Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Seeking Global Heroes

 Medtronic, Inc. announced today it is recruiting runners from around the world who benefit from medical technology to participate in the eighth annual Medtronic Global Heroes program.  Up to 25 runners will be selected to receive a paid entry for themselves and a guest to the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon or the Medtronic TC 10 Mile and a travel package that includes airfare and accommodations for the Global Hero and guest.  The 31st Annual Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon weekend will take place October 4-6, 2013.

To apply or recommend someone to be a 2013 Medtronic Global Hero, visit medtronic.com/globalheroes.  The deadline for Global Hero applications is April 26, 2013. 

A cooperative effort between Twin Cities in Motion (organizers of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon) and Medtronic, the Global Heroes program recognizes runners from around the world who have a medical device.  All runners with eligible medical devices are welcome to apply, regardless of device manufacturer.

To qualify as a Global Hero, runners must currently be using a medical device therapy to treat the following disease categories: heart disease, diabetes, chronic pain, spinal disorders, or neurological, gastroenterology and urological disorders. Eligible medical devices include any pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), any spinal device, any neurological device, any insulin pump, or any heart valve.

Runners will be chosen by a committee of Twin Cities in Motion. Certain conditions may apply and applicants must certify that they have discussed race participation with their physician.  

Registration Opens for Metronic TCM and Six Related Events on February 2

Registration for the 32^nd annual Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and six additional running events hosted by Twin Cities In Motion will open on Saturday, February 2 at 8:00 AM.  The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon is scheduled for  Sunday, October 6 The field is limited to 12,200 participants and typically fills by June each year.

Twin Cities In Motion will also open registration for three other Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend events: the Medtronic TC Family Events, TC 5K Run/Walk and TC 10K which take place on Saturday, October 5.

Registration also opens for the Medtronic TC 1 Mile, held on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis on May 9, the TC Kids Cross Country Fun Run, held May 18 at Como Park in St. Paul, and the Red, White & Boom! TC Half Marathon, held in Minneapolis on July 4.

Registration for all of the events will be conducted online through the Twin Cities In Motion website, tcmevents.org.  Entry fees for each event are listed there. Lottery registration for the Medtronic TC 10 Mile held October 6, will open on July 10.  The field for the Medtronic TC 10 Mile is limited to 9,800 runners.

TCM Announces Charity Fund Raising Totals

Twin Cities In Motion (TCM), together with its Community Partners and Charity Program teams, raised a grand total of $759,462 for charity in 2012, exceeding its 2011 fundraising total by nearly a quarter of a million dollars.  The funds were raised via race entry fundraisers, individual donations and contributions to the Friends of TCM program which supports youth fitness.

The majority of money raised came through the efforts of teams participating in TCM’s Charity Program. Twenty charity teams used the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon for their fundraising efforts, using race entries and pledges to gather more than $586,000 for their respective causes.

TCM’s Youth Fitness Partners raised money through late entry fundraisers, donations given during registration as well as with fundraising teams. Bolder Options, Girls on the Run, MIGIZI Communications and the YWCA of Minneapolis work together with TCM to promote health and fitness not only through their youth programs, but also through their reach into areas of the Twin Cities most in need of resources.  Athlete Development Partner Team USA Minnesota also raised funds to develop post-collegiate long distance runners through TCM.

In addition to monetary donations, goods were donated to TCM’s In-Kind Community Partners.  TCM donated over 36,000 pounds of food to the Emergency Foodshelf Network.  Over 3,600 pounds of clothing was donated or recycled through WearEver Recycling, while $15,000 worth of new shirts were shipped overseas through Hand In Hand Together.

Unique Race Series for Endurance "Multitaskers"

The Upper Midwest Endurance Challenge(UMEC) – a new running and skiing race series –will test their mettle in the region’s premier marathons as well as in the country’s largest cross country ski race. The UMEC will offer participants in this year’s Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the 2014 American Birkebeiner, which races from Cable to Hayward, WI, the chance to compete against one another in an event series that spans the seasons.

Registration for the series opens online today.  For the $30 UMEC entry fee, (plus registration fees for the individual events) runners and skiers can compete for the honor of earning a Brooks® UMEC finishers’ jacket as well as open and age-group awards and prizes.  All UMEC participants will receive a free pair of running socks from FITSOK®.

Additionally, one UMEC participant chosen at random will earn free entries into the 2014 Grandma's Marathon or Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, the 2014 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon or Medtronic TC 10 Mile, and the 2015 American Birkebeiner or Kortelopet.

