Gopher to Badger Half Marathon
Hudson, WI
- Half Marathon, 10K, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Reach across the St. Croix River to greet your Gopher and Badger friends! This Twin Cities-based race starts in the Stillwater, Minnesota area and finishes in Hudson, Wisc. Runners cross the I-94 bridge over the St. Croix River, celebrating the friendly rivalry among these two upper-midwest states. This race has … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Aug 09):
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
| H (°F) | 68 | 79 | 79 | 83 | 83 |
| L (°F) | 56 | 59 | 54 | 65 | 65 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
2 States in 1 Race
This race is produced by Run Stillwater who produce several races around Stillwater, MN which is a town in Eastern MN about 30 minutes outside of Minneapolis. This race is … MORE
This race is produced by Run Stillwater who produce several races around Stillwater, MN which is a town in Eastern MN about 30 minutes outside of Minneapolis. This race is really cool in that it is point to point and starts in Minnesota and ends in Wisconsin so it can count for either state. I chose to do this race more out of convenience. I don’t have the time and money to make every state a long, expensive “race-cation” and since Minnesota is a relatively easy state to fly to I wanted to try to do a race I didn’t need vacation days for or to spend too much money on. This race fit well in my schedule as this weekend was blank and I found a direct flight from Boston to Minneapolis Friday evening. The race also offers race day packet pick-up which is great since it’s a Saturday race. There is good communication from the race director who is very friendly and responsive to emails so I would ignore the 1 sneaker rating of this race as I can’t imagine the RD not reaching out or responding to emails. This year packet pick-up and shuttles were by a by government center in Hudson, WI and there was parking there and at a park across the street. There seemed to be plenty of parking. I stayed in the Holiday Inn in Hudson, it was about 1 mile from the packet pick-up area so you could walk. I did rent a car and drive as I didn’t feel like carrying my shirt around and wanted to bring it to the car. Packet included a black polyblend shirt. While the theme is Gopher to Badger which is fun the swag doesn’t have the team logos or anything which I assume is a licensing issues which I get as it does not seem worth the extra cost to have the team logos. The shuttles were well marked with what race distance, The shuttle takes you to the start in Stillwater. Start area is well-organized. There were a reasonable amount of porta potties for runners, there were also cups of water out and there were pacers but the slowest was 2:45 which I was not gonna be close to until my lungs get better but it did help runners line up by pace. This is a decent sized race with about 800 runners. The course is a bit boring but a pleasant run. It is mostly through neighborhoods and quiet areas. Some of it was on open roads but they all had cones and only 1 area was a little busy. It was much less of an issue than last weekend. Course was well marked with cones, direction arrows and volunteers. Some of it is shaded and some of it is not. It was beautiful weather today but got a bit hot by the end. Still cooler than most of the country so this is a good place for a summer run but it will still likely be too hot for a super fast time. The course is pretty easy as it is net downhill with some small hills and inclines. The end is mostly downhill. There are aid stations about every 2 miles with water, gatorade and porta potties. There were also mile markers. There were not a lot of spectators. Sometime between mile 11 and 12 you go over this big bridge into Wisconsin. One side of the bridge is beautiful views of the St. Croix River. The other side is highway. You are on a pedestrian path so no issues with traffic but I find loud, zooming car noises aren’t the most pleasant to run next to. Then it is down a public path by the river to the finish near downtown. Its pretty back of the pack friendly with a 4 hour time limit and they were keeping track of how many runners were left to make sure everyone had a finishing time and medal. But there weren’t a ton of back of the packers so you may be alone for part of the race. I finished pretty slow as my lungs are still a mess but was a few minutes under 3:30. No issues with the finish line being in the back of the pack except there are just less runners and a lot had left the finishing area already. However there were some spectators and all of the race staff to cheer us on and give us our medals. The medal is nice with the bridge on it and good sized. There are basic snacks like bananas, chips and granola bars. Overall I thought this was a solid race. It’s more of a local race than a destination race and well everything was well done it wasn’t a particularly special race except for the 2 state aspect. It is nice that it can count for either Minnesota or Wisconsin. I need both states but I am planning to count it towards Minnesota as I am doing the Milwaukee Lakefront Half Marathon this Fall. However if something goes wrong with that race it’s nice to have the flexible to do either a Minnesota or Wisconsin race as a back-up. This was also quite convenient and was a relatively cheap and easy trip. I would definitely recommend this race to local runners. There are probably more exciting races for 50 staters although this is not a bad option especially if you want an easy trip or the flexibility of it being able to count for both Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Correction to a misleading comment...
