FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kristine Smith
Marketing & Public Relations Manager
(763) 287-3888 x 13
TWO-TIME OLYMPIAN MARLA RUNYAN, 2003 US NATIONAL CHAMPION RYAN SHAY AND
FORMER OLYMPIAN JANICE KLECKER TO TAKE THEIR MARKS AT THE START OF THE
MEDTRONIC TWIN CITIES MARATHON AND TC 10 MILE RACES
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2006
Competitive Men's and Women's Field Set
(Minneapolis, MN) - Marla Runyan (37) of Eugene, Oregon, hopes to add the
Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon to her winning titles Sunday, when she
competes against a strong women's field. "I train with Heather Hanscom
(28) [who] is a great training partner and incredibly tough. She will run
well. Also, I think Zoila Gomez (27) will run well. She was strong in New
Haven. I also think my good friend, Jenny Crain (38), is ready to run a
[personal record]. I am going in conservative, hoping to run 2 hours 30
minutes. Winning would be great, but anything is possible in the marathon,
and nothing is for sure," Runyan said. The three-time U.S. 5,000 meter
champion won the USA 20K title in New Haven, Conn. on Labor Day in 1:08:28.
Runyan took second place at the Guidant Heart of Summer 10K in Minneapolis,
August 19th.
Expect great races out of 2006 25K champion and Minnesota native Turena
Johnson-Lane (31), Maggie Chan Roper (30), Heather Hanscom (28) and 2003 US
National Champion and Team USA Minnesota runner Sara Wells (27).
Returning masters champion Susan Loken (43) takes the start in the women's
masters race. She will be joined by "new" master Michelle Simonaitis (40)
(whose husband Dennis Simonatis (44) will also be a contender in the
masters race). Kim Jones (48), former TCM champ and winner of the
Disneyland Half Marathon Sept. 17th will also be running. Jones has run
Twin Cities Marathon four times, winning twice and finishing second twice.
Mbarak Hussein is the favorite to win on the men's side overall. 2003 US
National Champion Ryan Shay (27) will be pushing him as will Simon Sawe
(32), Team USA Minnesota runner Jason Lehmkuhle (28) and Fasil Bizuneh
(26). Bizuneh is running his debut marathon and is a former All American
runner at Arizona State. Sawe, a former Kenyan, was 2nd at Grandma's
Marathon in 2005.
Returning TCM champion Hussein will compete against 2005 Twin Cities
Marathon (TCM) 2nd place finisher Dennis Simonaitis (44) and 2005 TCM 3rd
place finisher Paul Aufdemburge (41).
Minnesota's own former Olympian Janice Klecker will run the Medtronic TC 10
Mile. Klecker, who is a two-time Twin Cities Marathon champion (1991 and
1992), won the Olympic Marathon Trials in 1992 and represented the United
States at the 1992 Olympics. She will compete against leading favorites
including defending TC 10 champ Katie McGregor (29), who is the 2005 USA
10,000 meter track champion and 10K road champion. Matt Gabrielson (28)
will run against 2005 TC 10 defending champ Moses Waweru (28). Gabrielson
finished 2nd at the 2005 USA Men's Half Marathon Championship and third at
both the 2004 USA Men's 5K Championship and the 2003 USA Men's 10K
Championship.
New this year, a $2,500 bonus for breaking the American 30K (approximately
18.6 miles) Men's and Women's Open Record, both of which were set at Twin
Cities Marathon by Phil Coppess in 1985 and by Kim Jones (Rosenquist) in
1986, respectively.
Please see below for top seeded runners in the marathon (For complete list
of elite seeding, please visit www.mtcmarathon.org.)
Men's Open
Simon Sawe, 32, Santa Fe, NM
Ryan Shay, 27, East Jordan, MI
Kyle Baker, 30, Grand Rapids, MI
Jason Lehmkuhle, 28, Minneapolis, MN
Christopher Banks, 28, Albuquerque, NM
Jacob Frey, 25, Oakton, VA
Chris Graff, 30, Boston, MA
Chris Lundstrom, 30, Minneapolis, MN
Brantley Lutz, 31, San Antonio, TX
Nathan Usher, 23, Lansing, MI
Women's Open
Marla Runyan, 37, Eugene, OR
Turena Johnson Lane, 31, Muncie, IN
Maggie Chan-Roper, 30, Shaw AFB, SC
Heather Hanscom, 28, Eugene, OR
Sara Wells, 27, Burnsville, MN
Emily Levan, 33, Wiscasset, ME
Mary Akor, 30, Chino Hills, CA
Jenny Crain, 38, Milwaukee, WI
Michelle Lilienthal, 24, Iowa City, IA
Zoila Gomez, 27, Alamosa, CO
Men's Masters
Mbarak Hussein, 41, Albuquerque, NM
Dennis Simonaitis, 44, Draper, UT
Paul Aufdemburge, 41, Redford, MI
John Mirth, 44, Platteville, WI
Daniel Boyle, 43, Manhattan, KS
Women's Masters
Susan Loken, 43, Phoenix, AZ
Kim Jones, 48, Fort Collins, CO
Michelle Simonaitis, 40, Draper, UT
Lisa Vaill, 43, Gainsville, FL
Meghan Arbogast, 45, Corvallis, OR
The 2006 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon weekend will take place Sept. 29 -
Oct. 1, 2006. The three-day weekend celebration of fitness includes a 5K
run/walk, children's fun runs, pasta dinner, health and fitness expo and
Medtronic TC 10 Mile, in addition to the marathon. The race continues its
16th consecutive year as the designated USATF National Masters Championship
for both men and women and will also host the USATF men's and women's open
Marathon Championships. Other Major sponsors include Capella University
and ING. Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. is a non-profit organization that
directs race weekend as a community service for the Minneapolis/St. Paul
area. Visit www.mtcmarathon.org for more information.
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