Contact: Dan Finanger
Executive Director
612-925-3500, Ext. 12
Jackie Liu
Media & Public Relations Manager
612-925-3500, Ext. 13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RECORD-SETTER, CHAMPIONS AND DEBUTANTES HEADLINE U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP FIELDS
AT TWIN CITIES MARATHON
Minneapolis, Minnesota – August 23, 2002 – A former American record-holder
in the marathon, two former U.S. Marathon Champions, veterans of the U.S.
marathoning scene, and some intriguing marathon debutantes headline the
men’s and women’s U.S. Marathon Championship fields at the 2002 Twin Cities
Marathon set for September 29. Twin Cities Marathon will host U.S.
Championships for Open male and female and Masters male and female runners
– only the second event in history to do so.
Former American Record-holder David Morris of Albuquerque, New Mexico
headlines the U.S. Open Men’s field with his 2:09:32 personal best set in
Chicago in 1999 which set the American Record at the time. He’ll face
stiff competition from 2000 Olympic Trials runner-up and current U.S. Half
Marathon Champion Peter DeLaCerda of Alamosa, Colorado. Also entered are
intriguing first-time marathoners, Brad Hauser of Palo Alto, California and
Dan Browne of Portland, Oregon. Hauser was a 2000 Olympian at 5,000
meters. Browne, who ran a personal best of 27:47 for 10,000 meters on the
track this spring, is an eight-time U.S. Champion across road, track, and
cross country disciplines. Minnesota’s own Chris Lundstrom, third in the
2001 U.S.Marathon Championship, will also contend for a top place.
The U.S. Women’s field boasts two former U.S. Marathon Champions, Julia
Kirtland of Harpswell, Maine, a Macalester College graduate who won the
1997 U.S. title, and Kim Pawelek of Jacksonville, Florida who won the title
in 1999 at Twin Cities Marathon. They’ll be joined by Susannah Beck of
Eugene, Oregon, fourth in the 2000 Olympic Marathon Trials, Christine
Clifton who currently resides in Milan, Italy, who ran 2:32:47 at Chicago
in 2000, and Magdelena Lewy of Berkeley, California who finished second at
the Pittsburgh Marathon this May in 2:36:48.
"America is coming to Minneapolis/St. Paul this year," says Dan Finanger
TCM Executive Director. "Top U.S. runners will be docking for position to
be recognized as being the Best in the U.S. in 2002. What an exciting time
for the Twin Cities."
Twin Cities Marathon will announce its international and masters fields in
early September. Complete information on the elite fields at Twin Cities
Marathon will be available in the weeks immediately prior to the race.
Prize money will be awarded 10 deep in the men’s and women’s open divisions
($43,500 each for men and women) and 5 deep in the masters ($10,500 each
for men and women), with additional masters age group awards. The complete
prize purse structure is available at www.twincitiesmarathon.org.
The 2002 TCM weekend is September 27-29. TCM 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, a
pasta dinner, a 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 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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