News: NCAA AOW/Region Rankings; MPR TCM Photos; MIAC AOW; HS Results; FloTrack rankings; Musa

NCAA Athletes of the Week HERE

NCAA DI Regional rankings HERE.

MPR TCM Photo Album is HERE.

MIAC male XC Athlete of the Week HERE, women HERE.

Gopher women win SDSU Classic HERE  and HERE.  The Blugold Invitational HERE.

Alexandria Lions Invitational results for boy's HERE, girl's HERE  Stillwater Gazette summary of the meet results for Stillwater HS runners is  HERE(boy's) and HERE(girl's).  Meet video is HERE.

Duluth News Tribune story on the Swain Invitational is HERE.

Perham Focus story on the Harrier Classic is HERE.

Sun Sailor story on the St Louis Park girls run at the Griak Invitational is HERE.

Sun Current report on Bloomington Kennedy's runner up finish in the boy's race at the Jefferson Jaguar All Terrain Challenge meet is HERE. Holy Angel's fifth place finish chronicled HERE. Story on Eden Prairie boy's win at the Eagle Invitational is HERE.

FloTrack DII women's individual rankings HERE, DIII men's rankings HERE.  DII women's team rankings HERE, DIII men's rankings HERE.

AP story on Mubarik Musa is HERE.

TC 10 Mile Familiar Faces: Photo Album by Gene Niemi

New Team USA Minnesota member Emily Gordon finished third in the
TC 10 Mile in 59:04.  Photo by Gene Niemi

Eric Finan(200) and Joe Moore(010) placed 3rd in 48:46 and 2nd in 48:40,
respectively, in the TC 10 Mile men's race. Photo by Gene Niemi

New Team USA Minnesota team member  Gina Valgoi(20002) finished 4th
in 59:13 and former Team USA Minnesota team member Katie McGregor, who was
2nd in 57:46. Photo by Gene Niemi

Local Finishers at TCM: Gene Niemi Photo Album

Lisa Schenk, who finished in 4:00:12 and her cheerleader. Photo by
Gene Niemi

TCTC's Liz Herndon, who finished sixth in the women's race in 2:39:18
trailed by Jeanette Faber(100), who won the 2012 TCM women's race.
Heather Cappello(111) finished 13th in 2:43:07. Photo by Gene
Niemi

Erik Hanson who finished 26th in the men's race in 2:28:05.
Photo by Gene Niemi

Andrea Rediger(120), just past halfway, placed 15th in 2:49:45.
She's being targeted by Claudia Becque(115) who was fifth in 2:39:12.
Photo by Gene Niemi

Boy's HS Class A XC Rankings

STATE CROSS COUNTRY COACHES’ ASSOCIATION 

CLASS A RANKINGS

October 6th

TEAMS                      

1.       Martin County West                      

2.       Glencoe/Silver Lake                  

3.       Holy Family Catholic                    

4.       Waseca                                   

5.       Mora                                          .

6.       Perham                           

7        Holdingford                               

8.       St. Cloud Cathedral                 

9.       Lake City                                   

10.     Minnehaha Academy                     

11.     Canby/Minneota/LinHI                      

12      LaCrescent                             

INDIVIDUALS
1.       Shane Streich        Waseca
2.       Ephraim Bird         Minnehaha Academy
3.       Isaac Overmyer     Park Rapids
4.       Andrew Zachman  Holdingford
5.       Mike Destache      St. Paul Academy
6.       Connor Schank     Howard Lake/Waverly/W
7.       Tyler Johnson        St. Cloud Cathedral
8.       John Roth             Lake Crystal/WM
9.       Zack Emery          LaCrescent
10.     Zach Carlson        Royalton
11.     Billy Bessman       Perham
12.     Ben Burgett          Willmar Comm. Christian

                   

Girl's HS Class A XC Rankings

STATE CROSS COUNTRY COACHES’ ASSOCIATION 

CLASS A RANKINGS

October 6th

TEAMS                        

1.       Trinity of River Ridge            

2.       Annandale                            

3.       Lac Qui Parle Valley-DB                        

4.       Waseca                             

5.       Fairmont                                  

6.       Perham                                 

7.       Dover-Eyota                                      

8.       St. Paul Academy               

9.       Lanesboro/Fillmore Cent.        

10.     Holdingford                             

11.     Roseau                                     

12.     Martin County West                

 INDIVIDUALS  
1.       Emily Donnay                  EdenValley-Watkins/K
2.       Theresa Mueller              Trinity of River Ridge
3.       Madison Schandelmeier   Luverne Area
4.       Alaysia Freetly                 Lac Qui Parle Valley-DB
5.        Mary Naas                     St. Paul Academy
6.        Beth Stevermer              United South Central
7.       Janessa Meulener            Belle Plaine
8.       Kayla Huhnerkoch          Redwood Valley Area
9.       Anna Donnay                 Eden Valley-Watkins/K
10.     Tierney Winter                WEM-JWP
11.     Elizabeth Schlafke           Annandale
12.     Maria Eastman                Holy Family Catholic