The Upper Midwest Endurance Challenge is a partnership between event organizers Grandma’s Marathon, Inc., Twin Cities In Motion, and the American Birkebeiner.  This year’s Grandma’s Marathon takes place on June 22.  The 2013 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon is set for October 6, while the 2014 American Birkebeiner is scheduled for February 22.

“The Upper Midwest Endurance Challenge is a natural partnership among three great endurance events in the region,” Grandma’s Marathon Executive Director Scott Keenan said.  “We share a common purpose and similar histories, so it was only natural to team up for the Upper Midwest Endurance Challenge.”

All three UMEC events have deep roots and long histories in the region.  The American Birkebeiner was first contested in 1973.  Grandma’s Marathon was established in 1977, followed shortly thereafter by the Twin Cities Marathon in 1982. 

“We wanted to offer an opportunity for marathon runners and long-distance skiers to differentiate themselves and highlight their achievements,” American Birkebeiner Executive Director Ned Zuelsdorff said.  “It’s a special breed that runs 26.2 miles and skis 50-kilometers or more, so we’re glad to recognize them.”

Series organizers also hope the Challenge resonates with athletes with more modest aspirations.

“Endurance exercise is great for living a healthy lifestyle,” Twin Cities In Motion Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman said.  “We think the Upper Midwest Endurance Challenge will highlight some of the most popular ways people in our region stay fit.  No matter the season, there’s a way to stay active and stay healthy.”

Details on the race series can be found at www.runrunski.org.

Meghan Peyton Talks About 2012, the USATF XC Club Championships, and 2013

Photo by Gene Niemi

Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Peyton finished off 2012 with a bang.  She led the team to the USATF Club XC team Championship, earned a trip to Scotland, and took a step toward her first goal of 2013.

Down the Backstretch: Winning a National Championships is always nice.  Did you go into USATF Club Nationals confident, hopeful, with or without expectations in regards to the team championship? 

Meghan Peyton: We went into the Championships confident that we could win. We knew that there would be some other strong teams like the Boulder team, but thought that as long as we all had solid races that we could achieve our goal of winning the national title.  

DtB:  Once you got to Lexington and saw the mud, aside from thinking: “This is real cross country,” did the conditions change any of the plans, expectations going into the race?

MP: Personally, the mud didn't change any of my own expectations. The mud was a factor for every runner out there. It being a championship race, I knew that it would take a strong race to place in the top six(she finished fourth), which is what it took to qualify for the USA team going to Scotland.

DtB:  Seems like the team members had different approaches to the race: Jamie took off with the leaders, you and Ladia sort of worked together, McKenzie was trailing behind you two(could she see where you two were or was the course too hilly and twisty for her to see runners ahead of her), and Heather took a tumble.  When did Heather go down and did any of you see or know that Heather fell during the race?  Give us something of a summary of how things unfolded.

MP: The race got out fast, the first mile being the most flat section on the course -- we went through the mile at 5:11 pace. I felt that it was a good pace, putting me near the front but I still felt in control. For the next mile and a half it was just grinding away at the hills and mud. 

There was a little pack of us behind the lead pack pushing each other. We could see the leaders the entire time. At about 2.5 miles the pack started coming back to us, Jamie (Cheever) with them. I knew we would catch up. So on the last downhill before the long climb to the finish I pushed hard so that I would catch up with Jamie. I knew she needed some support because she was in no-woman's land, which is a hard place to be when you are hurting. 

As I caught her I cheered for her telling her "You can do it, come on Jamie". We all needed to finish strong, and I think it was pretty admirable how she had put it out there on the line and, even once her early fast pace caught up to her, Jamie still finished really strong. None of us knew that Heather had fallen until we had all crossed the finish line.  

DtB:  When did you know you won the team title?  Was there a big celebration or a more retrained one?

MP: When we all finished the race we didn't know if we had won or not for about half an hour or so. We knew that Boulder would be our biggest competition, and they had taken first and second place. We didn't know where their other runners had finished, but we did know that Heather had taken an unfortunate spill in the mud, but had the strength to get up and keep running for the team. 

So we waited anxiously for about 30 minutes until they finally posted the results. When the results went up, Lance Elliott (one of our team's board members who was traveling with us and also raced) came running back to our van with the results and said: "We Won!". We were all excited, but Heather was excited most of all...jumping up and down with relief.

DtB:  Are the three of you that qualified planning on taking the trip to Scotland in January?  Did Jamie or McKenzie get spots on the US team because others in front of them aren’t going?

