Zivec Ranked #1 ... Without the Asterisk

The latest Minnesota high school cross country polls have been released, and there is only one change at the top of the eight team and individual rankings -- a subtle one.

Grand Rapids' international student Jacub Zivec has had the asterisk removed from his #1 ranking. Zevic, who is only allowed to compete as a JV runner this year, is now the lone #1 individual in the Class AA boys ranks.

Last week, Zivec shared the #1 rank with Mahad Hassan of Willmar, and the Czech national also had an asterisk placed after his ranking.

Learn more about the Zivec situation HERE and HERE.

Full Class AA rankings can be found below.

Full Class A rankings can be found HERE.

Class AA Boys

Teams:
1 Wayzata
2 Eden Prairie
3 Edina
4 White Bear Lake
5 Moorhead
6 Stillwater
7 Forest Lake
8 Owatonna
9 Minneapolis South
10 Alexandria
11 Lakeville South
12 Chaska

Individuals:
1 Jacub Zivec, Grand Rapids JV
2 Mahad Hassan 12 Willmar
3 Zach Mellon 12 Buffalo
4 Besufekad Shannon-Tamra 12 Hopkins
5 Robel Kebede 12 Mpls. South
6 Lukas Gemar, 10, Moorhead
7 Jeremy Drenckhahn 12 Wayzata
8 Eric Truedson, 12 Bemidji
9 John Holt, Roseville
10 Jakob Lindaas, 12, Moorhead
11 Ryan Evan, 12, Centennial
12 Kemal Jarso, 11, St. Paul Central

Class AA Girls

Teams:
1 Eden Prairie
2 Lakeville North
3 Minnetonka
4 Woodbury
5 White Bear Lake
6 Chaska
7 Eastview
8 Monticello
9 Hopkins
10 Moorhead
11 Visitation
12 Stillwater
13 Prior Lake
14 Shakopee
15 Coon Rapids
16 Waseca

Individuals:
1 Claire Guidinger, 11, Winona
2 Jamie Piepenburg, 9, Alexandria
3 Cassy Opitz, 12, Eden Prairie
4 Laura Docherty, 12, Cretin-Derham Hall
5 Katie Moraczewski, 12, White Bear Lake
6 Julia Harrison, 10, Mound-Westonka
7 Emma Bates, 11, Elk River
8 Alexandra Rudin, 10, Eden Prairie
9 Maria Hauger, 8, Shakopee
10 Erica Seidenkranz, Monticello
11 Kaila Urick, 10, Chaska
12 Caitlin Hewes, 10, Stillwater
13 Laura Hughes, 11, Mankato West
14 Rachel Drake, 12, White Bear lake
15 Hannah Kellermann, 11, Sartell
15 Slaine Kelly, 11, Holy Angels

Reneau 7th in Chicago with PR 2:16:20

Former Minnesota resident Mike Reneau finished 7th in Sunday's Bank of American Chicago Marathon Reneau, who competes for the Hanson's - Brooks Olympic Development Program in Michigan was clocked in a PR 2:16:20.

We interviewed Reneau after the race. Audio of the conversation is here ...




Other Minnesotans finishing well at Chicago -- where racers were greeted with second-straight hot race day -- include: Minnesota native Leah Thorvilson, 16th in 2:44:28 ... Chanhassan's Kimberly Anderson, 28th in 2:58:58 ... and Angie Voight of Minneapolis, 34th in 3:00:28.

Also ... Click to other weekend results via the Short-Cut post, below. Today, Team USA Minnesota's Meghan Armstrong competes at the USA Women's 10K Championship in Boston.
Find results of that event HERE, later in the day.

Short-Cut: Results' Links for October 10-12

Find links to the weekend's important results below ...

Friday:
San Francisco State Invitational (St. Thomas women): Results
Lake Conference: Results

Saturday:
UMD Pine Hill Invitational: Results
Dan Huston Invitational (Bethel, Gustavus): Results
Westfield State Invitational (Carleton women): Results

Sunday:
Bank of America Chicago Marathon: Results * Live Video
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships: Results * Live Video

Reneau Looking for Next Level in Chicago

Former Minnesota resident Mike Reneau is at the Bank of America Chicago this weekend (as is your editor) with hopes of reaching a new level in the marathon and, along the way, earning a spot on the USA's 2009 IAAF World Championships team.