Girl's HS Class AA XC Rankings

Girl's Class AA Cross Country Rankings – October 6

1 Willmar                                          

2 Wayzata 

3 Edina                                                                                               

4 Minnetonka                                  

5 Forest Lake                                   

6 Eden Prairie                                                 

7 East Ridge                     

8 Eagan                                                 

9 Marshall                                         

10 Bemidji                                         

11 Lakeville South                                         

12 Chaska   

Others receiving votes:  Moorhead, St Michael Albertville, Duluth East, Totino Grace

Individuals

1    Megan Hasz, 11                                         Alexandria  

2    Bethany Hasz, 11                                      Alexandria 
3    Jenna Truedson, 12                                 Bemidji        

4    Rachel King, 11                                          St Michael-Albertville  

5    Emily Covert, 8                                         Mpls Washburn 

6    Anna French, 12                                        Wayzata   

7   Jasmyn Armstrong , 8                              Red Wing                           

8   Tess Misgen, 10                                          Shakopee

9   Emma Benner,  10                                     Forest Lake       

10  Annika Lerdall, 10                                   Wayzata  

11 Anastasia Korzenowski, 10                   Chanhassen   

12 Lizzy Heil, 10                                         St Michael-Albertville  

 Others receiving votes:  Claire Boersma, 10  Marshall; Emily Betz, 12 East Ridge; Maria Berg, 11 New Prague; Hannah Oscarson, 11, Mpls Washburn; Michaela Keller-Miller, 11  Wayzata; Anna Van Wyk, 12 Eagan

TCM News and Notes: Watch Your Finish; Barres; Pit Stops: Bersagel;

Want to see yourself finish the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, KARE 11 has downloaded it's streaming video of the race in 15 minute increments so you can see yourself HERE.

Connecticut's Spyros Barres achieved his goal of breaking 2:40 for the marathon on Sunday.  He also was the first 50+ Masters finisher running 2:38:48 to nip 50-year -old Ricardo Maldonado by 13 seconds and 52 year old John Van Danaker by 1:20.  "We ran together for most of the race," said Barres who added another milestone to his comeback from Crohn's Disease

What's with the "pit stops" this weekend?  Melissa Gacek wins women's Lakefront Marathon despite two pit stops HERE.

Feature on 2013 Medtronic TC Marathon woman's winner, Annie Bersagel, is HERE.

Peterson and Mendez Win TC 10 Titles

Jon Peterson and his bike escort. Photo by Gene Niemi

Team USA's Jon Peterson defended his title in the Medtronic TC 10 Mile in 48:12 and Rogue Athletic Club's(Austin, TX) Allison Mendez won the women's title in 56:27.  Peterson took the lead at about two and a half miles after the second hill, he said, and kept rolling to the finish. The goal going in wasn't to run fast, Peterson added, just to win.  He still came within six seconds of his PR for the distance.

Allison Mendez on Summit Avenue. Photo by Gene Niemi

Mendez came to the race at the urging of her RAC teammate Scott MacPherson, who is running the marathon, and "the weather," she said.  Start time temps in the mid 30s with a minimal tail wind made for near perfect conditions, Mendez said.  She cruised to the win more than a minute in front of former Team USA Minnesota runner Katie McGregor, who finished second in 57:46.  Current Team USA "newbies," Emily Gordon(59:05) and Gina Valgoi(59:13) debuted in third and fourth, respectively.

Mendez is in her second year as a pro, still trains under her college coach Steve Sisson, who used to be the women's coach at the University of Texas.  She also works as a nanny to three boys aged 10, 8, and 5 and as a medical technician.  She plans to debut in the marathon at the US Olympic trials in LA in 2016 having qualified by running 1:13:47 at the Philadelphia Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon in 2013.

Piers Has Lost Her Basketball Skills, but not Her Running Prowess

Woman's Masters winner Sheri Piers heads downhill
to the finish. Photo by Gene Niemi

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon women's Masters winner Sheri Piers gives credit to her friend Kristin Barry for introducing her to running.  The Maine duo finished first and third in the Masters competition on Sunday.  For Piers it was her third US and Twin Cities title and her second consecutive win.  As in the open women's race, Piers' route to the title was not without drama.

Women's open race winner Ester Erb and  Piers each found themselves searching for a port-a-potty around mile 20.  Like Erb, Piers didn't lose much time on the potty break. "Do I have time to go to the bathroom?" Piers asked her boyfriend.  He gave her the OK and Piers won the race by more than three minutes finishing in 2:42:44.  "While the goal was to win the Masters," said Piers.  "I still wanted to finish in the top ten." She finished twelfth.