MP: Yes, Ladia, Jon (Peterson, fifth in the men's race), and I are going to Scotland for sure. We think that Jamie(who was seventh) will also likely make the team based on other competitors who said that they will not go, and because she also did well at this year's USA Open Cross Country Championships which took place in February.

DtB:  You’ve had a busy life this Fall with school, helping out with the Augsburg team, and your own running.  How do you juggle all those “balls in the air?”

MP: Very carefully! I don't need any of them falling to the ground. I think the only reason that I am able to juggle all of them is because I have good support groups in each area of my life, and because I'm a planner. I always try and stay ahead of the curve. I did have to start using a paper planner again this year (which I have not done since I graduated college) because my life is going in a lot of different directions.  No day is the same as the day before. A busy life keeps things interesting. 

DtB:  Was 2012 a productive year?  Did you achieve any or all of the goals you set—if you set any—at the beginning of the year?

MP: 2012 for me was a learning year. Anyone who looks at my results from the past year could probably safely assume that I unfortunately didn't achieve the goals that I had set at the beginning of it. From 2008-2011 I had steadily improved -- moving from consistently placing in the teens in races and working my way up to finishing in the top seven at most National Championships.

As with most people in this sport, I had big aspirations for 2012. However, some inexperience with the marathon, and also finding out that I had low B12 and low Iron (both essential for energy production) put those goals out of reach this year. But, I haven't given up. I still have the same big goals -- I've just had to push them out a year or two. 

DtB:  What are the plans, goals of 2013?

MP: My goals for 2013 are to, first of all, continue to improve as an athlete and person. Secondly, I want to represent our country at the World Cross Country Championships, and also want to compete at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In the Fall I plan on competing in a marathon -- maybe one that is near and dear to us all--Twin Cities in Motion's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.  

More Odds and Ends

Minnesota Daily report on the Gopher women's 22nd place finish at NCAAs is HERE, pre-meet coverage is HERE.

Duluth News Tribune report on the JFK 50-mile is HERE.

Pre-NCAA, post-regional Minnesota Morris SID video interview with Linda Keller is HERE

Obit for Joe Schletty, an unlikely marathoner, who, until this year had run in every Twin Cities Marathon is HERE.

Deadline for MEADP Applications in November 30

The MEADP, better known as the Minnesota Elite Athlete Development Program provides financial assistance to Minnesota athletes via a grants of up to $2,000.  Twin Cities in Motion, Grandma's Marathon, and the MDRA fund this program and applications for this year are open until November 30, 2012.

for more information on the program, qualifications for grants, and further info, click HERE.

Andrew Carlson Ready for the Big Apple

Photo Courtesy of Team USA Minnesota

Team USA Minnesota's Andrew Carlson hopes to follow up on his impressive performance at the US Olympic Trials at Sunday's New York City Marathon against strong national and international competition.  Reared in North Dakota where he was the state high school XC champion, Carlson continued his distance running success at the University of Minnesota where he set a school record in the 5K on the track that was broken by Hassan Mead in 2009 and finished ninth in the NCAA 10,000 in 2005.  Carlson has won two national championships on the roads--15K in 2008 and 25K in 2010.  At age 30 he hopes that his best years are ahead of him as he moves his focus to the marathon with his aim at the Trials for the 2016 Games and another shot at the Olympic team.

Down the Backstretch: Quite an auspicious debut in the marathon—2:11:24, sixth at the Olympic Trials.  What were your thoughts going into the race?  Did you have concerns about not having run the distance before?  Did you have any specific goals other than to give your best performance or where you just “going with the flow’ and would see how things unfolded?

Andrew Carlson: My thoughts going into the Olympic Trials revolved around getting the best I could on that day. I  had ideas in my head of what I hoped I would do, but I wanted to be flexible with my approach because I was not sure how the race would unfold. When the leaders went out at such a strong pace it made my decision to not go with the lead group easy. I had to make decisions based on giving myself the best chance I could to place high and going out on 2:06-2:07 pace was not in my best interest. 

DtB: You talked afterward about the tight hamstrings, wishing you had known what the last eight miles would feel like, and that you could get through rough patches you experienced.  Talk a little about what was going through your mind as the rest of you felt fine, but your hamstrings were rebelling on you. The “freaking out.”

AC: I would say that  a more experienced marathoner would have been equipped to deal with the notion of hamstring cramping late in the race. I freaked out a bit, but for the most part was able to keep myself under control. Hopefully going forward I will be able to have a better understanding of what my body is going through late in a race and make adjustments from there. 

