The Twin Cities Marathon 2009 got underway just after sunrise Sunday morning with the help of over 5,000 volunteers who coordinated the event. Racing to the finish line this year include the oldest runner Lloyd Young, 86 and the youngest marathon runner, Olivia Verhoye, 14. Thirty-one percent of the entrants are running their first marathon. There are runners from every state and 21 countries.
Runners are crossing the finish line and many are qualifying for the 2012 Olympic trials. Ilsa Paulson crossed the finish line of the women's marathon in 2:31:48 (unofficial time)and now qualifies for the 2012 Olympic trials. Joining her are 29 elite women from the USA Women's Marathon Championship who also qualified for 2012 Olympic trials.
With a start at the Metrodome and the finish line at the State Capitol, this is an exciting day for what is known as "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America."
Four of the races in the Twin Cities Marathon 2009 are for U.S. championships, the men's 10-mile run, the women's marathon and the men's and women's masters marathons. Any woman running the marathon in 2 hours, 46 minutes or under qualifies for 2012 U.S. Olympic trials. Purse is $260,000; men's and women's winners each earn $25,000.
The unofficial times for the winning runners are coming in as light rain falls in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. This year, all 50 states are represented at the Twin Cities Marathon, making it a very closely watched race! The unofficial time for 1st place men's marathon winner, Jason Hartmann, was reported to be 2:12:16. Coming in a close second place was Men's marathon was Augustus Kavutu Mbusay with an unofficial time of 2:13:00. Mbusay won the men's marathon in 2004.
Fans can check on the status of their favorite runners in the 2009 Twin Cities Marathon with the tracking system on mtectracking.com. Runners can be tracked by their bib number or name.
Written by Cheryl Phillips
Exclusive to HULIQ.com
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