Not bad for a self professed lover of her first sport, basketball.  She had run in high school, but stopped during college only to take it up at the behest of Barry. An empty water bottle tempted her to try her shooting skills as she tossed it toward the garbage can.  "Air ball," she said.  The basketball skills may no longer be there, and one reason she enjoys running is that unlike basketball, you can compete in running at a high level no matter what your age.

She returns regularly to the Twin Cities race "because the people here are so nice. They recognize the Masters."  The elite Masters are treated with the same respect as the open winners, Piers said, holding the bouquet of flowers given to both the Open and Masters winners.  Age is not an obstacle in running, Piers says.  You can compete in running throughout your life.  While basketball may be the preserve of youth, running is for everybody, she said.

Mbarak Hussein Proves He's Still the Master and Soon to be a Father

Mbarak Hussein finishing win number five.
Copyright Competitive Image 2014
All Rights Reserved

Mbarak Hussein, 49 years young,  won his fifth Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Masters title and US Masters Marathon Championship.  More importantly, he had to rush home as his wife appears to be ready to give birth to the couple's first child, nine days early.

Hussein will undoubtedly teach the child patience, a virtue that has served his father well in his long career.  Hussein set off on Sunday in hopes that he could get a qualifying time for the US Olympic Marathon Trials.  For awhile he thought he might be going out too fast because he could see the lead pack not that far in front of him.  Either they were going too slow or he was going too fast, he said.  Turns out the young guys in the pack were going too slow.

Hussein wasn't concerned with their race tactics, however, he had the dual challenge of being able to outrun two other  younger, faster Masters, Kevin Castille and Michael Wardian.  Castille was looking for an Olympic Trials qualifying time, but he couldn't handle the pace.  While he was in front of Hussein for much of the race, Hussein caught and passed by 20 miles and the real threat came from Wardian, who had gone out about a minute slower through the half marathon, but was picking up ground as the race unfolded.  By 24 miles he was only 26 seconds back of Hussein.

When the pair approached 25 miles an official called out: "first Master," to Hussein, followed shortly afterward by "second Master."  Wardian cringed.  He saw Hussein pick up the pace in recognition that somebody behind him was closing on him.  "I wasn't going to turn around to look until after I got to the top of the last hill," said Hussein.  When he did he saw Wardian and accelerated again, timing it going around a a corner and, for a short time, "invisible" and out of contact with Wardian..

Wardian knew his chance to catch Hussein by surprise was gone.  He kept trying to close, but the moment had passed.  Hussein had "sprinted," he said, around that  corner to deliver the psychological blow of being out of sight.  While he had slowed down over the last half, there was still fuel in the tank and Hussein used it to win the Masters title by 18 seconds.

Always patient, Hussein had kept a reserve in case he needed it.  He needed all of it to hold off Wardian's challenge.  After the race, Hussein could only hope that his first child would have a little patience as well and not rush his entry into the world before his father could get there to see it.

Gene Niemi's TCM Photo Album

Esther Erb and Meghan Peyton next to Lake Harriet. Photo by Gene Niemi

Esther Erb anticipating the finish passing
the St. Paul Cathedral. Photo by Gene Niemi

The men's lead pack around Lake Harriet. Photo by Gene Niemi

The "gang of seven"--men's lead pack at mile 17.5. Photo by Gene Niemi

Tyler Pennel passing the James J Hill house, approaching the long downhill to
the finish on Summit Avenue with victory in sight. Photo by Gene Niemi

Pennel Wins His Debut

Tyler Pennel celebrates his victory. Copyright Competitive Image 2014.  All
Rights Reserved.

Tyler Pennel hit the trifecta on Sunday as he finished first in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in 2:13:32.  Since it was the ZAP Fitness runner's debut marathon he is undefeated in the marathon, and he set a PR. Since the event was also the 2014 US marathon championship Pennell also won a place on the US team that will compete in the IAAF World Championships in Beijing in 2015.

It wasn't easy.  As he put on his sweats after the race he was fighting off leg cramps and the physiological residue of his effort.  "I have never hurt this much after a race,"  Pennel said. One reason for the hurt might have been that he ran the last half of the race nearly two minutes faster than the first, splitting 1:07:48 for the first half, and 1:05:50 coming home on the most difficult, uphill half of the race.

His strategy was not based on time, but rather to win. Pennel wanted to stay relaxed through 20 miles, so it was up to others to push the pace, which they did.  Both runner up Jared Ward and third-place finisher Scott Smith said they felt "antsy" about the slow early pace and the large pack that stuck together. A group of eight that was together at the halfway mark only dropped one person in the next seven miles, so Smith decided to "put in a hard mile to cut down the crowd"  at mile 20.  The race was on. Smith and Pennel surged to the front and quickly gapped the field. Then Pennel ramped up the pace even more and Smith fell off and was caught and passed by Ward.

Pennel and Smith make the break.  Copyright Competitive Image 2014
All Rights Reserved.