DtB: You said after the race that you’d thought about a lot of stuff in preparation for the race , but some things way too little.  What things do you think need more thought before the next one?  Things you need to improve upon?

AC: I certainly need to improve on my nutritional intake during the race. I think I was too quick to discard my fluids and that may have had something to do with my hamstring cramping. But it may not have been either. I choose to focus on the most major parts--training and preparation--and let the other things fall into place. 

DtB: You were going to debut at Twin Cities in 2011, but you tore some ligaments in your ankle in a training run before the race.  How was the recovery from that?  How serious an injury was it?  You’ve noted that it might have been a blessing not doing the Twin Cities prior to the Trials? Why?

AC: I certainly wanted to race the marathon at Twin Cities and hope to in the future. I'm just not sure how I would have recovered between TCM and the Olympic Trials. I think the training and preparation ahead of Twin Cities really benefited me in my preparation for the Olympic Trials. I was able to have a barometer for key workouts and a better understanding of how my body would respond to the rigors of marathon training. 

DtB: You have a degree in kinesiology, has that scientific background been a help, a hindrance, or somewhere in between in approaching your running, training, racing?

AC: Though I have a degree in kinesiology I don't believe I think with a very scientific mind. I didn't graduate with honors or anything like that. I believe I have a very keen understanding of the amount of work it takes to run fast, but I don't think I derive much of that from science. I leave that part up to Dennis Barker and just train hard. 

DtB: You have a geographic connection to another runner with Minnesota ties, a contemporary of your college coach Steve Plasencia--Mark Nenow, who was born in North Dakota but moved to Minnesota for high school in Anoka .  He was the American recordholder for 10K.  Ever meet him or had a chance to compare notes?

AC:  I have never met Mr. Nenow, but have certainly heard a lot about him. I have a strong interest in the history of distance running in Minnesota and North Dakota. Though I don't put myself in the category of Plasencia, Beardsley, Bjorklund, Nenow, Kempainen, etc, it is fun to aspire to be at that level and maybe one day be in that category. 

DtB: You’ve got a lot of range, having been successful on the track, on the roads at intermediate distances, but everyone is probably going to be pushing you for the marathon after your trials performance.  What are your thoughts on future plans?  A mix of track and marathon, somewhere in between, or total focus on the marathon?

AC: My future plans are in the marathon, beginning on November 4th in NYC. I think I will compete at a variety of distances until my career is over though. I believe that being a well rounded athlete is very important to having success in the Marathon. 

Stories You Might Have Missed

Minnesota Daily story on the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational is HERE.

Kare 11 story on a Blaine runner who helped a fallen runner during a race despite being on PR pace is HERE

St. Cloud Times story on St. Cloud Cathedral's Nick Golebiowski is HERE.

Chanhassen Villager story on the Wright County Conference meet is HERE.

Farmington Independent story on Kristine Benjamin, who has a rare lung disease, who finished the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon is HERE.

Stillwater Gazette story on the Pony boys win at the Alexandria Meet of Champions is HERE.

White Bear Press stories on the boys HERE and girls HERE at the Alexandria Meet of Champions.

MIAC Women's XC Athlete of the Week is St. Olaf's Jorden Johnson, a sophomore, who finished second at the Tori Neubauer Invitational last Saturday in a PR for 6K of 21:54.3 to lead the team to a runner-up spot.  St Olaf senior Emma Lee, finished third in 22:04.8. Full results are HERE. The week before the St Olaf women finished fourth at the Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, IN.  St. Thomas finished second, Bethel 16th in the 30 team field.  Carleton was sixth, St. Ben's seventh, Gustavus ninth, Macalester 13th, Hamline 16th, Augusburg 17th, Winona State 20th.  Full team results are HERE. Individual results are HERE.

The St. Olaf men finished fifth at the Jim Drews last Saturday.  Dt Jonhn's was seventh, St. Thomas ninth, the Minnesota Running team was eleventh, Hamline 14th, Gustavus 18th, Macalester 20th, Augsburg 21st, and Winona State 26th. Full team results are HERE. Individual results are HERE. No male XC runner was nominated for the MIAC XC award this week.

Fallen Runner

Fox 9 News report on doctor stopping to help a fallen runner during the Medtronic TC 10-Mile  is HERE.

Medtronic TCM Coverage

Pioneer Press coverage
"Game" story, photos, and video are HERE.
Star Tribune coverage
Strib "Game" story is HERE
Women's winner race story is HERE
Wheeler men's winner Saul Mendoza takes ninth title HERE.
US 10 Mile Championships story is HERE.
Video is HERE.
Photo gallery is HERE.

