by Larry Eder
Heather Kampf, photo by PhotoRun.net
Heather Kampf Wins USA 1 Mile Road Championship in Des Moines; Heather Kampf, Gabriele Grunewald at Drake Relays 1500m April 25; Jon Peterson to Run Get in Gear 10k in Minneapolis April 26
Minneapolis/St. Paul – April 23, 2014 – Team USA Minnesota’s Heather Kampf won the women’s race at the USA 1 Mile Road Championships in Des Moines on April 22 to reclaim a title she also won in 2012. Her time was 4:34.6 and was a course record for the downtown race, which was held in conjunction with the Grand Blue Mile, part of the week long events for the annual Drake Relays.
“It was definitely a tight battle coming down the stretch and I didn’t know who else was coming,” said Kampf. “I was worried about those late closers. I just had to give it my all and see what I could do all the way to the finish. I won this championship in 2012 when it was held at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile in Minneapolis and it was my goal to get back to the top ever since.”
Also running in the women’s race were Gabriele Grunewald who was 12th in 4:45.91, and Meghan Peyton who crossed the line in 13th place in 4:47.80.
In the men’s race held the same evening, Travis Burkstrand was eighth with a time of 4:09.24 and Jon Peterson finished 12th in 4:10.60.
Next up for Kampf and Grunewald will be the Drake Relays women’s 1500 meters which will be held Friday, April 25, at 8:25 p.m. in Drake Stadium. Kampf has a best in the 1500m of 4:08.37 and Grunewald has posted 4:01.48 in the distance. Both athletes were members of the U.S. team that competed at the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Poland in March, with Kampf competing in the 1500m and Grunewald in the 3000m.
Get in Gear 10k
Jon Peterson will be among the competitors at the 37th annual Get in Gear 10k in Minneapolis on April 26. The race is at 9 a.m. and begins and ends at Minnehaha Park. Peterson, who won the 2013 Medtronic TC 10 Mile race last fall, has posted 28:50 on the track in the 10k.
About Team USA Minnesota
Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Founded 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. Team USA Minnesota’s major sponsors are Life Time Run (www.lifetimerun.com) and Twin Cities In Motion (www.tcmevents.org). Its silver sponsors are the Houston Marathon Foundation (www.houstonmarathonfoundation.com ) and the New York Road Runners (www.nyrr.org). For more information, visit the team’s web site at www.teamusaminnesota.org.