Nobody was going to catch Pennel.  "Tyler and Jared were just stronger than me today," said Smith.  With PRs of 13:40 for 5K, 28:30 for 10K, and 1:01:44 for the half marathon, Pennel said after winning his first attempt at the marathon that: "I think it(the marathon) may be my best distance.  He's a late comer to the sport as his first race was a half marathon with his dad when he was a sophomore in high school.  Pennel beat his dad in that race and that sparked his interest in the sport.

He ran cross country in high school, but didn't really blossom as a runner until he went to college at Western State Colorado University, a choice he made because "they were the only one's who offered me any (scholarship) money."  He was an eleven time All American, took second in NCAA DII XC championships and won an NCAA DII 10K title on the track in 2012.

Pennel's progress has been steady, and he may have found his event, but he doesn't plan on running any more marathons until Beijing.  The 2015 World Championships won't be his first time going against international competition.  Pennel  finished 33rd at this year's IAAF Half Marathon championships in 1:02:20 after setting his PR by placing fourth in the US Half Marathon Championships in January.

Esther Erb Wins Marathon National Championship

Ester Erb celebrates her National Championship. Photo by Competitive Image.
Copyright Competitive Image 2014. All Rights Reserved.

Esther Erb sat in the media tent with the American flag draped over her body.  Since the tent was heated and she'd just finished running 26.2 miles, Erb wasn't huddling under the flag for warmth, it was as if she had to hold it close to her to believe that she fulfilled her goal of being the US Marathon Champion and had booked her ticket to represent the US in the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing.

"I've had my eye on making a US team for a long time,"  Erb said.  She noted that she joined ZAP Fitness, a US development team in North Carolina whose current members include this year's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon men's winner and US men's marathon champion Tyler Pennel, because the team was set up to help athletes win US championships and represent the US in international competition.  That goal is shared by her current club, the New York Athletic Club, which is located closer to Erb's home in New Jersey.

It surprised Erb that more US women had not come to Twin Cities this year to attempt to book a ticket to Beijing, but she also knew that while the others were off chasing times and/or cash incentives offered by other races, her chances for achieving her goal increased.  It didn't help her nerves, however.  "I hardly slept at all last night," she said.  Erb estimated she had only five hours of shut eye Saturday night and Sunday morning.

"I was thinking about the race," she said.  Her goal was to win, but she also knew that the field was pretty well balanced.  There was no obvious favorite with all the contenders having similar personal bests.  To take her mind off that seemingly daunting challenge, Erb said, she set a "very random goal."  She "wanted to run the last mile in 5:45."  She ended up running it in 5:31, she said..

Erb had run in third place for almost all of the race, noting that the temperatures were a bit too cold for her body as her perceived effort did not match her mile splits.  Erb never lost sight of the leaders, however, but as she was approaching the 20 mile mark, another problem surfaced.  Erb had to make a "pit stop."

She scoured the landscape for a spot she could jump off the course and take a quick bathroom break, but couldn't find one, so she had to wait until she found a port-a-potty along the course.  The pit stop cost her about 30 seconds, she said, but when she got back on the course and resumed pursuit of the two women in front of her,  Heather Lieberg and Breanna Nelson, she noticed she was making up ground, probably about five seconds a mile, she estimated.

Erb takes the lead.Copyright Competitive Image 2014. All Rights Reserved 

By mile 25 she caught and passed the pair and launched into her pre-race plan of finishing strong. Erb finished eight seconds in front of Lieberg and 22 in front of Nelson in 2:34:00.  Coming down the stretch, she said: "Once I saw the clock I thought maybe I can  get under 2:34," but she barely missed it.  That didn't disappoint her too much because her primary objective was achieved, she would be running for the red, white, and blue.

When asked when she became so patriotic, Erb said it was when she was studying abroad.  She attended school in Germany and Austria and had an offer to stay in Austria and potentially run for the Austrian team in future international competition.  "I thought about it," Erb said.  "But if I get up there(on the awards stand at an international championship event) and they were playing the Austrian national anthem..."  It wouldn't seem right.

Is she aiming for Rio in 2016?  Erb said her times weren't fast enough yet for that to be a realistic goal, but if she keeps improving and her times drop she'd like nothing more than a chance to be standing on the awards stand at the Olympic Trials in 2016 listening to the US national anthem being played.

Mbarak Hussein and Sheri Piers Defend Medtronic US Masters Championships; Spyros Barres Runs under 2:40

The ageless ones, Mbarak Hussein and Sheri Piers, defended their US and Medtronic TCM titles on Sunday.  Hussein ran 2:22:26 and Piers 2:42:46.  Finishing eighth among the Masters, first 50-year-old, Spyros Barres achieved his goal of breaking 2:40, in 2:38:48.