The Sun Shines on Christopher Kipyego and Jeannette Faber

For the second year in a row, Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon men's champion Christopher Kipyego almost missed his opportunity to win the race, while this year's women's champion Jeannette Faber didn't come into the race expecting to win, just in search of a PR.  She got both.

For the 13th race in a row Faber set a personal best at the distance running 2:32:37 to win by over a minute and a half despite only taking the lead with nearly two miles to go.  Kipyego, after having to drop out of last year's race because of stomach problems, had to drive from his training grounds in northern Mexico to  San Antonio to catch a flight to the Twin Cities for the race.  He made it on Friday and Sunday decimated the field with a surge on the last of three hills on East Mississippi River Parkway between miles 21 and 22 to finish in 2:14:53.

Kipyego, who said it took him awhile to thaw out in the cold weather, had been monitoring his competitors for much of the race, watching for signs of strain, weakness.  He saw that going up hills the others were struggling, so he decided to make his move before the course turned onto Cretin and then onto Summit Avenue in front of St. Thomas. Once he made the break, Kipyego kept up his tempo until mile 24 when he was confident he had the race won and he eased into the finish.

It was almost costly as this year's Grandma's champion, Berhanu Girma of Ethiopia, pressed by Sean Quigley of Colorado, who was running only his second marathon, put on a late race surge to finish in 2:15:04 and 2:15:06, respectively, to take second and third places.  That nine seconds cost Girma a $10,000 bonus that goes to the man or woman who wins both Grandma's and the TCM in the same calendar year.  Kipyego missed that bonus last year because he traveled directly from Kenya to the Twin Cites and his stomach failed to adjust to the food.  He had to drop out after 20 miles of last year's TCM  after winning Grandma's earlier in the year.

Everything went right for Faber this year as she came into the race attempting to improve on her 2:36:50 PR at the US Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston in January where she placed 21st.  Originally from Portland, Oregon, Faber had moved to the East Coast and joined the Boston Athletic Association team where she was coached by Terry Shea. When she moved back to Portland, she didn't want to sever ties with the BAA or Shea.  That seems to have been a wise choice.

Shea had her prepped to run in the 2:32s and told her in their last phone conversation prior to the race: "If you find yourself in the lead at mile 22, don't freak out." .  Faber brushed off the comment, thinking, at best she would place between third and fifth, and she went into the race not focused not on place, but on time.  She hit her splits and in the second half of the race kept passing the other top women.  She didn't "freak out."  When she finally passed the then leader Melissa Johnson-White near 24 miles, she thought "Melissa will just come along with me."

It didn't happen, White was struggling, and was passed at the finish line by Ethiopian Hirut Guangul, one of the five African women she had caught and left behind when she started to push the pace at mile 18 and broke open what had been a slow, tactical event.  Guangul finished in 2:34:03 and White 2:34:04. Both White and Faber have had trouble finishing strong in the marathon, but on Sunday only White continued to struggle.

Faber gave her coach the credit for preparing her to break through the second half of the race. She started conservatively and just kept clicking off miles on pace for her 2:32 time goal that she shared with White, unbenounced to either or them, both had entered the race hoping to run that time. Despite her new found strength, Faber did not believe she had the race won until she began descending the long downhill from the steps of the St. Paul Cathedral to the Capitol grounds.

"The crowd was amazing," she said, and when she thrust up a fist in triumph, "they went crazy."

For Kipyego it could be said his success comes from his family tree.  Christopher is the older brother of Michael Kipyego, who finished 13th in today's Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2:10:02.  Their younger sister is Sally Kipyego, who won a silver medal in the 10,000 meters at this year's London Olympics.  Christopher was inspired to run Grandma's by their two-time champion,  Wesly Ngetich, who was tragically killed in the tribal violence after the Kenyan presidential elections in 2008.

"I love it here," he said, and though he's 38, he hopes to return to Grandma's and Twin Cities next year and continue his success in the state.

*********

The marathon was also the US championship for Masters.  Ulrich Steidl  won the men's competition in 2:20:59.  Nuta Olaru the women's in 2:36:57. Kevin Castille made it halfway in 1:09:37, but did not finish.

US Championships 10 Mile Photo Album

Photos from the US Championship 10 Mile Championships by Gene Niemi

Women's leaders at the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge.  (From left to right) Alisha Williams, Kara Goucher,
Julie Culley, Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, Kristen Fryburg-Zaitz.

