Elisha Barno crosses the finish line to win the men's title at the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday

A familiar name finally claimed victory at Sunday's Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. After finishing as runner-up the past three years, Elisha Barno broke through and won the men's title with a time of 2 hours, 11 minutes, 58 seconds. Sinke Biyadgilgn won the women's marathon title with a time of 2:33:04. Race officials reported that more than 6,800 runners finished the 37th annual marathon, while a record 10,896 runners finished the accompanying 20th annual Medtronic TC 10 Mile race. Runners took to the two course on a cool, calm morning, with temperatures in the 40s. Barno, who is from Kenya and trains in New Mexico, also has won the past four Grandma's Marathons in Duluth. On Sunday he finished 14 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, fellow Kenyan Boniface Kongin. Race officials reported that Barno took the lead at Mile 25. "I tried to push and I saw Boniface was very strong," Barno said in a post-race news release. "Boniface put on a surge and I was right with him. I feel very happy and feel like I want to cry — to be a champion is not easy." Biyadgilgn, of Ethiopia, won the women's marathon title with a time of 2:33:04. That's six seconds ahead of second-place finisher, Ethiopia's Serkalem Abrha.

posted Monday October 8th