FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Medtronic TC 1 Mile Moves to Hennepin Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis

11th Edition of Event to Draw 3000 Runners to Cultural Heart of Minnesota

St. Paul, Minn. February 9, 2015 Hennepin Avenue will provide the dramatic backdrop for the Medtronic TC 1 Mile, which will draw more than 3000 runners to a brand new downtown Minneapolis course on Thursday, May 14. The event, which will host the USATF Mens and Womens 1 Mile Road Championships, moves to the citys signature thoroughfare after a decade of racing on Nicollet Mall.

The event will start near the Parade Athletic Fields adjacent the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, race by the Basilica of St. Mary, and finish in the heart of the Hennepin Avenue Theater District near the 6^th Street intersection. The move to the lively downtown locale was prompted by planned construction on Nicollet Mall and the addition of the Metro Transit Green Line last summer.

We knew the event would need to find a new home by 2016 at the latest, so we started looking for a new route well ahead of time, Twin Cities In Motion Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman said. When conversations with the city turned to running into downtown Minneapolis on Hennepin Avenue, we were excited by the possibilities. We think the atmosphere for the event will pull from the bustling energy of downtown, as we run through the heart of Minneapolis.

The 2015 Medtronic TC 1 Mile gets underway at 6:45 p.m. on May 14 with the first of seven waves of runners, culminating with USATF Championship waves where the top female and male milers in the country will race for a $25,000 prize purse and a pair of $10,000 event record bonuses. 2013 Medtronic TC 1 Mile champion Nick Willis, an Olympic silver medalist from New Zealand, holds the mens record at 3:56.1. American Sara Hall, the 2011 race winner, holds the womens event record at 4:30.8.

"The course elevation map, at least on paper, reminds me of New Yorks Fifth Avenue Mile, and thats super-fast, said Heather Kampf, the 2012 Medtronic TC 1 Mile champion who competes for Team USA Minnesota. I'm happy to see the course doesnt turn and that spectators will be able to see runners coming from a long way. Its always better to put the climb in early, and I think given the quality of fields anticipated for the TC 1 Mile, the race will be fast if we want it to be fast. Pro athletes will be excited that the record bonus is still out there."

Registration for the Medtronic TC 1 Mile opened last week along with the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and four other Twin Cities In Motion events. The event draws more than 1500 runners from Twin Cities companies who compete in the Corporate Team Challenge competition. The Medtronic TC 1 Mile is also the second stop on the 2015 Bring Back the Mile Tour, a yearlong multi-city grand prix offering more than $80,000 in event and grand prix prize money.