Nick Arciniaga
Nick Arciniaga of Flagstaff, Ariz. notched a career first marathon win in 2 hours, 13 minutes, 11 seconds, edging Josphat Boit by three seconds to capture the USA Marathon Championships Sunday. In the women’s race, Annie Bersagel ran the downtown Minneapolis to St. Paul course in 2:30:53 for a comfortable win.
The victorious pair earned USA Marathon Championship titles with the wins and pocketed $25,000 each for their efforts.
Arciniaga, who finished eighth at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, outkicked Boit in the final strides of the race, after a see-saw battle among the lead pack. Shadrack Biwott was third in 2:13:26.
“I wanted to be the first one to 24, the first one to 25, so I kept making intermediate goals for myself throughout the race,” Arciniaga said. “I tried to motivate myself to catch the group ahead and stay in it and fight. Right now, I’m elated. My legs hurt but I feel great. Better than any other marathon so far.”
Bersagel, a former NCAA Woman of the Year and Fulbright Scholar who trained with Team USA Minnesota early in her professional career, moved into the race lead after the 20 mile mark and built her margin as the final miles unspooled.
“I felt confident that those of us who were in the top five, that we were all pretty evenly matched,” Bersagel said. “So I thought, ‘If it’s going to hurt, it’s going to hurt for all of us.’ It was a big risk but I didn’t come here all the way from Oslo to try to run safe.” Bersagel, whose parents live in Victoria, now resides in Norway.
Laura Portis of Kalamazoo, Mich. was the national runner-up woman in 2:33:46. Esther Erb of Richmond, Va. was third in 2:34:32.
Two-time Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon champion Mbarak Hussein won an unprecedented fourth USA Master Marathon men’s title in 2:20:21, while Sheri Piers, the 2011 USA Master women’s champ and the runner-up last year, won her second career title in 2:38:35.
8,849 runners finished the marathon, a new event record. A new field record was also set at the companion Medtronic TC 10 Mile, with 8,554 runners finishing the race. All told, more than 24,000 people participated in Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend events which included a 5K run/walk, 10K, and children’s events.
“We had a little bit of rain, a lot of sunshine and a great day of running,” Twin Cities In Motion Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman said. “We are so grateful for the tremendous support of the Minneapolis and Saint Paul communities who help us host this wonderful celebration of health and personal achievement.”
“It was another great marathon championships today,” USA Track & Field Director of Events Jim Estes said. “It was good to see Nick and Annie win their first USA championship titles, as well as seeing Mbarak reclaim the overall masters title and Sheri taking the overall women’s masters crown.”
32nd Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon: 2013 USA Marathon Championships
Minneapolis, MN, Sunday, Oct 6, 2013
WOMEN
1) Annie Bersagel 30 Victoria, MN 2:30:52 $25,000
2) Laura Portis 26 Kalamazoo, MI 2:33:42 $15,000
3) Esther Erb 27 Richmond, VA 2:34:30 $10,000
4) Michelle Lilienthal 31 Minneapolis, MN 2:34:49 $7000
5) Atalelech Asfaw 30 Albuquerque, NM 2:34:56 $5000
6) Wendy Thomas 34 Windsor, CO 2:36:00 $4000
7) Nicole Camp 27 Cleveland Heights, OH 2:37:27 $3000
8) Sheri Piers 42 Falmouth, ME 2:38:33 $2000
9) Meghan Peyton 27 Rrichfield, MN 2:38:57 $1000
10) Sarah Cummings 24 New York, NY 2:39:27 $500
MEN
1) Nicholas Arciniaga 30 Flagstaff, AZ 2:13:11 $25,000
2) Josphat Boit 29 Mammoth Lakes, CA 2:13:14 $15,000
3) Shadrack Biwott 28 Folsom, CA 2:13:25 $10,000
4) Sergio Reyes 31 Palmdale, CA 2:13:34 $7000
5) Christo Landry 27 Ann Arbor, MI 2:14:44 $5000
6) Timothy Ritchie 26 Brighton, MA 2:14:49 $4000
7) Jake Schmitt 26 San Francisco, CA 2:15:09 $3000
8) Craig Curley 25 Tucson, AZ 2:15:15 $2000
9) Malcolm Richards 30 San Francisco, CA 2:15:48 $1000
10) Scott MacPherson 26 Columbia, MO 2:16:02 $500
MASTER’S WOMEN
1) Sheri Piers 2:38:35 $7500
MASTER’S MEN
1) Mbarak Hussein 2:20:21 $7500
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