Contact: Dan Finanger
Executive Director
612-925-3500, Ext. 12
Jackie Liu
Media & Public Relations Manager
612-925-3500, Ext. 13
TWIN CITIES MARATHON ANNOUNCES 2003 PRIZE STRUCTURE
$176,000 up for grabs
Minneapolis, Minnesota - April 17, 2003 - When the starting gun fires in
Minneapolis for the 22nd annual Twin Cities Marathon (TCM) on October 5, a
$176,000 prize purse will be up for grabs, TCM officials are proud to
announce.
And, when the men's and women's 2003 TCM Champions cross the finish line in
St. Paul a short time later, two $20,000 first-place checks will be waiting
for them. In addition, masters runners - always a feature of TCM - will
compete for $37,500 worth of prizes, the $4,000 masters winners' awards,
and the $3000 USA Masters Champions' awards.
"We are excited to once again provide an aggressive incentive program that
will attract top athletes from around the world," says Dan Finanger, TCM
Executive Director. "These athletes help add so much to our sport and make
this event so special."
Runners of any age will be eligible for the $108,200 Open Division purse -
$54,100, each, for men and women. After the $20,000 designated for the
race winners, second place will garner $12,000, and third place will win
$6000. Open division prizes of at least $1000 will be paid to tenth place.
(See complete details below.)
U.S. runners, who graced TCM with their presence in large number in 2002
when TCM hosted the USA Marathon Championship, will compete for a total of
$16,000 in prize and bonus money specially designated for U.S. runners.
The top male and female U.S. citizens at TCM will earn $2500 and be
eligible for a $1000 bonus if they achieve the Olympic "B" Standard of
2:14:50 (men) or 2:36:00 (women). The second and third place Americans
will earn $1500 and $1000, respectively, and be eligible for the same
performance bonus. U.S. runners will also be eligible for any Open
Division prize money they earn.
For the 12th consecutive year, TCM will host the USA Master Championship.
This year, $12,000 will be available exclusively to USA Masters
Championship competitors. Along with the USA Masters Champions' $3000
payday, the runners-up will earn $2000 and the 3rd place finishers will
gather $1000. USA Masters Championship athletes will compete across age
groups for age-graded money totaling $4500, based on times adjusted for age
by a mathematical formula. The USA Masters Championship is hosted by TCM
under the auspices of USA Track & Field.
USA Masters Championship athletes are also eligible to dip into the overall
master purse of $21,000. The top masters runners (men and women) of any
nationality will earn $4000, runners-up will earn $3000, while third place
will get $2000, fourth place $1000, and fifth $500. Masters runners who
place in the top-10 overall all will be eligible for Open prizes as well.
Wheelchair athletes will compete for a total prize purse of $7500.
Able-bodied Minnesota residents will compete for winners' prizes of $500
and a purse of $2600. Age-group winners will win $300 each from a total
purse of $4200.
The 2003 Twin Cities Marathon weekend is October 3-5. 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. Twin Cities Marathon continues its 12th
consecutive year as the designated USATF National Masters Championship for
men and women. Major corporate sponsors for the marathon are Cub Foods and
Seagate Technology. 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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