Mo Trafeh (Duarte, Calif.) is making his marathon debut

Twin Cities plays host to top U.S. distance runners this weekend


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INDIANAPOLIS - October in the Twin Cities means that, once again, the top long distance runners in the U.S. will toe the line as the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon plays host to the championships for the USA Men's Marathon, Masters Marathon and Women's 10 Miles Championships. The USA Women's 10 Mile Championships will start the day's events on Sunday at 7:03 a.m. Central Time with the marathon starting at 8:00 a.m.

The USA Women's 10 Mile Championship will feature local favorite Katie McGregor (Saint Louis Park, Minn.), the 2010 USA 15 km and 25 km champion. McGregor will be challenged for the title by Jen Rhines (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), a two-time USA 15 km champion. Rhines finished second behind McGregor at the 15 km championships in March.

Additional challengers for the title will include Sally Meyerhoff (Tempe, Ariz.), the 2009 USA 25 km champion, and Renee Metivier Baillie, the 2010 USA Indoor champion at 3,000 meters.

The championship will offer $25,000 in total prize money with the champion earning $10,000.

Men's Marathon

The USA Men's Marathon Championship will conclude the 2010 edition of the USA Running Circuit (USARC) and will feature 2010 USA 15 km champion Mo Trafeh (Duarte, Calif.), who is making his marathon debut and is poised to take the 2010 USARC title on Sunday. Standing between Trafeh and his second U.S. title of 2010 will be 2008 USA Marathon champion Fernando Cabada (Alamosa, Colo.), the current American record holder at 25 km.

Local favorite Josh Moen (Minneapolis, Minn.), who took the runner-up spot at the 2009 USA Men's 10 Mile Championship in his hometown last year, will also be in the hunt for the title, as will masters standout Mbarak Hussein (Albuquerque, N.M.), who took both the overall and masters titles at this event in 2005 and 2006.

The men's marathon will feature $72,500 in prize money with $25,000 going to the champion.

Masters Marathon

For the 20th consecutive year, the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon hosts the USA Masters Marathon Championships and will see Hussein face masters standouts such as Paul Aufdemberge (Redford, Mich.), Dave Olds (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Sean Wade (Houston, Texas), while recent masters additions will include Keith Mulhollon (Lake Geneva, Wis.) and Matthew Sandercock (Exton, Pa.).

Racing for the masters women's title will be 2007 champion Susan Loken (Phoenix, Ariz.) and 2008 runner-up Meghan Arbogast (Corvallis, Ore.). Also new to the masters women's field will be Heather May (Auburn, Ala.) and Lucie Mays (Westfield, Ind.).

The USA Masters Marathon Championships will feature $55,000 in prize money with the overall men's and women's masters champions earning $7,500 each.

Video highlights

The USA Women's 10 Mile and Men's Marathon Championships will be webcast live in cooperation with RunnerSpace.com at www.USARunningCircuit.com.

About the USARC

The USA Women's 10 Mile Championship is the eighth stop for women while the USA Men's Marathon Championship is the tenth and final stop for men on the 2010 USA Running Circuit (USARC).

The USARC is a USA Track & Field road series, featuring USA Championships from one mile to the marathon and attracts the best U.S. distance runners. The circuit features ten events each for men and women. Antonio Vega (Minneapolis, Minn.) currently leads the men's standings with 44 points, while Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.) leads the women with 31 points.

The 2010 USARC will once again see a record amount of circuit prize money for a non-Olympic year with total prize purse of $623,850 offered by host events. U.S. athletes will also have the opportunity to qualify for various Team USA events, including the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and the Chiba International Ekiden.

The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USARC race (15 for first, 12 for second, 10 for third, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1), with a final $12,500 grand prix purse ($6,000, $4,000, and $2,500) for the top three men and women point scorers overall. The USARC points at the USA Marathon Championships will be doubled.

The mission of the USA Running Circuit is to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided over $6 million dollars to U.S. distance runners.

For more information on the 2010 USA Running Circuit, visit www.USARunningCircuit.com.



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About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: www.usatf.org.