FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FERNANDO CABADA WINS USA MEN'S MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIP
AT THE 27th ANNUAL MEDTRONIC TWIN CITIES MARATHON
Olga Glok captured the women's title on Sunday, October 5
(Minneapolis, MN) – USA 25K record holder, Fernando Cabada, 26 of Boulder,
CO won his first marathon on American soil and in the process captured an
exciting USA Men's Marathon Championship in 2:16:31. Matt Gabrielson, 30
of Minneapolis, Minn., placed second (2:17:38) and Edwardo Torres, 28 of
Boston, Mass., was third in 2:17:54.
After the race, an emotional Cabada said, "I worked hard and I told myself
I'd take the lead at mile 17. I wanted to get a good rhythm and not think
too much." Cabada was able to extend his lead to a minute by mile 24. He
continued, "I just don't want to wake up and have it be a dream."
Gabrielson, who trains with Team USA Minnesota, said, "I knew every square
inch of that course, and you know by the landmarks how much further you
have to run." Regarding the cool, rainy conditions, Gabrielson said, "It
was brutal out there." While temperatures were ideal at the start, much of
the race was run in a steady rain and headwind.
All three of the top female finishers are from Russia. Olga Glok, 25, won a
tight race in 2:32:27 over Silvia Skvortsova, 33 (2:32:38). Elza Kireeva,
29, finished third (2:39:47).
Glok said, "I've never run in such steady rain. It's the first time I've
run when it rained the whole time." This was Glok's first attempt at the
Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. Regarding the course, she said, "It's a
nice course with some small hills. As long as you're prepared, the course
is very manageable."
USATF Masters Men's Champion Dennis Simonaitis, 46 of Draper, Utah,
reclaimed his masters title he won in 2004. On reclaiming the Masters
Championship, Simonaitis said, "I'm ecstatic about Masters Championship. I
thought it was going to be a much faster day, but the rain really slowed us
down." Carl Rundell won second place in 2:28:07 and last year's champion,
Tracy Lokken, won third in 2:30:24.
For the women, Susan Empey, 40 of Mercer Island, Wash., won the USATF
Masters Women's Championship in 2:50:05. On winning the title, Empey said,
"It's pretty exciting. I was impressed by how many people were out on the
course getting soaked just like we were. This was great, I'll be here next
year." Meghan Arbogast won second place in 2:51:34 and Doreen McCoubrie won
third in 2:53:29.
In the wheelchair race, Tyler Byers of Sterling, VA finished with a time of
1:53:21 and Jacqui Kapinowski of Point Pleasant, NJ picked up the win for
the women with a first place time of 3:20:27
Minnesota runners finished strong as well. Picking up the men's Minnesota
prize purse were Matt Gabrielson, Chris Lundstrom, and Antonio Vega, all of
Team USA Minnesota. Zeddy Chepkoech was the first female Minnesotan in
2:47:08.
For more results, visit mtcmarathon.org.
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