For Hussein there is a second race.  After he finished running, he was informed that his wife might be going into labor with the couple's first child, so the TCM travel staff and Hussein huddled over a computer in the media tent trying to find a flight to get him home in time for the birth. Hussein was confident he'd make it home on time, as the baby's due date was not for another nine days. But it appears that the baby may have other ideas about when to enter the world.

Update: Pennel and Erb Outrun the Field at the Medtronic TCM, Are US Champions

Esther Erb breaks the tape. Copyright Competitive Image 2014. All Rights Reserved

Tyler Pennel And Esther Erb, former teammates at ZAP Fitness, now have something else in common, they are Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon  and US champions.  By winning the US championships both qualified to run in next year's IAAF World Championships in Beijing.  Pennel, in his debut marathon, ran 2:13:33 to take the men's titles.  Erb ran 2:34:00.

Tyler Pennel being interviewed by Carrie Tollefson

Half Way for the Men

Men's pack at the halfway mark of the TC Marathon

TCM and TC 10 Mile Info

For the latest info on race times, etc. go to the Medtronic TCM website HERE.

USATF live TV and Internet coverage will be HERE.

ESPN Radio 1500 will have radio coverage of the marathon

KARE 11 will have a live stream of the marathon finish at KARE11.com

News: Swain Meet Results; ND Invite Blue Men's 5K Video; NCAA Weekend Wrap Up; TCM 10K and 5K Results

Duluth Swain Meet results are HERE.

FloTrack video of the Notre Dame Invitational Blue men's 5K is HERE.

USTFCCCA NCAA Weekend wrap up HERE

TCM 10K results are HERE.  5K results are HERE.

Spyros Barres Takes on More than the Marathon Distance on Sunday

Spyros Barres conquers more than the
distance he runs

Runners love challenges.  Some challenges, however, can be more difficult than others.  In January of 1999, Spyros Barres was faced with a big one.  One of the top Masters runners in his home state of Connecticut, Barres began experiencing the symptoms of what was later diagnosed as Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that attacks the stomach.

There is no cure for Crohn's disease.  It is not known what causes it..  For Barres it left in its wake a ten year struggle to manage the disease, to attempt to get back to a "normal " life.  He tried acupuncture, diet changes, even eating pig worms in an attempt to control the most severe symptoms: loss of appetite, rectal bleeding, 20 pounds or more weight loss, fatigue.

When none of these worked, Barres had surgery, an ileostomy.  His colon was removed.  He wears a colostomy bag to manage his fecal waste.  None of which sounds either pleasant or common for an athlete who still wants to test his limits.  But the operation worked.  His weight is back to normal.  He's running, training, and competing at a level near where he was before the disease forced him into a ten year hiatus from competitive running.

He returned to his childhood sport of soccer to stay in shape during his struggle to manage the disease, never giving up hope that one day he would return to running, to competing at a high level. In hindsight, he says, he should have had the operation sooner, but he feared that it would permanently leave him disabled, unable to engage in activities he had considered normal.

It was in researching the outcomes of the operation and recovery and the lack of results from any other mode of treatment that made him finally submit to the surgery.  Olympic swimmers, other high functioning athletes, have Crohn's, and after the operation were able to return to their sports.  So has Barres.  "I don't even think about it unless someone reminds me, talks about it," says Barres of his disease.  He's back to winning races, running near or at the speeds he did before he was stricken.  This Sunday he is attempting to run under 2:40 for the marathon.

His best marathon time is  2:32, which he ran when he was in his early 30s.  After his operation he has run shorter races at or near 5:22 per mile pace.  He ran Boston this year, again with the goal of breaking 2:40, but it didn't happen.  Bad race.  "I should have been able to do that at Boston," he says.  So he regrouped and has set his sites on achieving that goal at Twin Cities.

"I've always been an optimist, always had a hopeful attitude," Barres says.  While he can't "cure" the disease he can at least manage it, he says.  People who didn't know about his disease, wouldn't know his has Crohn's, he says.  Even if he was "wearing a Speedo, you wouldn't notice," he says.  He's had three and a half years of recovery, of successfully managing his condition.  He works at his job in real estate, managing properties, trains, does short races, even ultras.

Barres is determined not to let the disease control his life, limit what he can achieve.  And, he says with a smile, that his operation has left him with one "advantage" over other runners: "I don't have to make a pit stop" on long runs.  As a 50+ year old, Barres will take any advantage he can get, but he won't give up.  There are miles to go and goals to achieve.  On Sunday, he hopes to achieve at least one of them.

News: Notre Dame Invitational; Blugold Invite; Pittsburgh 10; TCM; Keto Adaptation; Onion App

Mounds Park Academy grad Mason Ferlic leads Michigan team to a win in the team competition at the Notre Dame Invitational winning the individual 5 Mile race in 23:15.7.  Cretin-Derham Hall grad Kevin Docherty was Iowa's fourth man, finishing 114th in 24:39.2. Post race interview with Ferlic is HERE.

