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MINNEAPOLIS - (June 2, 2004) - The Twin
Cities Marathon (TCM) announced on Wednesday that it will
open its prize purse for the marathon to any runner, regardless
of citizenship. The move comes after careful consideration
of concerns about the purse voiced by the local community.
"The attention we have received has reminded us of our
role not just as organizers of a great race, but as members
of the Twin Cities community," said Ron Abrahamson, TCM
President. "We are proud of being a wide-reaching community
event and don't want this distraction to negatively impact
the 10,000 participants, many of which are first-time marathoners,
the 250,000 spectators, or the 5,000 volunteers that come
out to help us race weekend. We want the TCM to continue as
a valued community asset and for people to know we hear their
concerns," said Abrahamson.
While the intent was to support the re-emergence of U.S.
distance running, TCM has taken the concerns raised about
inclusion seriously. "We do not want this distraction
to jeopardize our ability to continue to put on a nationally
recognized, high quality running event that the entire Twin
Cities community feels good about, and therefore have chosen
to have an open prize purse," said Abrahamson.
In a show of continued support for U.S. distance running,
the marathon also added an additional prize purse for top
U.S. finishers. "The TCM board chose to maintain commitment
to the sport of U.S. distance running," said Abrahamson.
The non-profit organization also increased financial support
for Team USA Minnesota, a Twin Cities based Distance Training
Center, designed to bring local resources together to improve
post-collegiate American distance running and to develop Olympians.
The Twin Cities Marathon, dubbed The Most Beautiful Urban
Marathon in America(tm) has been a Twin Cities tradition since
1982. General registration for the marathon, also named 'best
organized race' by Runner's World, closed last week in just
28 days. However, TCM elite recruiters will continue to establish
a competitive elite field.
The 23rd annual Twin Cities Marathon weekend is October 1-3.
The three-day weekend celebration of fitness includes a 5K
run/walk, children's fun runs, pasta dinner, two-day health
and fitness expo and a 10-mile race in addition to the marathon.
Twin Cities Marathon, a Running USA Founding Member, continues
its 14th consecutive year as the designated USATF National
Masters Championship for both men and women TCM has been awarded
the Men's & Women's Open National Championships for 2005
and 2006. Major corporate sponsors for the marathon are Cub
Foods and Seagate Technology. Twin Cities Marathon, Inc. is
a non-profit organization that directs the TCM weekend as
a community service for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. For
more information, please visit at www.twincitiesmarathon.org.
source Running USA wire
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