FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Watychowicz, Ondoro Return for More Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Glory
St. Paul, Minn., September 23, 2024 - The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon
will once again host nationally and internationally competitive road racing
athletes with several new names and some familiar faces as they hit the
streets of the Minneapolis and St. Paul on October 6.
Women's defending 2022 champion, Jessica Watychowicz who hails from
Burbank, Ill. and ran collegiately at the University of Wisconsin Parkside
headlines a field that includes Jane Bareikis, from Crestwood, Ill. and
Molly Bookmeyer, from Columbus, Ohio.
While the trio will be chasing both the overall and Best of the Midwest
titles, they will have to contend with Twin Cities debutant Miku Hirashima
from Japan.
Watychowicz's personal best of 2:33:09 comes from her victory in 2022 while
Bookmeyer has a personal best of 2:30:16 from her third-place finish at
this year's Grandma's marathon, and Bareikis has a personal best of 2:29:00
in the 2023 BMW Berlin Marathon. With a personal best of 2:30:49,
Hirashima will be a leading contender in her first Medtronic Twin Cities
Marathon.
Among the most experienced in the men's field will be Kenya's Dominic
Ondoro who set the course record of 2:08:51 in 2016 and won his record
fourth Twin Cities title in 2019. A primary challenger to the event's
winningest racer will be countryman Shadrack Kimining. Despite a 2:14:59
debut marathon earlier this year, his 59:27 half marathon best should make
him a factor in his first Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon appearance.
Also joining the fray is Cosmas Kiplimo, who has podium finishes this year
at Los Angeles, second in 2:11:06, and third at Grandma's Marathon in
2:12:22.
The 2024 professional wheelchair race will feature men's defending champion
Wyatt Willand, who will be challenged for the overall win by teammate
Valera "Jacob" Allen. The women's professional wheelchair race will be led
by Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon newcomer Veronica Gonzalez.
Medtronic TC 10 Mile
This year's Medtronic TC 10 Mile will once again showcase some of the top
domestic and international talent on the U.S. road racing circuit. The
women's field will feature several recent collegiate champions, as well as
notable fixtures in races from 5K to the marathon.
Top contenders this year include 2022 NCAA 10,000 meter champion Mercy
Chelangat, who is in her second year as a professional, competing for Hoka
NAZ Elite after a successful NCAA career at the University of Alabama.
Joining Chelangat in the field will be Everlyn Kemboi, the 2023 NCAA 10,000
meter national champion. Also in the chase for the women's title will be
Natosha Rogers, herself an NCAA 10,000 meter champion in 2012, as well as
being the 2017 USA Half Marathon Champion and runner-up in the 2017
Medtronic TC 10 Mile.
The men's race will see several men looking to challenge the course record.
Raymond Magut of Kenya has run 45:55 for 10 miles this year and Ryan Ford
finished 9th in the 10,000 meters at this year's U.S. Olympic Track & Field
Trials and ran a personal best of 27:40 earlier in the summer. Also among
the men looking to be the first to the Capitol on race day will be Yemane
Haileselassie, who has numerous top-10 finishes at major U.S. road races
this summer.
Find additional professional athlete information and prize money details
here.
Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend
Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend kicks off at 11:00 a.m. on Friday,
October 4, with the opening of the Health & Fitness Expo at Saint Paul
RiverCentre. The expo, which runs through Saturday evening, features more
than 75 exhibitors and packet pick up for the weekend's races.
The Saturday Events at the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul on October 5
include the TC 10K, presented by Dermatology Consultants, TC 5K, presented
by Fredrikson, and the Medtronic TC Family Events, which feature the KARE
11 Family Mile, the Half Mile, presented by iHeartRadio Minneapolis, and
the Toddler Trot and Diaper Dash.
The Medtronic TC 10 Mile kicks off Sunday racing on October 6 and is
followed by the signature event of the weekend, the Medtronic Twin Cities
Marathon. Additional information on all aspects of the Medtronic Twin
Cities Marathon Weekend can be found at tcmevents.org.
Twin Cities In Motion (TCM) is a community motion nonprofit and the
region's premier running event organizer. TCM believes a community that
engages each other through movement, makes a healthier society both
socially and physically. TCM is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit that organizes dozens
of events throughout the year, including the Medtronic Twin Cities
Marathon, a Top 10 U.S. marathon, to provide opportunities for people of
all ages, abilities, and experiences to live an active, healthy lifestyle.
Collectively, TCM and its charity partners that fundraise at TCM events
regularly give back more than $1 million annually to a variety of causes.
For more information, visit us at tcmevents.org, or find us on Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter @tcmarathon.
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