Michigan team, Notre Dame Invitational Blue race Champs

UMD women finish third at Notre Dame Invitational women's 5K Gold race, second DII team.  Team race was won by NCAA DII top ranked women's team Grand Valley State.  UMD's Samatha Rivard fourth in 16:55.9, nine seconds behind the winner.  Teammate Breanna Colberson 18th in 17:19.6  Full results for all the races are HERE..

UW Eau Claire Blugold Invitational results are HERE(men) and HERE(women)

Team USA Minnesota's Jon Grey and Jon Peterson will run the men's race and new team members Emily Gordon and are in the women's race of the EQT Pittsburgh 10 Miler n November 9.  Story HERE.

USATF preview of the USARC Marathon Championships that are part of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon HERE. More on the top contenders for US titles this weekend HERE. Sunday's race will be televised live on the Internet on USATF.TV  HERE.

Research shows the "keto adaptation" is a key element in utilizing fat as fuel during endurance events is HERE.

The Onion introduces a new exercise app HERE.

News: Urick; Mara Olson; HS Results; Recruiting

Minnesota Daily story on Kaila Urick is HERE.

Running Times profiles the Butler University team, which includes Minnesotan Mara Olson HERE.

Blaine Invitational results are HERE(boy's blue race), HERE(boy's white race), HERE(girl's blue), HERE(girl's white).

Thundering Royal Elk Invitational HERE(boy's) and HERE(girl's)

Rosemount boy's and girl's teams after Ev Berg Invitational

Ev Berg Invitational results are HERE

Lewiston-Altura Ole Olmstead Invitational results are HERE(boy's) and HERE(girl's)

Litchfield Invitational results are HERE.

Worthington Daily Globe summary of the Cardinal Invitational is HERE and the I-90 XC Meet HERE

Park Rapids Enterprise summary and partial results from John Hermes Invitational are HERE.

Running Times Guide to the college recruiting process is HERE.

Jack Moran's Dream

Jack Moran remembers vividly watching the sun rise above the horizon in downtown Minneapolis on the morning of October 3, 1982.  He still gets choked up thinking about it.  It was the birth of the Twin Cities Marathon and it's not an exaggeration to say that there probably would not be a Twin Cities Marathon if not for Moran.

Before Twin Cities race was launched in 1982 the concept of having an event that united the two "twins" was just that, a concept. One that inspired many emotions.  The City of Lakes Marathon, first run in 1963 and won by Minnesota Olympian Ron Daws, was run entirely in Minneapolis.  In 1981 Garry Bjorklund and his partners at GBS Sports created a St. Paul Marathon that was run entirely in St. Paul.  The two events were run within a week of one another, said Moran, who had just been elected as president of the MDRA, which put on the City of Lakes race.

Why not join the two together, Moran thought.  He would eventually have a two heart logo that represented the theory--Minneapolis to St. Paul, heart-to-heart--on a route he would later crisen "the Most Beautiful Urban Mararthon." But in 1981 that concept, let alone a race, was a dream.  Transforming that dream into reality was, itself, a marathon.

Despite opposition from the MDRA Board, Moran envisioned a Twin Cities event that would unite the two competing cities' marathons    Moran first proposed the idea to the MDRA Board.  When they didn't embrace it, he told Bruce Brothers, who was a columnist for the Star Tribune, writing the paper's running column.  Brothers mentioned the idea in his column and Marilyn Carlson Nelson, who was involved with Scandinavia Today, a group that promoted Scandinavia in the US, liked the idea.

Scandinavia Today became the dream marathon's first sponsor. Nelson agreed to fund airfares for some Scandinavian elites to run the race.  Perhaps by fate, Denmark's Allan Zachariasen would win the race for the first two years.  Moran sent out a dozen other sponsorship proposals, but didn't any interest.  All he was able to negotiate was an agreement from a printing company to donate the entry forms.

Moran wanted Minneapolis attorney Martin "Skip" Burke to be the race director, but Burke was litigating a big case and couldn't spare the time.  Thus,  in addition to being the event's founder and fundraiser, Moran was the race director as well.  Another lawyer, Dick Rohleder, and Minneapolis councilman Mark Kaplan helped Moran get the necessary permits and get support from both the St. Paul and Minneapolis Athletic Clubs.  Minnesota House member Phyllis Kahn helped get State support for the event.

This was not a smooth process. The St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department had been a major supporter of the St. Paul Marathon and was not ready to give it up for a Twin Cities event because, if nothing else, the fact that things that involved both cities or were in fact held in St. Paul and not Minneapolis invariably were listed in news accounts as being in Minneapolis.  But Rohleder happened to be an attorney for then St. Paul Mayor George Latimer, who liked the idea of a Twin Cities event that finished in St. Paul

A couple of demands had to be met, however.  First, half the course had to be run in St. Paul and the host hotels for the race had to alternate--one year in Minneapolis, the next in St. Paul, said Moran.  So, the original course, that neither starts nor finishes in the same spot as today's TCM, crossed into St. Paul on the Lake Street Bridge and wound into St. Paul through Highland Park, taking Edgcumbe Road up Jefferson and on to Lexington Avenue to intersect with  Summit Avenue.