First Minnesota female finisher Ladia Albertson-Junkans(8th , 55:44)
will be joining Team USA Minnesota this month

"The pack" at the Lake Street/Marshall Avenue Bridge) Andrew Carlson(10033), Antonio Vega(10047, Ben  True (10002)
Jonathan Peterson(10022--12th in 48:06), Alan Webb(in grey hat between True and Peterson),  Jacob Riley(blond hair between Carlson and Vega), Matt True(between Vega and True)

Winners Overcome the Weather to Win US 10-Mile Titles

Mohamed  Trafeh goes by Kara Goucher in
pursuit of the equalizer bonus. Photo
by Gene Niemi

The frigid temperatures were almost a greater challenge for men's  US 10 Mile Championships winner  Mohamed Trafeh and women's champion Janet Cherobon-Bawcom than the other runners.  Both defending US champions dealt with a slow early pace and pulled away from the competition from their own gender as they raced to see who would cross the line first to grab the $10,000 equalizer bonus.

As it did last year, it came down to the final stages. This year Trafeh did not catch  Bawcom until the pair were in sight of the St. Paul Cathedral around 600 yards from the finish, Trafeh said, where he finally made up the six minute, 31 second headstart the women had.  Trafeh's time was 46:56.  Bawcom ran 53:43.

"My legs were numb the entire race," said Trafeh.  "I never warmed up."  Despite wearing two hats, thigh length shorts below his regular shorts,  a T-shirt and arm warmers under his singlet, and gloves Trafeh could not get warm.  Tuning out any thoughts of impending hypothermia, Trafeh kept ramping up the pace in an attempt to catch the women in front of him.

The rest of the men's field, he said, seemed to be keying off him. When he would slow down or speed up, so would they. By five miles he saw that if he was going to catch the women, he was going to have to do it himself. "I put in a big move," said Trafeh, and he didn't look back.  He threw in a couple of 4:29 miles, said Jim Estes, the USATF  Director of Events, who was watching the race unfold.

Earlier in the women's race, after a 5:13 first mile, the pace slowed dramatically to a 5:47 in the seocnd, said Bawcom.  That dawdling pace she knew might have doomed her chances at crossing the line first overall.  "We needed to run 5:18s(average per mile) to beat the men," Bawcom.  "In that one mile we lost 30 seconds."  Like the men, everyone else in the race was focused on her.  Duluth's Kara Goucher. coming off a six week layoff after the Olympics and just beginning to get into serious training, believed she was capable of running around 54 minutes, and that dictated her pace.

When she did pick it up to a 5:10 to shake things up,  Bawcom kicked it into high gear. "She must have run 5:06," Goucher said.  "My legs weren't ready for that."  So, the only remaining drama was when Trafeh would catch Bawcom.  He started picking off the first of the women's field when he made his break in mile five, then methodically proceeded to reel in the rest, passing Bowcom only about 200 yards later than he did last year.

The men's chase pack, like Goucher with Bawcom, didn't have the legs to stay with Trafeh, but pulled each other along.  Ben True, last year's runner-up finished second in 47:19, followed by Jacob Riley(47:22), Tim Ritchie(47:25), and Brent Vaughn(47:26).  Riley said he was moving along well in second until he had the dry heaves as the neared the finish and True passed him.  Behind the chase pack were a couple of Team USA Minnesota's crew.  Andrew Carlson, getting ready for next month's ING New York City Marathon, finished seventh in 47:48, a PR.  Antonio Vega, in his first race back after around two years recovering from hip surgeries, was ninth in 47:53, ten seconds shy of his PR.

"Physically I'm in good shape," said Vega.  "I just went to sleep mentally when the chase pack broke off.  I let them get away and couldn't get back up."  He was pleased with the result though because there were times during the past two years when he was not sure he'd ever be able to run at this level again.  It was a testing time, so he was all smiles at the positive result and how he felt after the race.  "No aches or pains," he said.  All seemed good once again.

Even though Bawcom fell short on getting the equalizer bonus, she didn't go home empty handed in "extras." Bawcom's win in the 10 Mile clinched the women's title in the US Running Circuit which is worth a $6,000 bonus to add onto the $12,000 that the men's and women's champions received for their wins.in the 10-Mile.

