Mw Events-tcm08 0001

MackenzieLobby

The

Many

Facesof

the

MedtronicTwin

Cities

Marathon

On October

sth,

2008,

over

10,000 runnerswillawakebefore the

sun

rises.

As theyswing their feetout

of

their beds andontothe floor,they

will

sit

for

a

moment,pondering

what

is

to come. Pre-race routineswill ensueastheserunnersconverge upon

the

Metrodome.Some

will

run strides, some willstretch, others willgointo thestunningly serene stadiumand

think.

Race numbers willbepinned,timing chips secured to shoes,and last minutegoodlucks

will

be

offered.Tom Konrardywill

wait

patientlyin his usualspot

in

theMetrodomecorridors. Groups of new marathonerswillhurry by him nervously.He'll remember watching

a

buddy

run

the

City

of

Lakes Marathonback

in

1981

,

promptinghimto

first

run

the

newly formed TwinCities Marathon thenextyear.He'll

be

thankful

the

race start

was

moved from

the

Pillsbury Center to

the

Metrodome becausenow

he

cansitinsideand take shelterfrom the elementsbefore

the

race.

This

is

the sameplace

Tom

has beenon thisday everyyearfor the last

27years.

Matt Gabrielson will

anive

at the

dome

in

time todo

a

short warm upbefore

the

race. He'llbe relaxedlike any

professionalwould

be

as heglidesby other runners

just

arriving.

As

he makes

his

way tothe start line, he'll

greet

hiscompetitors and doseveral stridesbefore

his

stretching routine.He'll conspicuouslyeye those runnersaroundhim,

wondering

how theirtraininghasgoneandwhetherthey are

feeling

healthy

on

this day.He'll smileashelooksback

at

the

10,000 runnersbehindhim, toe

-

the

line,andpreparehimself

for

battle.ff

Amanda

Huthand JohnJeske

will

be dropped

off

several

pblocfs

from thestart line.

They'll

breathe inthe warm8autumnair and

fall

in-stepwiththe otherthousands

offi

runners

walking

brisklytowardsthe startingarea. They

I

won't

say muchto oneanother as theyconcentrate

on

I

the

big day ahead

of

them.Amandawill

wonder

if

she's

H

hydratedwellenough, andJohn will instinctivelyhandhera Gatorade

from

hisbag. They

will

beeager

to

join

thecrowd

at

the

start line,hoping some

of

the anxietywill dampenasthey taketheir first fewstepstowards theState Capitol.With this

year's

marathonhosting

the

U.S. Men's andMaster'sMarathonChampionships,the competition

at

the

front

of

the

pack

will

be

fierce.At

the

back of

the

pack,however,

the

runners

will

be bursting withenthusiasm as

they

movealong

the

course towards

their

goal.Whetheryou

are

pounding

the

pavementto reach

a

two

hour finish or asix hour

finish,

or

you

are watchingfromthe sidelines clapping

your

handsand cheering,this

year's

race will certainly

be

one

to

remember.Marathons offer a uniquechance

for

runnersof

all

shapesand sizes to take

on

a

challengetogether. Fortheveteran,

the

elite,and

the

rookie,

the

marathonhasthesame rules,

the

same course,and

the

same finishline.

The

richness of

a

race like

the

MedtronicTwin CitiesMarathonbecomes apparent

in

the

following

profiles,

all

of

which

highlight theexcitementand anticipationthatgoesalong

with

preparing

for

such

a

thrilling event.

The Veteran

Growing up in Onamia,Minnesota,Tom Konrardyhasbeen hitting

the

roads,trails,and

track

since

he

was

16

years

old.

Now 53,

the

physicaltherapistand Director

of

RehabilitationSpecialties

at

RidgeviewMedical Centerhas

37

marathonsunderhis belt.His marathonresumeincludesGrandma's,Chicago,Madison,and the WalkerNorthCountry Marathon.

All

of

those

racespaleincomparison,however,to

his

experiencewith theTwin

Cities

Marathon,now sponsoredbyMedtronic. Konrardyhas completed

a

whopping

26

TwinCitiesMarathons.He hasn'tmissedasingle running

of

the

race

since

itsinaugural

yearin

1982.He

is

one

of65

members

of

the

CharterClub,which consists

of

thefew

who

have foughttheir wayto the

finish

lineyear

after

year.Newpresidentshavetakenoffice,fashiontrendshaveshifted, the

globe

has warmed,and

the

lnternethaschanged the way

we

live;yetamidstall ofthis, theseCharterMembers havefoundthemselveson

the

stepsof theState Capitolevery

first

Sundayin Octoberfor thelast26years.Thisyear

will

be nodifferentthananyother. Konrardyispreparingto takeyetanotherstab

at

the

MedtronicTwinCities Marathon,for the27thtime.

What

keeps

him

coming

back

for

more?

"lt's

a

very nicemarathon.lt'spretty

in

the

fall,

it'sclose

to

home,and

ljust

gotstarted

doing

it

and

got

into asequence," heexplains."Thestring

owns

me,

I

don't

ownthe string."Konrardyspeaks

of

the

unpredictabilityof

the

marathon

journey

as

the

race'sgreatestappeal."Thething with

the

marathon

that

I have

learned

is

that

you

have

to

prepare.Thereare alsosome

things

you

just

have

to

accept as

far

as what

you

geton that

day.