Two spots for the Berlin event were earned at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon last weekend -- by Fernando Cabada and Team USA Minnesota's Matt Gabrielson -- while the remaining three will be awarded based on time. Reneau is targeting a 2:14-2:15 marathon here on Sunday, if the weather cooperates. Warmer-than-normal weather is forecast.

"I felt like I needed to get on a little bit faster course, because, obviously, after those first two spots they go to the time list," Reneau said. "I think a high-2:14, low-2:15 is a possibility for one of those final three slots on the World team. I also just wanted an opportunity to run on a fast course -- I think that's why most people come to Chicago."

Reneau, who sports a 2:17:46 PR, has focused on Chicago since his 3rd place finish at the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in June. The former Twin Cities-based road-racer, who is now a member of the Michigan-based Hanson's-Brooks Olympic Development Program, spent the spring of 2008 focused on half marathon training. Earlier in the spring, Reneau notched a 1:04:30 at Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach.

Reneau may face a solo challenge on Sunday. The pace he plans to run will put him well behind the race leaders, who are targeting 1:02:45 for their half marathon split.

"It's unlikely that I'll be running with anyone else, except for some Kenyans falling off from 2:06, 2:07 pace," Reneau said. "I expect it to be about a 26-mile time trial.

Audio ... Listen to my full conversation with Mike Reneau below ...

Three Minnesotans to Represent USA in Rio

Team USA Minnesota husband and wife Jason and Kristen Lehmkuhle and former Chaska High School star Stephanie Herbst-Lucke will represent the United States at Sunday's IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The USA Track and Field media release for the event is HERE.

Team USA Minnesota's media release is HERE.

Carleton Women Move Up, Bulldogs Enter Poll at #15

The Carleton College women's cross country team has risen two spots to #10 in the latest NCAA Division III women's poll.

The Knights are the top-ranked Minnesota small college in the latest D2 and D3 polls released yesterday.

The University of St. Thomas women retain their #15 ranking in the D3 poll. Bethel moves up one spot to #27, while St. Olaf drops a place to #33.

Hamline University's men have moved up two spots to #17 in the D3 poll. St. Thomas is ranked #30, while St. Olaf enters the poll at #33.

In NCAA Division II polling, the University of Minnesota-Duluth women enter the rankings at #15, based on a strong performance at the Blugold Open last weekend, where the Bulldogs finished second to the University of Minnesota. On the men's side, the Minnesota State Mankato men drop a spot to #21.

Find complete D2 and D3 rankings HERE and HERE, respectively, thanks to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon recap tonight on FSN North

Before we close the door completely on the 2008 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind people about the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon recap television show, appearing tonight on FSN North from 7:00 – 7:30 PM.

This highlights show will include post-race interviews with Sunday’s top finishers, conducted by luminaries such as Olympian Carrie Tollefson and DtB’s very own Charlie Mahler, among others. “The show is an opportunity for us to share what it means to host national championships in the Twin Cities with the great community that supports us each year,” said Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. executive director, Virginia Brophy Achman. “Marathon Sunday was an exciting day for all of the participants and we look forward to bringing another successful marathon weekend to the community, October 2-4 in 2009.”

And speaking of post-race interviews, 2nd place finisher Matt Gabrielson was kind enough to sit down with Paul Giannobile on Monday and answer some questions regarding his race and what's next for him. That interview can be seen HERE.

Finally, Wayne Kryduba has updated his gallery with photos of the marathon, 10 mile, and Saturday’s family events.

Gopher Teams Retain Poll Positions

The University of Minnesota cross country teams retained their positions in the latest NCAA Division I poll released yesterday by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country coaches Association.

The Gopher women are still the country's #4 team; the Gopher men are still ranked #14.

The University of Washington tops the women's poll followed by Oregon and Florida State. The defending champion Oregon men lead the men's rankings followed by Oklahoma State and Colorado.

The Gopher teams' next major challenge will come at next weekend's Pre-NCAA Meet in Terre Haute, Indiana.

You can find the complete polls HERE.

Jacub Zivec Ranked #1 ... with an Asterisk

Interesting developments abound in the latest high school cross country polls as many schools look forward to conference championship meets this week.