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Photo Album

Some photos of the action in Sunday's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon by photographer Gene Niemi

Women's winner Jeannette Faber

The leaders as race winner Christopher Kipyego takes control.  Runner up
Berhanu Girma(3), this year's Grandma's Marathon winner, and third-place
finisher Sean Quigley(6), fourth-place finisher Kiyokatsu Hasegawa(in green
behind Quigley), fifth place finisher Francis Muendo(188), sixth place finisher
Kip Kirui(11).

First Minnesota finisher, Chris Erichsen, who finished 10th in
2:19

TCM Weekend Opens with 5K and 10K

McKenzie Melander, a former Twin Cities In Motion College Scholarship winner, won the women’s division of the TC 5K, presented by Fredrikson & Byron, part of the Medtronic TC Family Events held on the State Capitol grounds Saturday.

Former Rosemount High School star Jordan Carlson won the men’s division of the TC 5K, running 15:02.  Melander, who attended Eastview High School and recently joined the professional distance training group Team USA Minnesota, clocked 17:05.

The Twin Cities In Motion College Scholarship, which Melander won in 2008, is based on academic performance shown through grades, leadership, a commitment to community service or helping others, and a dedication to maximizing running potential.

Chris Lundstrom, a fourth-place finisher at the 2006 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, won the TC 10K in 32:14.  McKenzie Holt won the women’s competition in 36:16.  Miss Minnesota, Siri Freeh, served as the ceremonial starter of the TC 10K.

Full results from the 5K are HERE.  Results from the 10K are HERE.

Master Making His Mark

Photo courtesy of Southsider Magazine

Unless you are an avid follower of Masters runners, you may not be aware of Kevin Castille.  And with another wave of African runners poised to challenge for the top spots in Sunday's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, he may well get lost in the shuffle. Since turning 40 in March, though, Castille has been rewriting the record books for US Masters runners at shorter distances and is stepping up to the marathon.

At Friday's press race press conference he told the audience: "This(the marathon) is what I've been training for all year."  That, if all goes well, he'll "have a good story to tell."  His story thus far is pretty good.  An underachiever in high school and college in New Orleans where, he said: "We don't breed distance runners," Castille dropped his two-mile time twenty seconds a year, starting out as a sophomore at 10 flat and finishing with a best of 9:20.

As a runner, he says, he "wasn't successful in college, not the least bit."  He mainly ran the 800 meters because "you didn't have to think as long."  But he wasn't an 800 runner.  Wasn't getting any satisfaction out of the sport.  He stopped running.  Quit the sport for ten years and probably never would have picked it back up unless when he was supplementing his income as a personal trainer, he began coaching junior high kids.  "They put the fire back under my butt," Castille says.

For them the sport wasn't about times or the competition as much as it was having fun.From watching them, it dawned on Castille that he never had fun when he was running.  He was too tied up in the result, the competition, chasing the other guys.  He could see from the kids, however, that those things weren't what it was supposed to be about.

While he loved running, he dreaded the competition.  "I had a hard time being successful," he said   He had the ability, but he couldn't bring it out during a race.  When he began running again, he found that he didn't have that "baggage," as much.  "I'm not chasing a younger version of me," he said.  He could be patient and wait for things to develop, not try and force himself to be ready for the next race, the next challenge.

He was being coached by his friend Tom Hopkins, who he credits with restoring his "running life," moved to Oregon, ran in the 2004 Olympic Trials, but didn't finish.  He still had trouble racing.  It scared him.  Fear of failure, not being able to perform.  He hooked up with Marla Runyon's coach and husband Matt Lonergan, who coaches him now long distance as Lonergan lives in Oregon, Castille in Kentucky. Then a chance occurrence transformed his running life again.  His college roommate, Kimboi Chesimet had to return home to Kenya and he invited Kevin to come with him.  "Why not?" Kevin thought and he made the journey to Kericho a small town near Nairobi.

There he fell in with some Kenyan distance runners who made him one of the pack.  They welcomed him, a total stranger, he says, with open arms.  "They're just training.  They embrace each other. They trust each other.  There is no status."  There were 27 minute 10K guys in the group and they fed off of each other, pushed each other, explored their limits.  It was a "life change," said Castille.  "I found out who I was."  The fear subsided.  When every day you are going toe to toe with some of the best runners in the world, said Castille, and they accept you, encourage you, you come out a changed man.

"Every week I raced with a couple of hundred Kenyans," he said.  "(When the time was over he said to himself) You just spent a month in the lions' den."  Racing didn't scare him anymore, and when he turned 40 this year, he was free to start rewriting the US Masters record book.  He ran 14:00.09 in a 5K on the track at the Payton Jordan Invitational.  A 28:57.88 in the 10K on the track, also at Stanford.  He now owns the Masters records from 3K to 20K, and last month ran 1:05:39 at the Rock 'n Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon.