Moran mapped out the route using a piece of string and a Twin Cities map, getting surprisingly close to the correct distance using these "low tech" tools.  This route, as well as the finish in downtown St. Paul had many churches on it, however, and the pastors of those churches were not happy to have street closures that inconvenienced their parishioners.  Moran and the race organization tried to work with the churches, in one case ushering those going to church across the street in downtown St. Paul so they could get to the church, but that wasn't enough.

An ulterior motive also played into the solution.  Moran had wanted the race to go down Summit Avenue all the way to the from St. Thomas University to the State Capitol, but they didn't have the clout they attained by being such a success in attracting runners and revenue into the Twin Cities on marathon weekend. So, when the alternate route which took the runners up to the Franklin Avenue Bridge and along the East River Blvd to Summit became both the solution to the Church issue and the course Moran had envisioned.

That's getting ahead of the story, however,  as we left it that, as yet, the proposed event had no major sponsors.  Enter Larry Haeg Jr., who worked for WCCO radio.  The station had a Sunday morning radio show on running and Haeg thought a Twin Cities Marathon was a great idea.  He sold the station on the notion of being the event's official radio sponsor.  At that time WCCO, an AM channel, was one of the most powerful radio stations in the US.  It reached audiences far beyond the Minnesota borders in an era when there was no Internet.

So when 'CCO came on board and started promoting the event, the then chairman of Pillsbury heard about it mentioned one day while listening to the radioin his car on the way to work.  He thought it would be a good fit for the company and the Twin Cities Marathon had it's major sponsor.  Jack Moran's dream became a reality.  The rest, as they say, is history.

News: NCAA Rankings for Teams and Individuals; HS Results; Mayo Clinic Sports Med Center

NCAA DII national rankings are HERE. DIII national rankings are HERE.

NCAA DI individual rankings for women are HERE. DII individual women's rankings HERE.

NCAA DIII individual rankings for men are HERE, women HERE

Stillwater Gazette story on the Stillwater girl's win at the Prior Lake Invitational is HERE. and the boy's team performance at the Griak Invitational HERE.

Duluth News Tribune partial results from the Glen Ritschke Memorial meet are HERE.

Trinity Invitational results are HERE(boy's), and HERE(girl's)

STMA Invitational results are HERE.

Becker Invitational results are HERE.

Mayo Clinic opens Sports Medicine Center in Block E in downtown Minneapolis HERE.

Annie Bersagel Talks About Her Marathon Breakthrough at the 2013 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon

Annie Bersagel accepting the NCAA Woman of
the Year Award for 2006

Last year's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon women's champion, Anne Golden "Annie" Bersagel has Minnesota roots.  She was a member of Team USA Minnesota until she was "lured" to Norway on a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue a graduate degree in peace and conflict studies at the University of Oslo.  She met her husband there, who shares her passion for running, only he does his in the mountains.  Bersagel is running the TCS New York City Marathon next month as another step in her ultimate goal of attempting to qualify for the US Olympic team in 2016.  After completing a trip to the US and Canada for her job as a consultant for  KLP Asset Management, she took time out after her return home to Olso to answer a few questions about last year's Twin Cities race, her recent PRs in the half marathon and marathon, and her goals for the NYCM. 

Down the Backstretch:  What was the impact of the win at Twin Cities last year?  Was it a major boost for you or merely a step in the right direction for your career?

Annie Bersagel: That race was a major breakthrough.  I had always believed that the marathon would be my event, but before Twin Cities I never seemed to quite figure it out. It was a major boost.

DtB:  You had several more “breakthrough” performances this year with a 13^th place finish in the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in a PR of 1:10:09, then the Dusseldorf Marathon where you set yet another PR and of 2:28:59.  Can you first talk about the IAAF race?  What your goals were going in.  How the race unfolded, and what you took away from that performance.  What you learned, how it impacted your next objective(Dusseldorf).

AB: My goal going into the World Half Championships was to finish in the top 20. The race in Copenhagen was just one of those great experiences where I knew I was going to PR, and the question was just: by how much? I only started feeling really tired in the last couple kilometers. You just have to savor races like that. After that, I knew I was in shape to run a PR in Dusseldorf.

DtB: Dusseldorf.  I suspect one of the goals was breaking 2:30.  Why did you choose Dusseldorf and how did the race unfold?  You negative split it running 1:15.02 for the first half.  Was that what you hoped to hit the half in or do you run more by how you feel than chasing certain split times?

