Twin Cities Marathon (Read 57 times)

Hey everyone,

This is my first post on this forum.

I'm looking for an October marathon in the Midwest and am fairly decided on the Twin Cities Marathon. Just wanted to ask if anyone here has every run it before? How was the course? I've read that it's fairly flat except for an incline between miles 21 and 25, is this true? If yes, how steep of an incline is it? How well was the marathon organized? Also, pacers, what range are their pacers at? I'm looking to run a 3:20.

Thanks!

It is a very well run marathon and the crowd support is good.

The worst hill you will encounter happens between miles 21 and 22. This hill will get your attention. I want to say its about 400 meters long. It's not terrible, but not a walk in the park at that point in the race. From miles 22 to 25 will feel like it is all gradually uphill (and visually look like it). There are however some nice little downhills in the mix that will allow you to recover a bit.

There is a solid downhill just before mile 26 that is fun if you have any legs left.

There is also a giant flag near the finish -- don't make the mistake thinking it is at the finish though. I have seen a lot of people start their kick too early and then still have a bit to run after the flag...

It's a good marathon, and a good one for first-timers. The course is nice - you start in downtown Minneapolis; cut through the neighborhoods and pass the city lakes (Lake of the Isles, Bde Mka Ska (Lake Calhoun) and Lake Harriet) follow Minnehaha Parkway before looping Lake Nokomis; follow the west, then east, banks of the Mississippi before climbing The Hill to Summit Avenue and its mansions; then glide down the hill to the State Capital grounds in St. Paul. In other words, much of the race is through parkland. On a sunny day when the leaves are turning, it is absolutely gorgeous. Tons of spectators and the fans really get into it.

It's not a hilly course but it's not flat either so you definitely need to train on hills. Everyone talks about the hills on Summit (And with good reason: they come at a very inconvenient time in a marathon!) but the climb from the Basilica to Kenwood in Mile 2 tricks a lot of people into going out at too hard of an effort. The Lyndale Avenue Bridge around Mile 10 will also get your heart rate up. Both West River Parkway and East River Parkway are gently rolling. All the hills are very runnable - ~3% is the steepest grade you'll encounter. Do some long runs over rolling terrain and do some hill repeats throughout the season and you'll be in great shape.

East River Parkway and lower Summit were in TERRIBLE (i.e., ankle busting) shape the last couple of years. I saw a guy trip and cut up his face. Hopefully, St. Paul public works will get out there and fill some of the pot holes this summer.

Organization is pretty good. Last year, there was an insane bottle-neck leaving the finish line because they were paranoid about non-runners getting in or something. They know what they're doing so I'm sure that SNAFU won't happen again. The VIP packages is basically a scam - I wouldn't waste your money.

Not sure what their pace groups will be - it's changed several times over the last few years as BQ times have changed. I'm sure it's on their website. If you want to run a 3:20, make sure you're in the first Corral.

I ran it last year and loved it. Seriously had so much fun, great crowds, organization, pretty course. Coming from a perfectly flat area, I was worried about the hills but honestly didn't think they were as bad as I thought they'd be. Could be partly since I ran it as a training run so that slower pace gave me plenty of energy left for that 21-23ish stretch of uphill.

It is beautiful but the course can feel a little crowded in parts.  

I agree with this. I wish they would add another corral and stagger the starts a little more. The parkways around the lakes are too narrow to handle that many runners. It does open up a lot in the second half, but pretty much the first half of the race is congested.