ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A first-time marathoner from North Carolina won the 33rd annual Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.
Tyler Pennel crossed the finish line Sunday in two hours, 13 minutes, 33 seconds. The 26-year-old is from Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
The Star Tribune reports (http://strib.mn/1vEGrvx ) that Pennel and Scott Smith of Oklahoma City broke off from a lead pack of nine runners at the 20-mile mark, and Pennel sprinted to the lead.
Jared Ward of Provo, Utah, finished second in 2:14:01. Smith was third in 2:14:40.
Twenty-eight-year-old Esther Erb of Richmond, Virginia, won the women’s division in 2:34:01.
Pennel and Erb also claimed USA Marathon Championship titles in Sunday’s race.
The temperature in Minneapolis was 37 degrees at the start of the race.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