First, Jacub Zivic of Grand Rapids is ranked "1*" in the Class AA boys individual poll. Willmar's Mahad Hassan is ranked "1" in the poll. The rankers don't explain the meaning of the asterisk, but it appears they want to recognize Zivec, a Czech student who is only allowed to compete in JV meets, without slighting the rest of the ranked athletes.

(You can read more about Zivec HERE.)

Second, Eden Prairie has supplanted Lakeville North atop the girls' Class AA rankings on the strength of their strong run at the Victoria Lions race.

Finally, turn-over at the top of the Class A boys' cross country poll is becoming a regular thing this year. Four different teams have topped the division in the last four weeks -- Pequot Lakes, Adrian, Mora, and now ... Blake.

Find the Class A polls HERE.

The Class AA polls are below ...

Class AA Boys:

Teams:
1 Wayzata
2 Eden Prairie
3 White Bear Lake
4 Edina
5 Moorhead
6 Stillwater
7 Forest Lake
8 Owatonna
9 Minneapolis South
10 Lakeville South
11 Chaska
12 Minnetonka

Individuals:
1*Jacub Zivec, Grand Rapids JV
1 Mahad Hassan 12 Willmar
2 Besufekad Shannon-Tamra 12 Hopkins
3 Zach Mellon 12 Buffalo
4 Robel Kebede 12 Mpls. South
5 Lukas Gemar, 10, Moorhead
6 John Holt, Roseville
7 Jeremy Drenckhahn 12 Wayzata
8 Danny Ducharme 12 Wayzata
9 Eric Truedson, 12 Bemidji
10 Jakob Lindaas, 12, Moorhead
11 Drew Paradis, 12 Alexandria
12 Bill Struntz, 12 White Bear Lake

Class AA Girls

Teams:
1 Eden Prairie
2 Lakeville North
3 Minnetonka
4 White Bear Lake
5 Eastview
6 Monticello
7 Chaska
8 Moorhead
9 Visitation
10 Lakeville South
11 Hopkins
12 Woodbury
13 Stillwater
14 Prior Lake
15 Shakopee
16 Waseca

Individuals:

1 Claire Guidinger, 11, Winona
2 Jamie Piepenburg, 9, Alexandria
3 Cassy Opitz, 12, Eden Prairie
4 Laura Docherty, 12, Cretin-Derham Hall
5 Katie Moraczewski, 12, White Bear Lake
6 Julia Harrison, 10, Mound-Westonka
7 Emma Bates, 11, Elk River
8 Alexandra Rudin, 10, Eden Prairie
9 Megan Platner, 10, Eden Prairie
10 Maria Hauger, 8, Shakopee
11 Kayla Uphoff, 11, Lakeville South
12 Megan Bailey, 10, Minnetonka
13 Laura Hughes, 11, Mankato West
14 Erica Seidenkranz, Monticello
15 Rachel Drake, 12, White Bear Lake
16 Hannah Kellermann, 11, Sartell

TCM, Weekend Round-Up ...

As we roll into a new week, here's a news and notes wrap-up from the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and other important happenings from the weekend past ...

USA Masters & Semenova ... We haven't talked much about the USA Masters Championship which also took place at Twin Cities over the weekend. There's a good story HERE, in the Pioneer Press about the masters division -- where Dennis Simonaitis and Susan Empey won USA titles -- and on three-time TCM champ and co- course record-holder Zinaida Semenova.

The story includes some other assorted TCM items as well.

Goucher, Gabrielson Audio ... Now that we've figured out how to put audio up on DtB, here's what Kara Goucher and Matt Gabrielson had to say to the media about their races:

Goucher ...




Gabrielson ...




Twins Cities in the Running USA Wire ... If you just can't get enough TCM coverage, feel free to check out the two stories I wrote for the Running USA Wire, HERE.

In non-TCM news ...

Tommies Win in Eau Claire ... It's shaping up to be a very interesting battle for this year's MIAC men's cross country team title. St. Thomas got a close win over St. Olaf at UW-Eau Claire last Friday. (Results can be found HERE.) The Tommies and Oles join regional #1 Hamline, Bethel, and defending champs St. John's as teams with more-than-reasonable chances of taking home the conference trophy on Novemeber 1.

Eau Claire Invite women's results are HERE.

