The events include half mile, mile and relay runs on the indoor 200 meter track at the University’s Minneapolis campus. Races begin with the youngest age groups first and run in ascending order. The relays are the last races and will be made up of multiple age groups. Some 500 kids from throughout the Twin Cities are expected to participate.
The Team USA Minnesota runners will do warm-ups with the kids, lead the first few waves with the smaller kids on the track, hand out medals and cheer on the participants. The event was created by Twin Cities In Motion to promote exercise, wellness and healthy lifestyles for kids and their families and is part of the Medtronic TC Kids Marathon program.
Carlson, Brown and Cheever ran collegiately at the University of Minnesota and are no strangers to the U’s Fieldhouse track. Carlson most recently finished sixth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Jan. 14, where he ran a debut marathon time of 2:11:24. He is also a two-time national champion – 15k and 25k – and was a member of the 2011 U.S. World Cross Country team.
Gabrielson, who has been with Team USA Minnesota since 2001, has posted 2:13:28 in the marathon, was a three-time member of the U.S. World Cross Country team, and finished fifth at the USA 25k Championships in 2011. He has also run 4:02 in the mile and finished eighth in the 5000 meters at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track Trials.
Brown is the 2009 USA Cross Country Champion in the 8k and has qualified for three U.S. World Cross Country teams. Most recently she was third at the USA 5k Championships last September. She has posted 4:37 in the mile and in 2008 qualified for the U.S. Olympic Track Trials in both the steeplechase and the 5000 meters.
Cheever joined Team USA Minnesota in 2011. She holds school records at the University of Minnesota in the mile, the 3000 meters and in three relays. She has qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Track Trials in the steeplechase. She will compete in the 2012 USA Cross Country Championships on Feb. 11.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day Award
Team USA Minnesota’s Gabriele Anderson has received the Wilma Rudolph Award for Courage and Inspiration, which was presented Feb. 1 at the National Girls and Women in Sports Day event in Minnesota. The ceremony was held at the State Capitol in St. Paul.
Anderson was diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma (a cancer in the salivary glands) in March 2009. At the time of her diagnosis, she was finishing her final track season at the University of Minnesota. After surgery to remove the tumor and the parotid gland, followed by weeks of radiation, she petitioned the NCAA for another year of outdoor track eligibility. The result was a second place finish in the 1500 meters at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Anderson joined Team USA Minnesota that summer and things were going well until she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in October 2010, which meant more surgery and treatment. In 2011, the resilient and determined athlete finished third in the mile at both the USA Indoor Championships and the USA Road Mile Championships. Last summer she set personal bests in the 800 meters (2:03.03), 1500 meters (4:06.77) and 5000 meters (15:45.99). She will compete in the U.S. Olympic Track Trials this summer.
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 the competitiveness of 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 Run (www.lifetimerun.com) and its silver sponsor is Twin Cities In Motion (www.tcmevents.org). It is also supported by the New York Road Runners and the USA Distance Project. For more information, visit the team’s web site at www.teamusaminnesota.org.