Countdown to the 2014 Twin Cities Marathon

By Lindsay Snider
Murphy News Service

The 2014 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon is less than three weeks away.

This year’s race will be held Oct. 5 at 8 a.m. Runners will start on South Sixth Street in downtown Minneapolis and cross the finish line near the State Capitol in Saint Paul.

TC Marathon organizers and participants continue to bill the 33-year-old event as the most beautiful urban marathon in America.

“It’s a really pretty course with all the different lakes and creeks,” said Carolynn Audette, who finished the race in 2004 for her first marathon. “As a runner, you get to see areas of the cities that you might not always run by.”

Runners and spectators can expect to be a part of that tradition for this year’s race, but can also expect some changes.

Competitors in previous years were able to stretch and pass time in the Metrodome prior to the start of the race. This year with no Metrodome, runners should plan on wearing and checking more layers of clothing. The marathon course will otherwise remain the same as last year’s route.

Ten-mile runners can expect route changes “due to road closure on West River Parkway caused by a June mudslide,” said a Twin Cities in Motion press release. The race will start on Portland Avenue near South Third Street, run toward West River Parkway to reach the Dinkytown Greenway, which will lead to the Dinkytown Bridge. The race will finish at the State Capitol.

Another change includes the implementation of the Metro Green Line, which can be used as an option to the start and from the finish line. For the first time, Summit Brewery will provide beer to finishers 21 and older in the finishing area shared by the marathon and 10-mile races.

Even though slight changes will impact this year’s events, runners and spectators can expect the usual happenings of marathon weekend, including a health and fitness expo, the TC 10-mile, 10K and 5K races as well as other family events for children of all ages.

The marathon is at capacity of 12,200 registrants and the 10-mile has reached its limit of 10,000 registrants, but there are other ways spectators and the community can get involved.

Tara Hush, a 2013 TC Marathon finisher, said she was amazed at the amount of community support and turnout for last year’s races. “Some of the signs cheering on the runners are hysterical,” she said. “But what really kept me going was seeing my family at different mile markers.”

A variety of volunteer opportunities for race weekend are still open. Those range from handing out water at certain mile-markers, to assisting with packet pick-up and race-day set-up. Spectators can also participate in a Sunday worship service or the 27th Mile event, which offers post-race food and drinks to the public.

Visit https://www.tcmevents.org for more information about the events, races and volunteer opportunities. For those interested in participating in the 2015 marathon, registration begins in February.

Lindsay Snider is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.

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