking to catch the USA Women's champ on John Ireland Boulevard homestretch for the $10,000 bonus.

Note: Down the Backstretch will "tweet" the Equalizer time from the media conference as soon as it is announced. The information will be useful to Yes/No players, who can look for this week's contest post on the web-site around 1:30 p.m.