Minnesota Mile On Sunday

Sunday’s Minnesota Mile in downtown Duluth  elite division that features a $20,100 prize purse with the men’s and women’s winners each receiving $3,000, respectively.

The Minnesota Mile is the sixth and final stop on the inaugural Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour 2014. The total prize purse for the six Tour events exceeds $85,000 plus $7,500 for the Grand Prix purse. Per Tour event, per gender, the top 6 will score points (10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1) with the top 4 Grand Prix scorers earning GP money ($2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250). Team USA Minnesota’s Heather Kampf, “The Queen of the Road Mile,” has already secured the women’s BBTM GP Tour title, but the other Grand Prix positions will be decided at the Minnesota Mile.

Kampf, 27, of Minneapolis, holds three of the top ten women’s times in Minnesota Mile history. She claimed the title in 2012 (4 minutes, 36.5 seconds), and she placed second a year ago behind the course-record-setting performance from Gabriele Grunewald.

Kampf’s set her best mile mark of 4:21.39 on July 26 when she won at the Ryan Shay Mile. The former University of Minnesota standout won numerous mile races in 2013, including the Bermuda Mile, the Ryan Shay Mile, the Liberty Mile, and the Michigan Mile. Kampf will be challenged in Sunday’s women’s division by Sarah Brown (Solana Beach, Calif. – PR, 4:26.67) and Sara Vaughn (Boulder, Colo. – PR, 4:29.8).

Brown, 27, set her personal best time of 4:26.67 in winning Vancouver’s Harry Jerome Mile on July 10. She also won the 2013 TC 1 Mile in Minneapolis. Vaughn, 28, placed third (4:38.9) at last year’s Minnesota Mile behind Grunewald and Kampf.

On the men’s side, the top two in the Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour standings are registered and are among the favorites. Rob Finnerty, 24, of Burnsville, Minn., leads Jack Bolas, 26, by two points entering Sunday’s final Tour race.

In July, Finnerty won the Ryan Shay Mile in a personal record 3:56.98. On Aug. 22, he placed third (4:13) at the Michigan Mile, a race won by Bolas in 4:06.76. Bolas was third at the 2013 Minnesota Mile in 3:53.5, his personal best. Both Finnerty and Bolas ran for at the University of Wisconsin.

Other contenders include 2012 1500-meter Olympian Ciaran O’Lionaird from Ireland (PR, 3:52.10) and Americans Miles Batty (Cedar Park, Texas – PR, 3:54.54), Jake Edwards (Columbus, Ohio – PR, 3:58.09), Tommy Schmitz (Santa Barbara, Calif. – PR, 3:56.45) and Kampf’s Team USA Minnesota teammate Eric Finan (Minneapolis, Minn. – PR, 3:58.73).

Sunday’s races begin one block east of Fitger’s on Superior Street and finish past the Holiday Center. In addition to the elite race, the event includes races for children, recreational and semi-elite runners.

The Minnesota Mile offers runners a unique opportunity for citizen runners to secure a spot in next year’s Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, as 250 finishers will be randomly selected to receive guaranteed entries into the 2015 half marathon on June 20.

Registration for all divisions is conducted online at www.GrandmasMarathon.com. The pre-registration entry fee is $20 and late registration (September 6 and 7) is $30. The first 450 paid pre-registered entrants will receive a complimentary pair of Fitsok performance socks.

            Men's Elite Mile entrants:

Bib #                                                     PR

1          Jack Bolas     26                    3:53.5

2          Rob Finnerty  24                   3:56.98

3          Ciaran O’Lionaird  26           3:51.10

4          Miles Batty     27                  3:54.54

5          Tommy Schmitz 31               3:56.45

6          Jacob Edwards 26               3:58.09

7          Eric Finan  25                      3:58.73

8          Pat Fullerton  25                  3:58.8

9          Jonathan Peterson    25       4:00.54

10        Tom Scott 25                     3:59.9

11        Richard Kandie 29             3:53.70

12        Adam Currie  29                4:04.94

13        Seth Brickley 27                4:06.4

14        Aaron Easker 23                4:08.01

15        Edward Tabut 31               4:08.08

16        Sammy Rotich 27               4:13.63

17        Ismael Arzola 25                4:26.07

18        Tyler Hinrichs  27              4:19.57

19        Charlie Habermann 23       4:22.23

20        Elly Sang  23                     4:16.5

21        Lee Willis  41                    4.04.62

22        Joey Keillor  40                 4:13.3

23        Brandon Hudgins 27          4:01.64

Women's Elite Mile entrants:

Bib #                                               PR

31        Heather Kampf  27           4:21.39

32        Sarah Brown 27               4:26.67

33        Sara Vaughn 28               4:29.8

34        Christy Cazzola 29          4:33.97

35        Jessica Tebo  26             4:34.73

37        Neely Spence Gracey 24    4:48.81

38        Dawn Grunnagle 36        4:15.25 (1500m)

39        Ioana Citireag  25           4:27.44 (1500m)

40        Doreen Kitaka  30         4:46.7

41        Melissa Burkart 32         4:58.22

42        Breeda Willis 44             4:48.4

43        Katie McGee  41           5:09

44        Genet Gashie Beyene 19   4:41.52