Photos: 2010 Twin Cities Marathon

Sergio Reyes
Sergio Reyes holds a United States flag during a victory lap after winning the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010, in St. Paul, Minn.
Andy King/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Buzunesh Deba of Ethiopia won the Twin Cities Marathon women's division on Sunday, and the winner in the men's division was Sergio Reyes of Palmdale, Calif.

Deba and Reyes were two of thousands of runners who took part in the event. Many participants discarded clothing as they heat up during the race, and a business has found a way to give those items another life.

USAgain is a for-profit company that collects used clothes and resells them in developing countries. Greg Nelson is manager of a local USAgain branch that had volunteers picking up discarded clothing during all stages of the race.

"We collect the clothes along the route as the runners shed them," he said.

This was the third year USAgain collected clothing at the Twin Cities marathon. Nelson said the first year they gathered 1,500 pounds of clothing. Last year that increased to 2,500 pounds and this year he expected 3,500 pounds.

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