Wayzata Falls to #2 in Heartland ... The Wayzata boys lost their #1 ranking in Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Region in the latest poll, HERE, released Friday. North Dakota's Bismark High School, which beat the Trojans handily at Griak, assumed the top spot. Eden Prairie is #3 and Edina is #6 in the rankings.

For girls, Lakeville North is #3, Eden Prairie is #4, and Minnetonka is #10.

Gopher Athletes to Host 5K ... The U of M Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is sponsoring the 1st Annual Cystic Fibrosis Breathe Easy 5K Run on Sunday. The run, a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, will start at 1:00 p.m. at Coffman Memorial Union. Registration forms are available at Bierman Field Athletic Building, the University Recreation Center, and the St. Paul Gym. The cost is $15 for pre-registration (checks only) or $20 on race day (check or cash accepted.)

Fernando Cabada in His Own Words

2008 USA Marathon Champion Fernando Cabada spoke honestly and emotionally to the media yesterday after his victory at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

Listen to Cabada in his own words here ...

USA Marathon: Cabada Wins in 2:16:32; Team USA's Gabrielson 2nd in 2:17:38

Fernando Cabada won this morning's USA Men's Marathon Championship held in conjunction with the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. The Boulder, Colorado resident crossed the rain-soaked finish-line in 2:16:32.

Team USA Minnesota's Matt Gabrielson finished 2nd in 2:17:38. Edwardo Torres was 3rd in 2:17:54.

University of Minnesota alum Chad Johnson finished 7th in 2:20:47 ... Team USA Minnesota's Chris Lundstrom was 11th in 2:22:09 ... teammate Josh Moen was 15th in 2:23:16 ... Gopher alum and Team USA Minnesotan Antonio Vega finished 16th in 2:23:41 ... Team USA's Macharia Yuot finished 39th in 2:32:05.

2002 Twin Cities Marathon champion Dan Browne dropped out after the half-way point.

Said Cabada (pictured), tearfully: “I don’t want to wake up and have it be a dream. I haven’t had any glory for the past 22 months and I missed it and I don’t ever want to go back. When I took the lead I said, this is where I belong, I’m strong. I’m not giving up for anything.”

Said Gabrielson: "At Mile 25 I was thinking, it's me, Mike Morgan, and Ed Torres. I'm thinking to myself, you know, about 12 weeks ago I ran a four-minute mile,basically, a 3:41.8 1500 meters -- there's no way these guys are going to beat me. At a mile, I just threw it down as best I could, and it worked."

He added: "I kept looking back, though, to make sure they weren't going to drop theirs!"

Bruce Brothers' fine Pioneer Press story is HERE.

Rachel Blounts' great Star-Trib story is HERE.

Read the AP story in the Star-Tribune HERE.

Find full results HERE.

Photo by Kevin Coloton/Competitive Image.

USA 10M: Goucher Minnesota's Fastest

Duluth native Kara Goucher out-ran Team USA Minnesota's Katie McGregor to win her first USA road racing title at this morning's USA Women's 10 Mile Championship, held in conjunction with the Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Mile.

Goucher (pictured) broke McGregor's course record with her 53:19 clocking. The mark is also the fastest 10-mile ever run by a Minnesotan, eclipsing Janis Klecker's 53:35 run in 1992.

Five-time TC- 10 champion McGregor, who ran 53:51 in 2006 to establish the previous record, finished a distant second in 55:04.

Goucher, the World Championships bronze medalist for 10,000 meters in 2007, ran stride for stride with McGregor for the race's first three miles before pulling away -- inadvertently it seems -- from McGregor.

"We both took fluids at the first station and I moved out to the side of the road, thinking she would come back, but she didn't," Goucher explained. "So I was like, Well, now I'm here. I'm going to make my move three miles early."

Goucher's coach, Alberto Salazar, had counseled his change not to lead until the second half of the race. The Olympic Trials 5000 meter champ gradually built a lead that stretched to 600m meters as the race followed the long Summit Avenue straightaway for the race's final four-and-a-half miles.

Kelly Liljeblad of Boulder, Colorado finished third in the race in 57:06; Nicole Hagobain of Hadley, Massachusetts was 4th in 57:20.

Former Team USA Minnesota athlete Annie Bersagel, currently studying as a Fullbright scholar in Norway, was 5th in 57:34.