AB: I chose Dusseldorf primarily because of the timing for the World Half Marathon Championships. That it was a flat and fast course with a short travel time from Oslo didn’t hurt either. I had a rabbit — great guy named Yilmaz — who helped me through the first half.  I had been sick in the weeks before the race and really did not know where I was going to end up. I thought that if I took a shot at 2:30 and blew up, at least I would walk away having given it a serious try.  Any slower than that and I would probably be trailing the elite field from the gun.

DtB:  Aside from winning international races, you also have a “day job.” How do you manage two high stress professions?  What do your co workers think about your aspirations, accomplishments as a marathoner?  Is it even something that gets talked about much at “the office?”

AB: Since April, I’ve been working as an advisor in responsible investments for KLP Asset Management. I am lucky to work on a regular and fairly predictable schedule, so I can generally plan my training in advance without worrying about staying at the office through the evening to finish an assignment that lands on my desk at 5 PM. It is not nearly as stressful as, for example, a big law position at a US firm. 

Also, it would be an understatement to say that my colleagues at KLP in general have an above average interest in endurance sports. The head of responsible investments just completed her first Ironman and more colleagues than I can count compete in biking,  running, cross country skiing, and even water skiing in their free time. So moonlighting as a professional runner has not been a disadvantage at all, and the highlights sometimes end up on the company intranet!

DtB:  The perception of most people is that this sort of mix would be very difficult to do well.  Yet one job is pretty cerebral, while the other is very physical.  The major issue would seem to be time management.  What is a typical day like—if there is such a thing as a “typical day?”  Do the two professions compliment one another in that you can escape some of the stress of one activity by doing the other?  Is it part of a life balance philosophy than a job choice situation? 

AB: Yes, I think they are complementary, and you’re right in that it is all about planning ahead.  I run before and after work and spend most of my weekends training and recovering.  That doesn’t leave a lot of social time, but my husband and many of my closest friends are runners, so we catch up with each other while training together. 

 I love my work and enjoy having something to strive for outside of running, but it’s not as if running would cover the bills either, so calling it a philosophical decision is a bit of a stretch. I am, however, lucky to have an interesting and challenging job that is also compatible with running, and I couldn’t ask for a more supportive workplace.   

DtB: In other stories about your recent success, it’s reported that you are considering cutting back on your work as a consultant after your current contract expires in June of 2015 to devote more time to your ultimate running goal, making the US Olympic team.  What factors will you be “weighing” in making that decision?

AB:  At this point, I don’t have anything lined up for when my contract with KLP expires. Whether I will continue working with KLP on a reduced schedule, run full time, or begin working somewhere else really depends on what KLP wants, and on whether I am able to find a sponsorship before then. My husband has already let me know in no uncertain terms that he thinks I wouldn’t be easy to live with if I didn’t do something else with my time besides train for the marathon!

DtB:  Your husband, Øyvind  Helberg Sundby, is a mountain runner.  You’ve done some mountain runs.  Is that part of your training—something that helps in your prep for flat land marathons--or just something you do with him?

AB: I leave the mountain running to him.  Øyvind grew up in a little town on the side of a mountain emerging from the fjord, so mountain running is in his blood. The only “mountain” race I will do is an asphalt hill climb to a lookout point in Oslo, Grefsenkollen.  These mountain races in Norway are extremely steep and technical.  I know my limits!

DtB:  Did the NYC invite come after the IAAF WCs?  After Dusseldorf? 

AB: After Dusseldorf.  I have had the TCS NYC Marathon in the back of my mind for a while though. Remember that from a Norwegian perspective, there is no marathon bigger than New York.  

DtB:   New York is not a PR course or known as one where you go to run fast.  So, are your goals in that event more to finish high in the standings than to attempt to lower your PR?  The weather conditions weren’t great in Dusseldorf, so you can obviously run faster, but your approach to racing the marathon seems to be to go out conservatively and finish strong—a strategy easier said than done.  Do you take a gamble of going with the lead pack if their pace isn’t too fast or do you stick with what’s worked for you in the past?

AB: I can’t really say at this point, but you’re right in that time is less important — at least in terms of personal records. You’ve given me a few ideas to chew on here though.

DtB: In your blog post for KLP, you wrote about ethics and demarcation.  It was an essay on the complexity of the situation on the West Bank in Israel. At the end you invited the audience for the blog to “have a dialogue on this issue.”  You were just in New York at the UN for the Climate Change debate.  World altering issues.  It would seem to be a very attractive career path.  Do you want to pursue these sorts of issues in your career?  Be one who uses her skills to have an impact on big issues in the world.  If those are the goals, how does your running career fit into that career path?  Is 2016 the end of the line for being an elite racer or, if you didn’t make the team, would you consider another try in 2020?

AB: I am impressed that you read my post in Norwegian on the KLP blog! To be honest, I haven’t given any thought to 2020 at this point. As long as I have the opportunity to continue with meaningful and interesting work while running on the side, I don’t see any reason to change what’s worked so far. I’m having too much fun now. Ask me again in 2017.