FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Victor at Last: Kenya's Elisha Barno Wins Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon
Sinke Biyadgilgn tops Women's Field, Kipchirchir and Hall Defend USATF 10
Mile Titles
St. Paul, Minn. - October 7, 2018 - After falling short of victory each of
the last three editions of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, Elisha Barno
finally crossed finish line first, winning today's race in 2:11:58. The
four-time Grandma's Marathon champ took the lead at mile 25 to edge
compatriot Boniface Kongin who ran 2:12:12.
Ethiopia's Sinke Biyadgilgn won the women's division of the race in her
first attempt, clocking 2:33:04 and edging 2015 champion Serkalem Abrha of
Ethiopia, a close runner-up in 2:33:12. Barno and Biyadgilgn each earned
$7500 for their wins.
Fifteen-year-old Tierney Wolfgram of Woodbury finished sixth among women,
clocking 2:40:03.
In the Medtronic TC 10 Mile contested earlier in the day 2017 champions
Shadrack Kipchirchir of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Sara Hall of Flagstaff,
Ariz. defended their crowns and USATF 10 Mile titles. Kipchirchir broke
Abdi Abdirahman's 2009 course record by three seconds, running 46:32.
"These guys push me every day," said of the teammates he topped for the
win. "I'm really proud of them. That's the good thing to train with them,
to train with people you compete with."
Hall ran the challenging course in 52:47. Kipchirchir also won the race's
Equalizer Bonus, topping Hall in the competition that saw the women start 5
minutes and 45 second ahead of the men. Kipchirchir and Hall earned $12,500
each for their wins, with Kipchirchir pocketing an additional $10,000 for
this Equalizer win.
"Thursday I was 100% I wasn't coming," Hall said referring to concerns
about a hamstring injury. "But, I said I'm going to go for it and I'm
really thankful I did. I didn't feel it at all."
Leonard Korir of Colorado Springs was runner-up in the men's race for the
second year in a row in 46:35; women's event record holder Molly Huddle of
Providence, R.I. was runner up for women in 52:48. Elk River native Ema
Bates was third in 52:51.
"I tried to push and I saw Boniface was very strong," marathon champion
Barno said. "Boniface put on a surge and I was right with him. I feel very
happy and feel like I want to cry, to be a champion is not easy."
Hermin Garic of Utica, N.Y. won the men's wheeler title in 1:53:00. Rebecca
Walker of Little Canada won the women's title in 3:01:13.
A record 10,896 runners finished the Medtronic TC 10 Mile. More than 6800
runners finished the marathon. All told, more than 26,000 runners
participated in Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend events.
"For runners, it was an awesome day to run, cool and overcast," Twin Cities
In Motion Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman said. "We are pleased
to organize an event that gives the community an opportunity to run from
Minneapolis to St. Paul and ignite their inner athletes.".
Find complete results and additional information at tcmevents.org.
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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