Another former Duluth resident, Brandy Erholz, finished 9th in 58:55.

TC-10 Men ... Josh Glaab of Colorado won the men's Medtronic TC-10 in 50:29. Minnesotans Chris Erichsen and Justin Grunewald were 2nd and 3rd in 51:16 and 51:20, respectively.

Bruce Brothers' Pioneer Press story on the race is HERE.

Kevin Pates' Duluth News-Tribune story is HERE.

Find full results HERE.

Photo by Kevin Coloton, Jacob Gibb/Competitive Image.

TCM Women: Olga Glok wins in 2:32:28

Olga Glok (pictured) made up a ten second deficit at the 25-mile mark and moved into the lead in the last half-mile of the race to win the women's race at today's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in 2:32:28.

Silvia Skvortsova, the leader with a mile to go in the race, finished 2nd in 2:32:39. Elza Kireeva finished 3rd in 2:39:49 to complete a Russian sweep of the event's podium places.

Two-time Grandma's Marathon champion Mary Akor finished 4th in 2:40:00.

Springfield, Minnesota's Sheena Dauer was the top Minnesota finisher, 11th in 2:50:00.

Said Glok (through an interpreter): "The race went well, but the weather was a problem because my arms and my legs got cold. Silvia and I took off together; we ran together until about 12 kilometers left in the race. At about the 8k to-go mark, Silvia started to pull away from me, I started to catch up to her gradually, and with about 600 meters to go I passed her."

The Pioneer Press story on the race is HERE.

Find full results HERE.

Photo by Kevin Coloton/Competitive Image.

2002 Champ Dan Browne Returns to TCM

In 2002, as Dan Browne prepared to make his marathon debut at the Twin Cities Marathon, American long distance running was still reeling from the cruel facts of the 2000 Sydney Olympic.

Only a single American male and female marathoner were able to qualify for those Games, thanks to stiff Olympic qualifying standards, hot weather at both Olympic Trials marathons, and sagging performance levels among the country's top athletes. Stake-holders in U.S. distance running -- not the least elite athletes themselves -- were eager to change the trajectory.

Browne (pictured, right, with Jackson Kipngok, #78, and Joshua Kipkemboi) came to Twin Cities with a confidence uncharacteristic of debut marathoners. He expected to do very well. He brought pacesetters Chad Johnson and Philemon Hanneck with him from Oregon to pace him to a course record. He told TCM's elite recruiter at the time -- yours truly -- that he was fine with TCM giving him bib #1, if they so chose.

Backing it all up, Browne then ran 2:11:33 to win the race. A talented, young American had turned to the marathon and found real success. He became the first U.S. winner of Twin Cities since Olympian Ed Eyestone in 1993. The West Point grad earned the cover of Runner's World magazine for the accomplishment and what it meant for USA distance running.

Browne's success was followed two weeks later by Alan Culpepper's 2:09:41 clocking at Chicago, then the fastest U.S. debut marathon ever. At the New York City Marathon the next month, Meb Keflezighi made his own marathon debut in 2:12:35.

That threesome, of course, would compose the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team in the marathon in Athens -- Keflezighi would earn silver and Culpepper would take 12th, although Browne, himself, would stuggle to a 65th place finish. Coupled with Deena Kastor's bronze medal in the women's race, U.S. marathoning was back in the game.

Now, six years after the Twin Cities win that began to turn the tide of American fortunes in endurance running -- since then Bernard Lagat has won World Championships golds in 1500 meters and 5000 meters, Kara Goucher has won a Worlds bronze at 10,000 meters and Shalane Flanagan has earned bronze in the Olympics -- Browne returns to Twin Cities to run the marathon.

Browne is older, of course. He's got six marathon under his belt, although his PR is still his 2002 TCM mark. Browne has a different coach; he's working with Keflezighi's mentor Bob Larson now, rather than Alberto Salazar who coached him in 2002. He's battled injuries in recent years, but he's confident he is close now to the fitness he had in 2002.

"Training's been going fine -- about as well as can be expected -- I think it will be a good effort," Browne said at yesterday's media conference. "I think the winner is going to be somewhere between 2:11 and 2:13 at the slowest."

