Last year, our family moved from Eagan, Minn. to Rochester, Minn., and this was my first training cycle in Rochester. It was one of my best training cycles since starting marathoning back in 2009. My mileage was solid, I had some great workouts, and I incorporated weightlifting into my schedule.
My races leading up to Twin Cities improved each time, and I clocked a solid 1:27:06 half marathon, so I felt ready for the Twin Cities Marathon.
The weather on Sunday was almost perfect. Cool, not much of a breeze, and not humid. My friends Brittany and Jared picked me up around 5:45 AM, and we drove to downtown Minneapolis. Jared was running the 10 mile, so we had plenty of time before the race started. Jared headed to the start and Brittany and I went to her in-laws', Wayne and Jen, hotel to relax indoors before the race. I had already eaten oatmeal and drank some coffee, but I snagged some coffee and a banana at the hotel as well.
We chatted about running for a while, then it was time to make our way down to the start. We walked down and met up with Michelle, who would be running the marathon with Brittany. After a photo, we went our separate ways to the start.
Since my goal was to run 3:05, I looked for the 3:05 pacer. I thought that it was going to be an old running buddy, but it turns out he had been moved to the 3:00 group, so the 3:05 pacer was someone I didn't know.
The race started, and we settled in to our goal pace. I gave the pacer a, "nice job, pacer," as we went through the first few miles in almost perfect splits.
I was feeling pretty good as we cruised along, but at around seven miles my foot started hurting a little bit. It had been flaring up here and there during training, but it never really slowed me down. I was hoping the pain would just stick right where it was at and wouldn't become a problem later in the race.
The miles ticked along. I love the Twin Cities Marathon course — lots of trees, lakes, and plenty of spectators. I saw an old friend and co-cross country coach, Jeff Webber, an old boss's son, Christian Hall, and a member of a running club I used to run with, Mike Kaiser. It's always nice to get a boost from familiar faces.
At the halfway point we came in a little fast. I was afraid that the 40ish second cushion could cause problems later, but I was feeling pretty good, so I didn't worry too much. I stuck with the pacer and for twenty miles I ran close behind him or right next to him.
Around 20 miles I was still feeling pretty good and hadn't hit the wall, so I decided to forget about the pacer and just go by feel. If you've run Twin Cities before, you know about the notorious Summit Ave hill. I was a little nervous about the hills. I live half a mile from the Douglas Trail in Rochester. It's pancake flat, and I did the majority of my miles on it. I tried to get some hills in my training, but unfortunately from my house there's not a lot of good options that don't have a bunch of stoplights. It worked out though. I must have done enough hills, because it didn't end up being a problem.
The entire race I was looking forward to mile 24 where my family and a couple of friends were going to be cheering for me, so I didn't think about the hills a ton as I anticipated my cheering zone.
It was awesome getting to see my kids and wife along with some friends at mile 24. I gave some high fives, my daughter handed me my sunglasses, and from there I cruised to the finish line. I moved at a pretty good clip and passed quite a few runners at the end. I pulled through the finish line at 3:01:49.
It was a great finish. I ran the first half of the race in 1:31:53, so I ran a negative split of over a minute, and I ran my last 2K at a 6:39 pace.
My goal for the race was a 3:05, so for the first time in seventeen years of marathoning I beat my "A" goal. I was really happy with this result. Based on my half marathon time a few weeks ago, the VDOT calculator had a marathon prediction of 3:01:45. The McMillan calculator came in at 3:03:18. As I've said before, I usually do better at shorter distances, so to almost nail the VDOT time is a big accomplishment for me.
After the race, I grabbed my post-race refreshments. I ran into Michelle (from The Runner's Plate and an old friend), chatted briefly, then headed to the beer garden. I had taken a break from alcohol for the seven weeks leading up to the marathon, which made the Summit Oktoberfest taste that much sweeter. I chatted with a couple of runners, then met up with Laura and the kids. We took some pictures, than headed to Cossetta's for lunch before driving back to Rochester.
Thank you to Gayle and DJ for letting us stay with you for the weekend. Thanks also to Wayne and Jen for letting me hang out in the hotel room before the race.
Twin Cities Marathon weekend of 2026 was a good one!
