Minneapolis/St. Paul - Jan. 26, 2010 - On the weekend of Jan. 30-31, Team USA Minnesota runners will compete on the indoor track and on the roads in a variety of locations, including at the New Mexico Invitational, the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet, and the ING Miami Half Marathon.

Patrick Smyth and Jason Lehmkuhle will run in the men's 3000 meters at the New Mexico Invitational on Jan. 30 in Albuquerque.  Smyth has a best in the distance of 7:55.41 and most recently placed second at the USA Half Marathon Championships in a time of 1:02:01 on Jan. 17.  He is using the indoor meet as further sharpening for the USA Cross Country Championships on Feb. 13.  Lehmkuhle last competed at the Nov. 1 ING New York City Marathon where he finished sixth in the USA Men's Marathon Championship.  He is beginning his preparation for the Boston Marathon.

In Lexington, on the University of Kentucky campus, Katie McGregor will run the women's mile on Jan. 30.  McGregor most recently posted 9:16.04 in the 3000 meters at the Penn State Open on Jan. 16.  The indoor meets are designed as tune-ups for the USA Cross Country Championships where she will compete in the women's 8k.

Fresh off running personal bests at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston on Jan. 17, Josh Moen and Meghan Armstrong will run the distance again at the ING Miami Half Marathon on Jan. 31.  Moen posted 1:02:52 for sixth place in Houston while Armstrong crossed the finish line in 1:13:56 for 11th place.

The ING Miami Half Marathon and Marathon starts at 6:15 a.m.  More than 18,000 participants are expected in the two events.

Indoor Track Results

New Team USA Minnesota member Heather Dorniden has competed in two indoor track meets so far in January, both at the University of Minnesota.  At the Minnesota Open on Jan. 16, Dorniden ran the mile in 4:48.76 for first place.  She followed that event up with the Jack Johnson Invitational on Jan. 23 where she ran the 800 meters in 2:05.49 to finish first and achieve her qualifier for the USA Indoor Championships.

Her time was a meet record (old record was 2:05.51 set by Dorniden last year) and just .35 off the fieldhouse record set by Suzy Favor in 1990.  Next up for Dorniden will be the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville on Feb. 12.

About Team USA Minnesota

Team USA Minnesota is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul.  Formed in 2001, the purpose of the training center is to improve post-collegiate American distance running and to develop Olympians.  The athletes are coached by Dennis Barker, head cross country and track coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis.  Team USA Minnesota's major sponsor is Life Time Fitness (www.lifetimefitness.com) and its silver sponsor is Twin Cities in Motion (www.mtcmarathon.org).  It is also supported by the New York Road Runners and the USA Distance Project.  For more information, visit the web site at www.teamusaminnesota.org.

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Contact:

Pat Goodwin

952-924-1081

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