Kathryn Null's Staging Area

This race weekend is very well put on. The city of Eau Claire with all the pedestrian bridges crossing the river multiple times is quite charming, and still large enough that you have all the options and shops in case you forget something vital.

A huge bonus from this race was the nutrition classes offered for free to all registered participants. I learned some valuable lessons and believe this helped me to PR and perform better than my previous marathon experience.

Race packet pickup and gear check were both a breeze. Porta potty lines were decent as well. The marathon and half marathon start times staggered 1.5 hours apart which kept everything running smooth without any major rush for the facilities.

The race course for the full marathon has a lot of turns through different neighborhoods, and along the river looping past the airport and heading back into the downtown area. Running a block over from the finish line at mile 23 was not the heartbreak I expected – rather a boost of energy from the post race party and spectators, then through another neighborhood which led right into the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire Blue Gold mile which was packed with cheering college students.
Overall the race course was pretty flat with the exception of 3 notable hills, only one of which was on the steeper side. Much of the course is run on wide flat roads, and an approximate 2.5 mile section on dirt road that is well packed and not gravel.
A big drawback of the course is that there are quite a few miles, maybe 5-6, that are completely exposed with no shade. It was very cloudy and was originally supposed to rain, and so it was not an issue this particular day. If it had been a sunny day, this could be devastating for many runners especially coming out of the cold midwestern winters. This particular section netted the 3 “shoe” difficulty because otherwise I probably would have rated it a 2 “shoe” because the hills weren’t too bad and were finished by mile 16.

Aid stations. The course aid was very well supported with many volunteers at each station. There were probably 17 aid stations, and porta potties every couple of miles, so one could run the marathon without carrying their own fluids and stay hydrated enough to perform well. Honey stinger gels and chews were handed out at 2 different locations on the course.

The race medal by itself this year isn’t anything spectacular. Instead, it is the first of a series of 5 medals that will hook together to create one giant medal. Looks like I’ll be coming back for 4 more years! The best part is you don’t have to run the same race to earn the medals that go together. The shirt is a super soft T-shirt with the ECM logo on it and is personalized to show the distance that you actually ran (or registered for).

The 2022 Twin Cities Marathon was my first marathon. Overall it was a really good experience even though I was seriously questioning my decision to run a marathon during those last miles. I felt like the race management did a great job of consistent communitication leading up to race day with regular emails (2X a month, I think) and regular postings on social media. They also had special emails and a facebook group for first time runners.

The aid stations were terrific! Hands down to amazing volunteers. I was a middle of the pack runner and the stations were well stocked and quite long so I had no problems getting either Nuun Endurance, water, or both drinks.

The amount of spectators along the course was amazing. Seriously, spectators lined all along the entire race course, even on the bridge going over the Mississippi River. For a first time marathoner, this was awesome to see. The constant cheering definitely helped to keep me going when I hit that serious struggle point around miles 23-24.

I am slightly disappointed with the race swag. The medal is great, definitely a very solid heavy medal, and it was the 40th anniversary of the marathon so that is neat to have on my medal. We also received a long sleeve shirt and a 40th anniversary BOCO hat. The hat is actually really good quality and I have already worn it on a rainy run a few weeks post marathon. The shorter distances did not get the hat, but a pair of Fitsok socks with the TC Marathon weekend and leaf stitched in. I was disappointed that the marathoners didn’t get the socks that said ‘marathon’ on them, but also very fortunate to have neighbors that ran shorter races and ended up with more than one pair of socks so they gifted me a pair. I was also disappointed that there was not a special finishers shirt you received after crossing the finish line. I know many marathon distance races do this, so I guess I just expected it.

The expo was pretty easy to navigate and parking was a breeze. The expo is in downtown St Paul, so we did have to pay to park in a parking ramp, but being that we went on Saturday it was very easy to get in and out of, and we were able to use the skyway to connect from the parking ramp to the expo. The expo itself was smooth sailing, getting race bib and swag first, then continuing to the specific race weekend gear for sale. Brooks is a sponsor so they had a lot of clothing with the TCM logo on it. Of course I ended up my a TCM jacket and have already worn it a few times, both out and about and for running. Then a bunch of other vendors and other races had booths set up with information and items for sale, including some fueling options.

Post-race food was a little disappointing. Mostly it was a variety of snack foods, a banana, and a bottle of water. They were also serving Nuun, not sure if it was more endurance or a specific recovery drink. I just know I picked up the fullest cup I could see, chugged it and had it quickly refilled by an attentive volunteer. Probably should have gone for a third cup in hindsight, but was happy to have more liquid/electrolytes right there at the finish line. From reading previous reviews of TCM my understanding is that the food selections were better/more filling in the past. This difference may have been for the VIP access – I know for a fact they had a lot more food options, or might just be related to all the happenings of the last couple of years and choosing to only have pre packed snacks.

Race course/weather: Running in Minnesota in early fall can be a bit unpredictable, weather wise. I’ve seen snow and I’ve seen 80 degres. This year was a bit on the warm side, starting temperatures in the mid 50s and ending (for me) around 70 degrees. The cloud cover didn’t last for more than a few miles, so I was happy that a good portion of the race course was shaded. There were definitely a couple spots with a lot of sun, but I would say overall more shady than sunny. A majority of the course was tree lined, and lots of views of the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis. Crossing the Mississippi, the course follows the river a bit more with mansions on one side, then when you get to Summit Ave the course is a very long straightaway until the end. Summit was tree lined, spectator lined, and mansion lined, so the views were good if you weren’t on the struggle bus at this point (mile 22-end). The course had a long hill near mile 2, and then very small rolling hills until around mile 20-21, and a couple bigger hills that really aren’t that bad except that they are after mile 20. Then Summit has a very gradual incline that probably wouldn’t be noticed except that it is in the final miles. I didn’t think the course was that difficult – my difficulties were from not having the whole mental game figured for the last few miles.

Parking was a breeze because now you can reserve spaces in parking garages ahead of time. (Who knew?). The course is a point to point, so they had shuttles to bring people from start to finish and vice versa. The metro transit train also ran right by the start and finish, and race participants could ride for free with their bib. My friends and I stayed in a hotel by the start line, so there was no worrying about parking for us on race day morning.

Overall I would definitely recommend this race, and will probably do it again myself!