FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jane Kibii and Elisha Barno Headline Fields
at 37th Annual Twin Cities Marathon
Defending Champions Sara Hall and Shadrack Kipchirchir Return to Medtronic
TC 10 Mile
St. Paul, Minn. - October 2, 2018 - A Kenyan women trying to win an
unprecedented third-straight title and her countryman aiming for victory on
the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul after three near-misses headline
the professional athlete favorites at Sunday's 37th annual Medtronic Twin
Cities Marathon, where $7,500 winners' checks and two $25,000 course record
bonuses are on offer.
In the 20th anniversary Medtronic TC 10 Mile earlier in the day, deep
fields of USATF 10 Mile Championship runners - including 2017 winners Sara
Hall and Shadrack Kipchirchir -- will race for national titles, $12,500
winners' checks and a $10,000 "Equalizer Bonus for the first champion -
female or male - to cross the finish line in a competition where the women
start the race ahead of the men.
The Medtronic TC 10 Mile with more than 13,000 runners will start at
approximately 6:54 a.m., with the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and its
more than 9,300 participants will start at 7:55 a.m.
The 37th Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon
Jane Kibii, winner of the last two Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon women's
titles - and a narrow runner-up in the 2015 - aims to set herself apart as
the only woman in event history to win three years in a row. She expects
to be challenged by fellow Kenyan Sarah Kiptoo the former Grandma's
Marathon record-holder, Heather Lieberg (Helena, Mont.) the runner-up in
the 2013 race, and Ethiopia's Serkalem Arbrha, the 2015 champion.
Elisha Barno, the four-time champion of Grandma's Marathon, will race to
win his first Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon after three straight runner-up
finishes. The Kenyan can expect a challenge from countryman Boniface
Kongin, last year's fourth-place finisher. Local hopes will rest on Tyler
Jermann (Burnsville, Minn.) a member of the Team USA Minnesota, the elite
distance training program sponsored in part by Twin Cities In Motion.
Professional runners at this year's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon will
race for a $39,500 prize purse and $25,000 event record bonuses, for
winners breaking Dominic Ondoro's men's mark of 2:08:51 (2016) or the
women's record of 2:26:51 shared by Russians Zinaida Semenova (2001) and
Irina Permitina (2004).
The USATF 10 Mile Championship at the 20th Medtronic TC 10 Mile
A star-studded women's USATF Championship field will assemble for the 20th
anniversary of the Medtronic TC 10 Mile. Defending champion Sara Hall
(Flagstaff, Ariz.) hopes to outrun event record-holder Molly Huddle
(Providence, R.I.) and 2018 Grandma's Marathon champion and course record
holder Kellyn Taylor of (Flagstaff, Ariz.). Emma Bates (Boise, Idaho), an
Elk River native, is the top contender with local ties.
Defending men's champion Shadrack Kipchirchir (Colorado Springs, Colo.),
who won a photo-finish victory in 2017, returns to face a field that
includes U.S. Olympian Leonard Korir (Colorado Springs, Colo.), and former
Team USA Minnesota star Biya Simbassa (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Andrew
Colley (Blowing Rock, N.C.), the third-place finisher at the 2018 USA Half
Marathon Championships, is an outside favorite to break up a Colorado
Springs sweep of the race.
A prize purse of $96,950 is up for grabs in the USATF 10 Mile
Championships, held in conjunction with the Medtronic TC 10 Mile for the
fourth straight year.
Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend
Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend kicks off at 11:00 a.m. on Friday,
October 5, with the opening of the Health & Fitness Expo at Saint Paul
RiverCentre. The expo, which runs through Saturday evening, features more
than 100 exhibitors, a full schedule of free presentations at the Star
Tribune Expo Stage and packet pick up for the weekend's races.
The Saturday Events at the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul include the TC
10K, presented by PNC Bank, TC 5K, presented by Fredrikson & Byron, and the
Medtronic TC Family Events, which feature the KARE 11 Family Mile,
presented by Medica, the Half Mile, presented by KS95 and the Toddler Trot
and Diaper Dash.
The 20th anniversary Medtronic TC 10 Mile kicks off Sunday racing and is
followed by the signature event of the weekend, the 37th annual Medtronic
Twin Cities Marathon. Both races will also host the Medtronic Global
Champions, twenty remarkable individuals who have overcome or actively
manage serious health conditions with the aid of medical technology.
Additional information on all aspects of the 37th annual Medtronic Twin
Cities Marathon Weekend can be found at tcmevents.org.
Find the 2018 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend Media Guide here.
Twin Cities In Motion (TCM) is the region's premier running event company.
Its mission is simple - ignite everyone's inner athlete. TCM is a 501 (c)
3 nonprofit that organizes 27 races 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 give back more than $1.4 million annually to a
variety of causes. For more information, visit us at tcmevents.org, or find
us on Facebook and Twitter @tcmarathon.
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