FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Minnesotans Are Favorites for Thursdays Medtronic TC 1 Mile
Pro Fields Set as Runners Vie for USATF 1 Mile Road Championships

St. Paul, Minn. May 11, 2015 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.

Mens and womens 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 sports signature distances.

Kampf who has made a habit of winning mile races on the roads shes 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 womens 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 Gabriele Grunewald, who had been announced as part of the womens field, has withdrawn.

Joining Heath in the mens race are 2012 Medtronic TC 1 Mile champ Craig Miller (Denver, Colo.), Scott Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.), a 3^rd-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 mens and womens 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 winners prize of $5,000. Sara Hall set the womens event record of 4:30.8 in 2011; Nick Willis set the mens 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 sports 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.