Browne has sought to replicate some aspects of his preparation from 2002. He's run the same summer races leading into TCM as he did six years ago. He's also staying with the same family -- Wayzata's Bill and Gale Van Brunt -- that he stayed with in 2002 and last year when he raced in the TC 10 Mile.

But the veteran will face strong, young competition on Sunday as he attempts to win a second USA Marathon title and his 17th USA title overall. Fernando Cabada has run 2:12:27; Justin Young has run 2:13:43. The veteran Simon Sawe has finished 2nd at Twin Cities and sports a 2:13:40 PR. Trent Briney, the runner Browne beat for his Olympic spot in 2004, brings his 2:12:34 credentials to the race.

In a field with 19 sub-2:20 entrants, there's a sense that any that are at least dozen runners could win the race, or think they can. No one is willing to count out, for example, Fazil Bezuneh, Edwardo Torres, Team USA Matt Gabrielson, teammate Chris Lundstrom, Matt Downin, or Brandon Leslie.

Likewise, remembering that Browne himself was a marathon debutante in 2002, one of the newcomers to the event could very well steal the show again. Might Ryan Sheehan, Team USA's Antonio Vega, teammate Josh Moen, or Chris Olinger, debutantes all, become this year's Dan Browne?

It's a fast, deep American field. It's the world of U.S. marathoning that Browne helped make ... and tomorrow must compete against.

Photo by Paul Phillips, Competitive Image.

To Taper or Not to Taper ... the Difference?

Could something as basic as a taper turn out to be the difference between Katie McGregor and Kara Goucher in Sunday's much-anticipated clash of Minnesotans at the USA Women's 10 Mile Championship contested at the Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Mile?

Both athletes -- Team USA Minnesota's McGregor and Duluth native Goucher (pictured) -- will race Sunday in the middle of their high-mileage training build-ups for the ING New York City Marathon on November 2.

In a media conference held this morning, the two well-decorated distance stars -- McGregor a four-time USA Champion, Goucher an Olympian and World Championships bronze medalist --revealed different training strategies for approaching a championship 10 mile race four weeks ahead of a major marathon.

McGregor told reporters that she tapered slightly from her typical 100 mile marathon training weeks to freshen up for the race. Goucher, however, hasn't backed off from the 110 to 115 mile weeks that have defined her marathon build-up.

Might a little extra tapering spunk mean the difference between the fleet pair?

"Last week and this week have been a little mini-break for just a couple weeks before the race," McGregor, the five-time TC-10 champ and course record-holder at 53:48 said. "I haven't really done any constant hard mileage, just over a 100 [mile per week.]"

When Goucher was asked by the Pioneer Press' Bruce Brothers whether she'd taken a "mini-break" to rest up ahead of the race, Goucher quipped: "I'm not rested ... I'm going to rest tomorrow!"

Her rest-day on Saturday will be a 10 mile run.

"I think, probably like Katie, I have pretty heavy legs right now from running a lot of miles," Goucher admitted. "My goal really is to get out there and run competitively and run fairly aggressively. I just want to get my legs under me -- they've been a little tired lately -- and get a negative split in the race -- hang out for the first half and try to push the second half and try to run it faster in the second half."

As with their tapering regimes, the two former NCAA cross country champions have historically employed different race strategies for their successes.

"I'm definitely a front-runner," McGregor admitted. "I'm just going to run as hard as I can for 10 miles, and hopefully that gets me somewhere -- hopefully crossing the finish-line first."

Goucher has usually been more comfortable waiting until later in races to make her bids for victory. Still, don't expect her to simply sit and kick.

"I'm certainly not going to sit around and let Katie do all the work," Goucher allowed. "I think the course record is probably in jeopardy. Hopefully we'll run really fast together. I would love to run right around five minutes for the last few miles."

Follow the Races ... The USA Women's 10 Mile Championship begins at 7:05 AM Sunday in downtown Minneapolis. WCCO radio will break into its regular Sunday morning fare for race reports -- listen for my report from the TC-10 lead vehicle around 7:25 -- and Down the Backstretch will have top results, race re-caps, and winners' quotes from the finish-line for each of the day's races.

Also ... Check out Rachel Blount's Star-Tribune story on the pair HERE.

Photo by Charlie Mahler.

TCM History: 2007 Champions and Their Races

Here's the fifth and final installment in our series, produced with partner the Competitive Image, remembering recent Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon champions and the races they won.

