by Larry Eder
Arciniaga Wins Close Men’s Race for First Marathon Win and USA Title
Former Minnesotan Bersagel Keeps Medtronic Twin Cites Marathon Title
St. Paul, Minn. – October 6, 2013 – Nick Arciniaga of Flagstaff, Arizona notched a career first marathon win edging Josphat Boit by three seconds. In the women’s race, Annie Bersagel ran the downtown Minneapolis to St. Paul course in 2:30:53 for a comfortable win.
The victorious pair earned USA Marathon Championship titles with the wins and pocketed $25,000 each for their efforts.
Arciniaga, who finished eighth at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, outkicked Boit in the final strides of the race, after a see-saw battle among the lead pack. Shadrack Biwott was third in 2:13:26.
“I wanted to be the first one to 24, the first one to 25, so I kept making intermediate goals for myself throughout the race,” Arciniaga said. “I tried to motivate myself to catch the group ahead and stay in it and fight. Right now, I’m elated. My legs hurt but I feel great. Better than any other marathon so far.”
Bersagel, a former NCAA Woman of the Year and Fulbright Scholar who trained with Team USA Minnesota early in her professional career, moved into the race lead after the 20 mile mark and built her margin as the final miles unspooled.
“I felt confident that those of us who were in the top five, that we were all pretty evenly matched, Bersagel, said. So I thought, “If it’s going to hurt, it’s going to hurt for all of us. It was a big risk but I didn’t come here all the way from Oslo to try to run safe.” Bersagel, whose parents live in Victoria, now resides in Norway.
Laura Portis of Kalamazoo, Mich. was the runner-up woman in 2:33:46. Esther Erb of Richmond, Va. was third in 2:34:32.
Two-time Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon champion Mbarak Hussein won an unprecedented fourth USA Master Marathon men’s title in 2:20:21. Sheri Piers, the 2011 USA Master women’s champ and the runner-up last year, won her second career title in 2:38:35.
Josh George of Champaign, Ill. won the wheelchair division in 1:37:08. Susannah Scaroni of Urbana, Ill., established a new women’s course record for wheelers with a 1:54:37 finish, bettering DeAnna Sodoma’s 1996 mark of 1:54:50.
8,849 runners finished the marathon, a new event record. A new field record was also set at the companion Medtronic TC 10 Mile with 8,554 runners finishing the race. All told, more than 24,000 people participated in Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend events which included a 5K run/walk, 10K, and children’s events.
“We had a little bit of rain, a lot of sunshine and a great day of running,” Twin Cities In Motion Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman said. “We are so grateful for the tremendous support of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul communities who help us host this wonderful celebration of health and personal achievement.”
“It was another great marathon championships today,” USA Track & Field Director of Events Jim Estes said. “It was good to see Nick and Annie win their first USA championship titles, as well as seeing Mbarak reclaim the overall masters title and Sheri taking the overall women’s masters crown.”
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About Twin Cities In Motion (TCM): Twin Cities In Motion provides nationally recognized, high quality running events throughout the year, including the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. With a mission of promoting healthy lifestyles through running events and community outreach, TCM and its charity partners contribute over $750,000 to related causes annually. For more information, visit tcmevents.org, facebook.com/
