Heather Kampf And Garrett Heath Lead Fields For Thursday’s Medtronic TC 1 Mile / USATF 1 Mile R0ad Championships
Press Release
May 11, 2015
St. Paul, Minn. – A pair of Minnesotans are the favorites to win the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships held in conjunction with the Medtronic TC 1 Mile on Thursday evening in downtown Minneapolis. Heather Kampf, the Rosemount native and former University of Minnesota star, seeks a third career USATF 1 Mile Road Championship title. Garrett Heath, a Winona native, seeks a second national title.
Men’s and women’s professional fields are now set for the event which moves to a new Hennepin Avenue course this year. In all, 13 men and 12 women will race in the USATF 1 Mile Road Championship waves which culminate an evening of racing where more than 2,500 runners will compete over one of the sport’s signature distances.
Kampf who has made a habit of winning mile races on the roads – she’s won events in Des Moines, Duluth, Pittsburgh, and Minneapolis among others – recently won her second Grand Blue Mile title in Des Moines.
Heath, who was the runner-up to event record holder Nick Willis at the 2013 Medtronic TC 1 Mile and is the second fastest runner ever in the event at 3:57.1, is coming off a personal best 13:16.31 5000-meters effort at the Payton Jordan Invitational.
Looking to challenge Kampf in the women’s field are Rebecca Addison (Spring Lake, Mich.), winner of the Payton Jordan Invitation 1500-meters, her former University of Michigan teammate Amanda Eccleston (Adrian, Mich), the 2014 Traverse City Golden Mile champ, three-time NCAA champion Angela Bizzarri (Seattle, Wash.), and Christy Cazzola (Appleton, Wisc.) a 17-time NCAA Division III champion while competing for the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Gabriele Grunewald, who had been announced as part of the women’s field, has withdrawn.
Joining Heath in the men’s race are 2012 Medtronic TC 1 Mile champ Craig Miller (Denver, Colo.), Scott Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.), a 3rd-place finisher at the 2012 Medtronic TC 1 Mile as well as at last fall the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon,Aaron Braun (Alamosa, Colo.) the Medtronic TC 1 Mile runner-up in 2012, and Jeff See (Greenville, S.C.), the 2011 USA Indoor mile champion and the runner-up at the 2013 USA 1 Mile Road Championships.
Complete startlists are included.
A men’s and women’s combined prize purse of $25,000 awaits the championship fields. Race winners who better the existing event records will earn a $10,000 bonus in addition to the winner’s prize of $5,000. Sara Hall set the women’s event record of 4:30.8 in 2011; Nick Willis set the men’s standard in 2013 at 3:56.1.
The USATF 1 Mile Road Championships return to the Medtronic TC 1 Mile for the first time since 2012 as part of a two-year designation from the sport’s governing body. The event is also a stop on the Bring Back the Mile Grand Prix Tour which offers a $7,500 tour prize purse.
The Medtronic TC 1 Mile, organized by Twin Cities In Motion, features an evening of races for runners of all ages and abilities. Action kicks off at 6:50 p.m. CDT and culminates with the USATF Championship races at 7:54 p.m. (women) and 8:06 p.m.(men).
USATF.tv will webcast the USATF Championship waves live during coverage of the Hoka One One Middle Distance Classic on Thursday night. Twin Cities In Motion staff and volunteers will provide text, photo, and video coverage of the Medtronic TC 1 Mile via Twitter and associated social media. Follow @tcmarathon and #TC1Mile to keep track of the event.
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About Twin Cities In Motion (TCM): Twin Cities In Motion organizes the region’s premier running events, including the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, a Top 10 U.S. Marathon. With a mission of promoting healthy lifestyles through running events and community outreach, TCM contributes a portion of every race dollar to local youth and professional athletes and helps raise more than $800,000 annually with its charity partners. For more information, visit us at tcmevents.org, or find us on Facebook and on Twitter @tcmarathon.
Media Contacts:
Charlie Mahler Breanne Hegg
Media & Communications Manager Marketing & Media Director
Twin Cities In Motion Twin Cities In Motion
Office: 651-289-7708 Office: 651-289-7704
Mobile: 952-423-8126 Mobile: 612-805-2183
charlie@tcmevents.org breanne@tcmevents.org
2635 University Avenue West, Suite 190, St. Paul, MN 55114
USATF 1 Mile Road Championship Startlists
Women
Bib Name Residence Personal Best
40 Heather Kampf Minneapolis, Minn. 4:21.39
43 Amanda Eccleston Adrian, Mich. 4:25.78
44 Rebecca Addison Spring Lake, Mich. 4:42.99
45 Angela Bizzarri Seattle, Wash. 4:32.57
46 Becca Friday Austin, Tex. 4:37.5
47 Christy Cazzola Appleton, Wisc. 4:33.97
48 Kristen Findley Austin, Tex. 4:37.68
50 Meghan Peyton Richfield, Minn. 4:40.5
52 Ayla Granados Chico, Calif. 4:42.89*
53 Melissa Agnew Richfield, Minn. 4:46.77
54 Carmen Graves Christiansburg, Va. 4:45.98
55 Gina Valgoi St. Paul, Minn. 4:43.69
Men
Bib Name Residence Personal Best
1 Craig Miller Denver, Colo. 3:53.1
2 Garrett Heath Seattle, Wash. 3:51.0
3 Jeff See Greenville, S.C. 3:52.9
5 Trevor Dunbar Eugene, Ore. 3:57.19
6 John Simons Blowing Rock, N.C. 3:59.71
8 Frezer Legesse Johnson City, Tenn. 3:58.95
9 Jon Peterson Minneapolis, Minn. 4:02.00
10 Aaron Braun Alamosa, Colo. 4:01.43
11 Brandon Hudgins Boone, N.C. 4:01.64
12 Scott Smith Oklahoma City, Okla. 4:01.93
13 David Stilin Minneapolis, Minn. 4:09.68
14 Ben Sathre Chaska, Minn. 4:10.59
15 Robby Nierman Bloomington, Ind. 4:03.35
* Denotes converted 1500-meter performance.