That's

part

of

the

intrigue

ofthe

race.Each is an adventurein its

own

rite."

Of

the

many memoriesKonrardyhas collectedfromparticipating

in

the

marathoneachyear,hespeaks most

fondly

of hissixth

attempt in

1987. Havingknown therace director

at

the

time,

he managed

to

getan elite racenumber. He laughsas he recalls

that

race morning,

"l

was

able

to

start

at

the

front

ofthe

race.

I

thought, let me

see

how

long

I

canlead

this

race.

I

led

the

marathon

for

a

halfblock;

I

was

sprinting."Along

with

his day

job

as aphysical

therapist,

Konrardy

gives

back to

the

sportby racedirecting

the

LakeWaconiaTriathlon, which

will celebrate

its

20th

year

nextsummer.As

far

as

his

future

plansfor

the

marathon

he

says,

"l'm

going

to

ride

the

horse

as

long

as

I

canstayon

the

saddle."Highestmileage

week

planned:45Longestrun before

the

marathon:

22

PR:3:36

Goaltime:

5:00Numberof marathonscompleted:

37

The Elite

Evenas a standoutcrosscountryand

track

runner atDrakeUniversityin Des

Moines, lowa,

MattGabrielsonhad nointentionsof becomingaprofessionalathlete.Upon

graduation

in

2001,the

five-time

Missouri ValleyConferenceChampionbegan

teaching

middle school.Justsix monthslater

he

was

recruitedby

the

newlyformedTeamUSA Minnesota,one ofseveral teamspoppingup aroundthe countrytosupportelite distancerunnersandpromote

thesport

itself.Gabrielson

jumped

at

the

chanceand headednorthto theTwinCities.

The

rest is

history.

Havingearned

top

honorsineverythingfrom

the

1S00-

metersto

the

marathon,Gabrielson,30, hasestablishedhimselfas

a

world-classathlete.

Freshoff

an

impressiveeighthplace

finish

in

the

5,000-meters

at

the

U.S.

OlympicTrials-Track

and

Field,

he

chosethe2008MedtronicTwinCities Marathonas hisnextproverbialmountaintoclimb. The factthatthis

year's

race isalso

the

U.S.Men's Championship,and

it

just

happenstobehis home course,makes

the

preparations

that

muchsweeter.Havingrecently PRed

in

the

1SO0-meters

in Brasschaat,Belgiumwith a 3:41.8(equivalentto a3:58.8mile),Gabrielson looksforwardtoslowing

things

down

a

bit

as

hepreparesfor

equally

impressive5:05 miles

throughout

the26.2mile race,He explains,

"l

am ready

for

a little

bit

of

change.

I'm lookingforwardto

the

Rocky-styleliving."

The

Rocky

V

referenceis not far

off.

Thephysicalpunishmentthat

a

heavyweightboxer like the

fictional

Rocky Balboaendures iscomparable tothat

of

an elite distance

runner.

As

Rockyate, drank, and sleptboxing, Gabrielson

willdo

the same

with

his running. Thecommitmentto

this

singlegoal

trumps

mostof life's

other

prioritiesforthe ten

weeks

leading

up

to

the

race.

This

will

be Gabrielson'ssecondattempt at

a

marathon.ln

2006,

he

finished

the

ING NewYork City Marathon

ina

timeof 2:19:53, andwas the fourthAmerican finisher.With

two

additionalyearsofprofessionalrunningexperiencebehind him

since

his marathondebut,

he

will

make several adjustments

to

his

training.

For one,insteadof

running

140-mile

weeks

like hedid for his

first

marathon,

he

will

bring

the

mileagedown

to

12S-mile

weeksto avoidinjury.He alsoplans

on

incorporatingstrength training,strides,and

form

drills intohis regime.Perhaps most importanthe says,"l

will

berunning

a

lot

of

miles

at

marathonpace.

I

alsowill dosome

fast

downhillrunningto conditionmyquads

to

be able to withstand

thepounding

over 26.2miles."

As

Gabrielsonbattensdown

the

hatches for

a

hefty

training

schedule,healso revels

in

the chance

to

be

a

partof such

a

prestigiousevent."The

thing

I

like about

the

marathon

is

that

inone race

you

have

every

level

of

runner.Everybodyhasdifferent

goals,

but

in

the

end, it'stogetto the

finish

line

the

bestyou

can. lt's

prettycool.You

don't

see

that

inmanyother sports."It

is

this type of understandingforeverylevel of runner

that

makes him agoodcoach.

As

an assistantcoach

for

boys

track

and crosscountry

at

Edina HighSchool,

he

uses himselfas anexampleto,"Makethemaware

of

what

is

out

there after

highschool."Hegoeson to

say,

"lt's

partof

my

jobto

encouragethemto continue running

if

they

like

it."

With

overone hundredboyson these

teams,

he

will

haveno shortage

of

fansout on thecourse

on

race

day.

Gabrielson

will

be

a

force

to

be reckoned

with

on

October

Sth

as

he hangswiththe

front

pack,leadinga sea

of

runninghumanitythrough

the

streetsof MinneapolisandSt.

Paul.

As

heimagineshimselfcruisingpast

the

Cathedralinto the

finish

he

smilesandsays,

"lsee myself

ooo

N

t

uJ

dt

o

F

oo

u.

uldl

uJ

F

(L

lu

(t)

CONTINUEDONPAGE2S

25

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