Below, last year's Twin Cities Marathon champions:

'07 men's champ Mykola Antonenko: On a brutally hot and sticky race-day, Antonenko somehow kept his cool -- winning the 2007 TCM by more than six minutes in 2:13:54. The Ukranian ran with the lead pack through 10K, but by the half-way mark led by more than a minute. Runner-up Joseph Mutinda ran 2:20:12 for 2nd place. 2004 TCM champ Augustus Kavutu Mbusya was 3rd in 2:21:13.

'07 women's champ Svetlana Ponomarenko: Like her male counterpart, Ponomarenko made hot-weather marathoning look easy with her 2:34:09 victory at TCM last year. The Russia national led from the 10 mile mark on and never allowed runner-up Alena Vinitskaya, who crossed the finish line at 2:38:23, to get close enough to mount a serious challenge.

Find full results of the 2007 race HERE.

Find DtB's coverage of the race is HERE.

Photos by Paul Phillips, Competitive Image.

Friday's (Early) Morning Catch-All ...

Your editor is busy this morning attending various Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon media conferences and production meetings. Plan on reading a preview of the USA 10 Mile Championship on DtB in the early afternoon today. Check in Saturday, too, when we'll preview the marathon.

Until then, here, quickly, is the latest from TCM and the rest of the Minnesota running and track beat ...

More on Gabrielson ... The Star-Tribune recently ran THIS fine story on Team USA Minnesota's Matt Gabrielson.

Macharia Yuot's Story ... If you don't know Team USA Minnesota's TCM entrant Macharia Yuot's story of being one of Sudan's "Lost Boys," we urge you to watch THIS moving 2007 video from ESPN.

USA Track & Field's Preview ... USATF has nice previews of the weekend's USA Championships contested at TCM, HERE.

Medtronic's "Global Heroes" ... Not all the great TCM stories are about elite athletes. THIS Star-Trib story by Rachel Blount introduces some athletes competing with devices made by TCM's title sponsor.

Blaine Invite Results ... High schoolers were racing last night in Blaine. Find results HERE.

TCM History: 2006 Champions and Their Races

Here's the fourth installment in our series, produced with partner the Competitive Image, remembering recent Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon champions and the races they won.

Below, the 2006 Twin Cities Marathon champions:

'06 men's champ Mbarak Hussein: The 41-year-old Hussein became only the third man to win back-to-back TCM titles when he defended his TCM, USA Open, and USA Masters titles in 2006 in 2:13:52. In a race that Team USA Minnesota's Jason Lehmkuhle led in the early-going, Hussein waited until the 11th mile to join the lead pack and only pulled away from runner-up Simon Sawe -- his Sunday long-run partner in New Mexico -- after the 25-mile mark.

'06 women's champ Marla Runyan: Two-time U.S. Olympian Marla Runyan -- who got her start in the sport as a legally-blind para-Olympic heptathlete --won the 2006 TCM leading from wire-to-wire. Runyan passed 10K in 34:54 and the half-way mark in 1:14:19 en route to her 2:32:15 win. The victory came just 13 months after the Sydney Olympic 1500 meter finalist had given birth to her daughter Anna Lee.

Find full results of the 2006 race HERE.

My Running USA Wire story from the race is HERE.

Photos by Paul Phillips, Competitive Image.

Carleton Women Ranked #12 in Division III

The Carleton College women's cross country team, 4th place finishers in the women's Maroon III division at the Griak Invitational last Saturday, are ranked #12 in the latest NCAA Division III women's poll.

The Knights are the top-ranked Minnesota small college in the latest D2 and D3 polls released yesterday.

The University of St. Thomas women, who finished just one place and 13 points behind Carleton at Griak are ranked #15 in the D3 poll. Bethel is ranked #28; St. Olaf is ranked #32.

Hamline University's men, who finished 4th in the Griak men's Maroon III division, are ranked #19 in the D3 poll. St. Olaf is ranked #31.

In NCAA Division II polling, the Minnesota State Mankato men fell to #20 in the rankings. The Mavericks, who finished 3rd in their division at Griak, were ranked #7 in the previous poll.

No Minnesota women's team are ranked in D2.

Find complete D2 and D3 rankings HERE and HERE, respectively, thanks to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.