Grabau, Gacek Win Red, White & Boom! TC Half Marathon

More than 2300 Compete in 13.1 Mile and Relay Portions of Event

Minneapolis, Minn. July 4, 2014 Zane Grabau of Waterville and Melissa Gacek of White Bear Lake won individual victories at this mornings Red, White & Boom! TC Half Marathon and Relay. Grabau ran the 13.1 mile course in 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 53 seconds to win the mens title. Gacek clocked 1:22:17 for the womens crown.

It was a perfect day for it, Grabau, 26, said at the finish line. Nice and pretty cool, not too hot and a pretty flat course. I felt good until the end, but thats how it goes. Second place pushed me along. Daniel Peters of Minneapolis finished second in 1:13:37; Ted Heikkila of Duluth was third at 1:14:33.

Womens champ Gacek, 38, chose the early-morning race which finished across the flagged-decorated Minneapolis Stone Arch Bridge spanning the Mississippi River with her family in mind. Its the earliest I could get back for a parade with my kids, she said. Now, its parade, hosting a party on a boat and enjoy the Fourth! The busy Gacek missed Dani Fischers 2011 event record by a scant four seconds. Rounding out the womens top-three were Marisa Lindsay of Minneapolis in 1:26:25 and Ipek Onaran of St. Paul in 1:27:55.

In the relay division, the two-person team of Nicole Nipper and Colette Celichowski took first with a time of 1:29:06.

More than 2300 runners finished the 5^th annual event which took place under sunny skies and mild-for-July temperatures in the high 60s. In keeping with the Independence Day theme, the event, staged at Father Hennepin Bluffs Park along the Minneapolis riverfront, featured post-race hot dogs, ice cream, and yard games, and dubbed itself the runners First Picnic of the Day.

Our staff and volunteers get a lot of joy out of putting on this event, Twin Cities In Motion Executive Director Virginia Brophy Achman said. We appreciate that thousands of runners and hundreds of volunteers chose to start their holiday weekend with our event. It feels like were all doing our part to celebrate our country, our sport, and healthy, active living!

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About Twin Cities In Motion (TCM): Twin Cities In Motion organizes the regions premier running events, including the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, a Top 10 U.S. Marathon. With a mission of promoting healthy lifestyles through running events and community outreach, TCM contributes a portion of every race dollar to local youth and professional athletes and helps raise more than $800,000 annually with its charity partners. For more information, visit us at tcmevents.org, or find us on Facebook and on Twitter @tcmarathon.

Media Contacts:
Charlie Mahler Breanne Hegg
Media & Communications Manager Marketing & Media Director
Twin Cities In Motion Twin Cities In Motion
Office: 651-289-7708 Office: 651-289-7704
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charlie@tcmevents.org breanne@tcmevents.org

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