Ethiopian Olympic steeplechaser Nahom Tariku Mesfin and 2010 event
runner-up Sarah Brown (Atlanta, Ga.) highlight the final additions to the
professional fields of the Medtronic TC 1 Mile set for Thursday evening on
Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. The event, organized by Twin Cities In
Motion kicks off at 6:53 p.m.
with the first of seven waves of runners.
Twin Cities
In Motion has dedicated the event to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing,
dedicating 10% of each race entry to bombing victims and matching that amount in
an effort to raise $10,000 total. Runners and spectators are asked to wear blue
and yellow to the event – the signature colors of the Boston Marathon – and don
yellow “Runners Unite” ribbons to be provided at race registration and along the
course.
Mesfin, who
competed at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympic Games where he finished
12th, is one of five Olympians in the elite race. Joining him are fellow Olympians Nick Willis of New
Zealand, the Olympic silver-medalist at 1500 at the Beijing Games in 2008,
Kenya’s Boaz Lalang, a semifinalist at in Beijing, Canada’s
Nicole Sifuentes, a 1500-meter semifinalist at the London Games last
year, and Australia’s Gen LaCaze, who finished ninth in her heat of the steeplechase in the London Olympics. LaCaze. an Australian, who competed in the US for the University of Florida, gained a bit of social media notoriety in 2102 when she ran the Olympic A standard qualifying time two days after the deadline the Australia's Athletics federation. At first refused Olympic entry, LaCaze was put on the team by Australian Olympic Committee head John Coates after a social media campaign detailed her situation.
Brown, who
finished second in the 2010 Medtronic TC 1 Mile women’s race as Sarah Bowman,
returns to Minneapolis after finishing fourth at the USA 1 Mile Road
Championships in Des Moines, Iowa last month. Brown is a former NCAA Indoor
mile champion for Tennessee.
Also joining
the men’s field are 2012 Medtronic TC 1 Mile third-place finisher Scott Smith
(Flagstaff, Ariz.), Kenya’s Elly Sang, winner of the Azalea Trail 10K in
Mobile, Ala. earlier this spring, and former Rosemount High School star
Jordan Carlson. Late additions to the Medtronic TC 1 Mile women’s field
include 2012 Medtronic TC 1 Mile fourth-place finisher Kellyn Johnson
(Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Kenya’s Hannah Wanjiru, a member of Kenya’s world
title-winning team at the 2010 World Cross Country
Championships.
2012
Medtronic TC 1 Mile men’s runner-up Aaron Braun, previously slated to
race again this year, was a late scratch from the event.
The Medtronic TC 1 Mile is the fifth stop on the inaugural Bring Back the Mile Tour that includes 14 events and one end-of-the-year gala held across the country and throughout the year. This year’s Medtronic TC 1 Mile will feature the TC 1 Mile Derby, where spectators and citizen runners can draw the name of a professional athlete and win prizes if their runner wins.
Women’s
Professional Start List
7:51 p.m.
7:51 p.m.
Bib # Name Personal
Best
1
Heather Kampf 4:27.3
4
Nicole Sifuentes 4:29.33
5
Gen LaCaze 4:32.19
6
Phoebe Wright 4:28.76*
8
Jamie Cheever 4:39.5
9
Meghan Peyton 4:40.5
10
Ashley Miller 4:39.51
11
Kellyn Johnson 4:34.41
13
Elizabeth Yetzer 4:43.12
14
Clerc Simpson 4:42.20*
25
Andrea Rediger 4:53.27*
27
Sarah Brown 4:29.72
28
Laura Paulsen 4:51.74
29
Hannah Wanjiru - - -
Men’s
Professional Start List
8:03
p.m.
Bib
#
Name Personal Best
50
Craig Miller 3:56.41
51
Nick Willis 3:50.66
52
William Leer 3:56.39
53
Boaz Lalang 3:52.18
54 Jon
Peterson 4:00.05*
57
Garrett Heath 3:55.24
58
Scott Smith 4:06.9
59
Duncan Phillips 4:00.02
60
Craig Huffer 3:53.5
61
Mack McLain 4:02.70
62
Macklin Chaffee 3:58.80
80
Elly Sang 3:59.1
89
Jordan Carlson 4:03.81
90
Nahom Tariku Mesfin 4:01.34
* Denotes
converted 1500-meter performance
Video coverage of pre-race press conference;Heather Kampf is HERE.
Will Leer is HERE.
Interview with Twin Cities in Motion's Virginia Brophy Achman is HERE.
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