Twin Cities Marathon Invite

“The most beautiful urban marathon” according to Runner’s World…and really, not just because it’s my city, it honestly is a very nice course. I have avoided doing it, having already done a MN marathon etc…but this year I have a very big goal, some of you know it, some don’t, regardless it’s out there, it’s in my mind and I really want to achieve it, so what better than doing a race on a course you can run any day of the week if you want?? Not to mention it’s cheap for me, I can sleep in my own bed the night before AND eat at my favorite Italian restaurant the night before (heck, I can even practice the meal by eating there before long runs…oooo what a great idea!!). The course has plenty of crowd support, it really is nice, you run from Minneapolis to St. Paul…around the chain of lakes (one of the most popular places to be in the summer and the reason Minneapolis has the nickname city of lakes) over and up along Summit Avenue, where a lot of St. Paul’s wealthy live and where the governor’s mansion is located. The finish is past the Cathedral, down a hill and up to the Capital (and we do have a pretty capital with gold horses on top of it). There is a limit of about 11000 runners, the course is fairly open so not overly crowded and last year, when it was hot (even more humid) like Chicago, there was never a worry about running out of water. They had plenty (and much of the course does have some type of shade, although it was still hot).

So what I’m proposing and putting out there, is for anyone considering a fall marathon…why not come to the Twin Cities?? I already have a large group of people coming in from a couple of online running groups I’m part of…I figured why not send this invite out to blogland too? Registration opens on April 18th and has been known to close in about 10 days. It’s $95, $15 cheaper than Chicago AND hotels I can guarantee you will be much cheaper than Chicago, even if you stay near the start or finish!! At least think about it…you have just over 2 months before registration opens! (and for those that are set on Chicago, they are a week apart, you could always do a back to back!!)