On October 6, aspiring marathon athletes from across the Midwest will join the ranks of nationally and internationally competitive marathoners in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon as the event hosts the inaugural Best of the Midwest Invitational.
Joining the field of nine midwestern women is defending 2022 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon women’s champion, Jessica Watychowicz (pictured) who hails from Burbank, Ill. and ran collegiately at the University of Wisconsin Parkside. Also challenging for top honors in the Best of the Midwest Invitational field will be Jane Bareikis, from Crestwood, Ill. and Molly Bookmeyer, from Columbus, Ohio.
Bookmeyer has a personal best of 2:30:16 from her third-place finish at this year’s Grandma’s Marathon, while Bareikis has a personal best of 2:29:00 in the 2023 BMW Berlin Marathon and a season’s best of 2:31:17 from her fourth-place finish at the 2024 Grandma’s Marathon.
The men’s field for the Best of the Midwest Invitational hosts a total of 13 men and will include local favorites Kevin Lewis of Minnesota Distance Elite, Danny Docherty, and Ben Olson. Lewis leads the local trio with a best of 2:12:02 from the 2020 Marathon Project race, while Docherty has a best of 2:15:55 from the 2019 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, where he finished third overall, and Olson will look to improve his 2023 personal best of 2:16:04.
Joining professional athletes from around the world, midwestern athletes accepted into the Best of the Midwest Invitational field will be featured in the “race within a race” and will compete for a dedicated prize purse totaling $20,000, in addition to being eligible for the overall professional prize purse worth $26,000 per gender.
To qualify for the Best of the Midwest Invitational, runners must demonstrate ties to at least one of twelve Midwest states. For more information on the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend, visit www.tcmevents.org.
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2024 Best of the Midwest Invitational Fields
Women Hometown Personal Best Representing
Jessica Watychowicz Colorado Springs, CO 2:33:09 Wisconsin
Jane Bareikis Crestwood, IL 2:29:00 Illinois
Molly Bookmyer Columbus, OH 2:30:16 Ohio
English Tomlinson Ann Arbor, MI 2:35:13 Michigan
Megan O'Neil Rochester Hills, MI 2:35:32 Michigan
Madison Offstein Rochester Hills, MI 2:35:51 Michigan
Kim Horner Maplewood, MN 2:36:43 Minnesota
Emma Lee St. Paul, MN 2:43:18 Minnesota
Jen Van Otterloo Sioux Center, IA 2:44:00 Iowa
Men Hometown Personal Best Representing
Kevin Lewis Minneapolis, MN 2:12:02 Iowa
Will Norris Charlottesville, VA 15:32 Iowa
Danny Docherty Saint Paul, MN 2:15:55 Minnesota
Ben Olson Coon Rapids, MN 2:16:04 Minnesota
Peter Falcon Otsego, MN 2:19:57 Nebraska
Tesfu Twelde Flagstaff, AZ 2:20:18 Wisconsin
Garret Ehlers Sioux City, IA 2:22:53 Iowa
Arturs Bareikis Crestwood, IL 2:23:15 Illinois
Cody Sedbrook Buffalo, MN 2:24:50 Minnesota
Christopher Brenk Sitka, AK 2:28:57 Minnesota
Henry Klitzke Minneapolis, MN Debut South Dakota
Josh Jarpey Ham Lake, MN Debut Minnesota
Matthew Richtman Elburn, IL Debut Illinois
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