Minneapolis/St. Paul - Feb. 4, 2010 - Five Team USA Minnesota distance runners will be at the Medtronic TC Kids Marathon Indoor Fun Run on Feb. 6 to assist with the track event that will be held at the University of Minnesota Field House beginning at 9 a.m. The events include half mile and mile runs on the track with over 400 kids - from kindergarten through 8th grade - expected to participate.
Helping out at the event will be Antonio Vega, Josh Moen, Kristen Nicolini, Meghan Armstrong and Michelle Frey. Vega is the 2010 national champion in the USA Half Marathon, an event he won on Jan. 17. Moen finished sixth at the USA Half Marathon Championships and was second at the USA 10 Mile Championships held at Twin Cities last October.
Nicolini, who has been with Team USA Minnesota since 2001, made her marathon debut at the USA Women's Marathon Championship hosted by Twin Cities last fall. She finished third in a time of 2:35:06. Armstrong won the ING Miami Half Marathon this past weekend and also won the TC 5k at Twin Cities on Oct. 3. Frey (formerly Lilienthal) placed fourth at the 2009 USA 25k Championships and previously was fourth at the USA Women's Marathon Championship hosted by Twin Cities in 2006.
The Medtronic TC Kids Marathon was created by Twin Cities in Motion to promote exercise, wellness and healthy lifestyles for kids and their families through a variety of training programs and events. In addition to the Indoor Track Event, the award-winning program includes a Cross Country Run on May 15, and the Medtronic TC Family Events on Oct. 2.
Team USA Minnesota Selected for Running USA Award
At its annual conference on Feb. 1, Running USA announced that Team USA Minnesota was selected to receive the inaugural Allan Steinfeld Development Award. Steinfeld is the former head of the New York Road Runners and a long-time leader in the sport of distance running. Team USA Minnesota was one of six distance training centers located throughout the country that applied for the $25,000 award.
"We are honored to be selected for this inaugural award created by Running USA," said Pat Goodwin, president and founder of Team USA Minneosta. "This recognition is a tribute to our athletes, our volunteer board, our local and national sponsors and to Coach Dennis Barker. We truly appreciate Running USA's confidence in our program as well as the additional funding this award provides to our training center."
Athletes at the training center include Jason Lehmkuhle, Matt Gabrielson, Josh Moen, Antonio Vega, Patrick Smyth, Katie McGregor, Kristen Nicolini, Michelle Frey, Emily Brown, Meghan Armstrong and Heather Dorniden.
Running USA, founded in 1999, advances, serves, promotes and celebrates the sport of running. The organization has more than 260 members, including road races, race services companies, running related media organizations and the athletic industry. Visit www.runningusa.org for more information.
About Team USA Minnesota
Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Formed in 2001, the purpose of the training center is to improve the competitiveness of post-collegiate American distance running and to develop Olympians. The athletes are coached by Dennis Barker, head cross country and track coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Team USA Minnesota's major sponsor is Life Time Fitness (www.lifetimefitness.com) and its silver sponsor is Twin Cities in Motion (www.mtcmarathon.org). It is also supported by the New York Road Runners and the USA Distance Project. For more information, visit the web site at www.teamusaminnesota.org.
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Pat Goodwin
952-924-1081
pfgoodwin@teamusaminnesota.org
