Minneapolis, Minn. – May 10, 2018 – Emily Lipari of San Diego and Australian Sam McEntee won women’s and men’s titles, respectively, at the Medtronic TC 1 Mile tonight in downtown Minneapolis.
Lipari, 25, outkicked the field for the repeat victory in 4:39.8. Cory McGee of Brighton, Mass. was runner-up in 4:41.0. 2013 Medtronic TC 1 Mile champion Sarah Brown of East Weymouth, Mass, was third in 4:41.7.
Lipari considered aiming for Sarah Hall’s course record of 4:30.8, but ultimately decided against it. “I wasn’t feeling so hot in the beginning, so I’m like I’m just going to chill and see what happens and go for the win.” Lipari said. “I’m really happy with what I could get done being really tired. It’s a big step from prior years.”
McEntee, 26, who like Lipari competed for Villanova University as a collegian, ran 4:03.0 for the win in his first visit to the event. He outran 2017 Medtronic TC 1 mile runner-up Daniel Herrera of New Orleans who clocked 4:03.7 and Craig Nowak of Greenville, S.C. who ran 4:03.8.
McEntee prevailed in the homestretch of the race, despite jumping the gun on his original plan. “I went with 200 [meters] to go, despite my coach’s instructions, and that last 50 was real tough, but I hung on,” he said. “The crowd was good. There was a great atmosphere here. It’s my first time in Minneapolis – it seems like a pretty cool city.”
More than 1700 runners ran the event which raced around Gold Medal Park and finished under the Guthrie Theater’s Endless Bridge.
“We had a great night of racing from the corporate teams, to first-time runners, to the pros,” Twin Cities In Motion executive director Virginia Brophy Achman said. “I was happy to see Emily win again and pleased to crown Sam our new men’s champion.”
Lipari and McEntee won $5000 each for their wins, although the $10,000 event record bonuses went unclaimed. The race was the second stop on the 2017 Bring Back the Mile Tour, a nationwide Grand Prix with a $10,000 grand prize purse.
Complete results can be found at tcmevents.org.
Cover photo by AARON LAVINSKY
