Medtronic, Inc., and Twin Cities In Motion (formerly Twin Cities Marathon, Inc.) announced Friday they have signed a letter of intent to continue their partnership.

Fridley-based Medtronic will remain title sponsor for at least three additional years for four key Twin Cities In Motion events: TC 1 Mile, TC Family Events, TC 10 Mile, and the Twin Cities Marathon.

In addition, the Medtronic Foundation will continue to support the Medtronic TC Kids Marathon, a nationally recognized youth running program.

“Since Medtronic became our title sponsor of the four events in 2006, participation has increased more than 40 percent,” Virginia Brophy Achman, Twin Cities In Motion executive director, said in a statement. “In addition, more than 11,000 children have participated in the Medtronic TC Kids Marathon school-based program, running a collective 233,000 miles. This partnership clearly has enabled us to do more than ever to help promote health and fitness in Minnesota and throughout the world.”

Twin Cities in Motion is a non-profit organization that organizes running events throughout the year. The organization changed its name from Twin Cities Marathon, Inc., in fall 2009.

Medtronic is Minnesota's ninth-largest public company based on revenue for the fiscal year that ended in April 2009, which totaled $14.6 billion. The company reported revenue of $15.82 billion in its most recently completed fiscal year.

-Melissa Loth