Contact: Dan Finanger Jackie Liu
Executive Director Media & Public Relations Manager
612-925-3500, Ext. 12 612-925-3500, Ext. 13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TWIN CITIES MARATHON'S 100,000TH FINISHER ISN'T JUST A NUMBER
Hard training, crossing finish line ahead of brother has its rewards
Minneapolis, Minnesota - April 16, 2002 - Joel Lancaster finished last
year's Twin Cities Marathon (TCM) in a dead heat with his brother Jeffery -
5 hours, 15 minutes, 3 seconds, finisher No. 5701. The good brothers
talked a bit before crossing the finish line, and Jeffery decided to let
Joel cross the line just ahead of him - making Joel the 100,000th finisher
in TCM history.
"We stuck together through the race," said Joel, from Apple Valley, MN.
"Our plan was to finish together and in four-and-a-half hours." But when
Joel, a hand therapist for Fairview Hand Center in Edina, crossed the
finish line ahead of Jeffery, of Grand Forks, ND, he had no idea he'd
become the 100,000th finisher - and winner of a bevy of prizes from TCM,
including a complementary lifetime entry.
Last year was the twentieth annual TCM, and to celebrate, TCM wanted to
honor Joel with appropriate recognition, said Dan Finanger, TCM Executive
Director. "It's amazing that over the years, we've averaged 5,000 finishers
per year," he said. "It is very important to TCM that we find ways to
recognize our participants, and this was a great way to celebrate Joel and
all our participants since the first gun back in 1982."
For Joel's part, crossing the finish line was a major accomplishment, he
said. "This was my first marathon. By no means am I a 'runner.' But I was
going to turn 30 just after the marathon and I told myself that I wanted to
run a marathon before I turned 30. I'd done some running when I lived in
Illinois, doing the River to River relay run and some mini triathlons."
Now that Joel has finished one marathon and has a lifetime of free entries
into TCM, he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. "It's totally
something I thought I'd only do once, but once I started training last
year, I knew I'd do it again. It's a great feeling. Now, I can run it as
long as I want."
The 2002 TCM weekend is September 27-29 and will host the 2002 USA Men's,
Women's and Masters Marathon Championships. The three-day weekend
celebration of fitness includes a 5K Fun Run/Walk, children's fun runs,
pasta dinner, two-day Health and Fitness Expo and a 10 mile race, in
addition to the marathon. Major corporate sponsors for the marathon are
Cub Foods, Calhoun Beach Club and Seagate. The major media sponsors are
KARE 11 and Cities 97. Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. is a non-profit
organization that directs the TCM weekend as a community service for the
Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
Visit us at www.twincitiesmarathon.org .
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