Sunday he hopes to run somewhere around 2:18 to 2:20.  Figures he'll be nestled somewhere back around 25th place, being cautious, getting a feel for the marathon distance, and developing "a good story to tell."

Bonus Provides Extra Incentive for US Champs 10-Mile

The race hadn't started but the women who were at the Medtronic TC 10-Mile/USA Championships press conference were unhappy about losing ten seconds and the defending men's champion, Mohamed Trafeh, was still waiting for his luggage.

"That wasn't fair," said defending women's champion Janet Bawcom of the 6:31 head start the women have for this year's "equalizer" race within a race.  They had more last year and Bawcom was caught and passed by Trafeh within a half-mile of the finish, winning the $10,000 bonus.  If you went strictly by the numbers this year, the top male time by the entrants is course recordholder Abdi Abdirhamin's  46:35, while top female entrant Kara Goucher's course record is 53:16, which comes down to a 6:41 handicap.

The top two men, Abdirhamin and Trafeh, also plan to work together for at least part of the race "to catch the girls," said Trafeh.  It worked for them last year and the lure of the equalizer bonus will similarly alter race tactics again this year, Trafeh said.  Both the men's and women's race winners get a first place prize of $12,000(with an additional $2,000 bonus if either sets a course record), so the equalizer incentive is enough to change the race.

When asked if the women would employ a similar strategy, both Bawcom and last year's runner-up, Olympian Julie Culley, said with Goucher also in the field the race for first will push the women to their limits. "I want to give it all," said Bawcom of her normal approach to a race, so trying to stay ahead of the men probably won't provide that much of an extra incentive for her, but for Culley, who is an Olympian at 5K on the track, the temptation to "sit and kick" would be stronger if she were just going for the win.

Both the women and the men said that the bonus incentive made it a more "honest" race as neither gender can afford to let the pace lag if they want to win the bonus.  The women's strategy is to hold as much of their lead as long as they can because they know those chasing have the advantage of "smelling blood" once their "prey" come into sight near the end of the race.

Chris Solinsky, a Wisconsin native who is the fastest of the top men entered in the US championships on the track, is relatively new to the roads, and said he probably will not try and follow if the other men in the race set a fast early pace, preferring, like Culley did last year in her first attempt at the longer distance, to judge how to manage his energy at the longer distance.  Trafah is just hoping his luggage catches up with him, but either way, he hopes to repeat last year's double triumph and added: "We're just here to have fun."

Star Tribune story on the Medtronic TC 10-Mile press conference is HERE.
The official site for the USA 10-Mile Championships, with video of the pre-race press conference is HERE.

Track Your Favorite Runners During Marathon or 10-mile

You can track as many as three of your favorite participants in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and/or the Medtronic TC 10 Mile on October 7.   Fans/family/friends can  track up to three athletes registered in the marathon or ten mile using technology provided by Avtex, who will once again partner with Twin Cities In Motion to bring the Marathon/10-Mile events closer to the people following them.  

As runners progress along the course, real-time updates via text-message will be sent to their fans’ phones. They can  follow the runners via text message by using AthleteTracker, a complimentary application that will send real-time reports on individual runners on race day.

In addition to allowing followers to sign up and use the service, this year AthleteTracker includes the ability for runners to sign up and see who is following them and invite others to follow them.  “We received a lot of great feedback from runners last year and wanted to improve the experience to allow them to have some control over who was following them,” said Eric Raarup, Chief Marketing Technology Officer for Avtex. 

This year, AthleteTracker will also take advantage of the latest cloud technologies from Microsoft.  Raarup said, “We send tens of thousands of text messages with AthleteTracker and we wanted to leverage the scalability of the cloud during the race.”

The registration website has been optimized to allow individuals to sign up using a smartphone, tablet or computer.  To register for the free service, visit: http://www.avtex.com/athletetracker .

At the sign-up page, followers simply enter their mobile phone number and submit the names of the runners they wish to track.  Athletes running in the events can use the same web-page to see who plans to follow them on race day.  To use AthleteTracker, users must register by Saturday, October 6 at 7 PM.

For more information, contact athletetracker@avtex.com.

Sarah Barker Tracks Down Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Recordholder Phil Coppess

Sarah Barker spent more than a year tracking down Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon recordholder Phil Coppess.  The resulting story is in the New York Times HERE.