(I ran this race through TC Loony Challenge in 2014 – I ran the 10k, 5k and 10 mile [over the course of two days])

The Twin Cities Marathon is one of the premier marathons in the country. Although I’m not ready for a marathon I participated in my own non-stop race weekend by completing the Loony Challenge (see above). The race expo seemed large and like it had a lot of vendors. I was coming from out of town however and so I scrambled to get in and get my packet(s). Pickup was well organized in the normal race number order (Alphabetical would be nice). I thankfully had saved my bib numbers on my phone so I didn’t have to worry about pulling up the website or an email on my phone. At packet pickup I got my shirt along with the usual bib and shoe chip. It was a short sleeved blue Brooks tech shirt with TC 10k n the front and sponsors on the back. I also go a pair of FITSOK that said “Twin Cities Marathon” FITSOK are made in MN so I thought that was a nice touch.

I had arrived at the race area at about 6:15 am (my first race was at 7:30) and was able to park in the Sears lot which is very close to the start. I believe I paid $20. Other than this there are various ramps downtown.

The 10k start went smoothly. Since I parked so close I was in my car till about 15 min prior to race time. I walked about 5 min and spent a couple of minutes using the porta-potty and went right into the corral. Race started smoothly and the pace of those around me kept me on track for a PR. The course starts by going up a hill to Summit Ave. It’s a bit of a challenging start for me but the rest of the course is mostly flat.

As the 10k is on Saturday and not on Marathon day this means there are less crowds but there are a few enthusiastic musicians and cheering sections. I believe there was a water station but I don’t recall.

Food at the end was ok. Nothing extra special. As I was running the 5k as well (it started about 25 min after I finished) I only grabbed a banana.

The medal for the 10k was coordinated with all the other medals and was a yellow leaf (the others were other leaf colors).. I did notice the 10k (and 5k) medals were slightly smaller than the 10 mile/Marathon/Series medals [see attached}. If you only had received 1 medal though you wouldn’t likely notice.