I'm the race director for this race and want to correct some inaccurate information in a previous post. (FYI, Ya gotta include the rating stuff in order to post here, … MORE
I’m the race director for this race and want to correct some inaccurate information in a previous post. (FYI, Ya gotta include the rating stuff in order to post here, sooo…)
When our 2020 season cancelation was announced via email and on our website, we also told all runners registered at the time that they would have the opportunity to run a future race with us at no cost. As is standard practice, race registration is nonrefundable, so we were under no obligation to do this. Yet, we want to go the extra mile for our runner-guests.
All participants have since been sent a number of emails about this along with instructions on how to register to take advantage of the opportunity now that we are back on the road.
We welcome comments and reviews of our races and will take the time to read them as well as correct inaccurate statements and implications so anyone reading these reviews can base their opinions on all the facts. Thanks and we hope to welcome you to a future race.
Canceled due to Covid.. no refund
My race was canceled.. for the past couple of months I have reached out, but have not heard back. I never ran this race .. and never will. So disappointed … MORE
My race was canceled.. for the past couple of months I have reached out, but have not heard back. I never ran this race .. and never will. So disappointed with the unprofessional and unimpressive way this was handled
Well supported small-town race
Some friends suggested this race to me, one of them lives about a half hour from Stillwater. The Minnesota vs Wisconsin theme is fun, though I don't see any actual … MORE
Some friends suggested this race to me, one of them lives about a half hour from Stillwater. The Minnesota vs Wisconsin theme is fun, though I don’t see any actual race results related to MN vs WI runners and the winner of the showdown.
Packet pickup was Friday at an inn/restaurant in downtown Stillwater. Parking was a little scarce and I ended up paying $3 to park in a nearby lot. If you have time to spend there it is a nice area by the Saint Croix River with some cute shops and eateries and a paved bike path nearby.
Early August weather in the Midwest can be quite hot and humid. We were lucky to get a cloudy day that started in the mid 60’s with moderate humidity.
The course is a point-to-point, with shuttles from the finish. Since my friend drove me to the start line I avoided using the shuttle. My goal for the race was in the 8:45 min/mile range so I lined up between the 1:50 and 1:55 pacer.
The first mile is relatively flat and when I looked at my watch the pace was 8:13. A bit fast! I slowed down and let the pacers go. The rest of the course is rolling hills and we ran through some nice neighborhoods. The course is not closed but traffic was not too busy. A couple miles were along a long, straight country road, which wasn’t too thrilling.
Course support was very good, with water stops and porta potties about every two miles. The last few stops seemed misplaced, there were a couple within a mile of each other and then the next one was about 3 miles away, with the last stop in the last mile. Perhaps those were placed there for the 5K or 10K.
The last portion of the race took us over a bridge over the Saint Croix River on a sidewalk alongside the interstate, with cars zipping by at about 80 mph. That was loud. There appeared to be photographers at the finish. Finish line food consisted of water, bags of chips, and bananas. There was a nice photo op next to a large timing sign that looked like it would display your finish time when you stood next to it.
The finisher medal was very large and heavy. It pictures a bridge that I am fairly sure that we did not run over. 😉 The only other race swag was a short sleeve tech tee.
Overall, I thought the race was fine, though I would not go out of my way to run it again. The scenery is similar enough to races close to me in Wisconsin that I don’t need to travel to MN to run it. But I can say that I ran from MN to WI. 🙂
Meh...
This course has a fun theme - you get to pick which state to run for: Wisconsin or Minnesota. Evidently there is a winner in terms of participation, but I've … MORE
This course has a fun theme – you get to pick which state to run for: Wisconsin or Minnesota. Evidently there is a winner in terms of participation, but I’ve never seen it announced.
Start is at the fairgrounds in Stillwater. Its just okay. It has all the basics that are required, but still seems a little flimsy. The medals (if thats your motivation) have a wide margin for improvement. They are nothing special (one year it was plastic and didn’t have the Gopher or the Badger on it, which leads me to believe perhaps they are having some licensing/proprietary issues? IDK).
The course is rolling hills, so be prepared. Also crosses a train track and one year we got stuck behind the train. Any hope for a great result was squashed that year. One porta-potty at the half way mark. Finish line party is nice with plenty of food, a professional photographer and ends in Hudson by the beach close to the downtown area. Take a dip in the St Croix river to cool off after this hot August race then grab pizza at Dough Boys or beers at Pier 500 just a block away. Don’t park at the start line as there is no shuttle back to the fairgrounds after the race starts. You don’t want to get stranded.
Pick a side - MN or WI
I like the theme of the race (Minnesota Vs Wisconsin). Race support was good. Course was mediocre - especially the last couple of miles to get into Wisconsin on the … MORE
I like the theme of the race (Minnesota Vs Wisconsin). Race support was good. Course was mediocre – especially the last couple of miles to get into Wisconsin on the side of the bridge. Swag was a cotton nice fitting shirt, knee high socks and a ok medal. Last year’s gear was a little cooler. I would do this race again. It wasn’t a wow course but the race was well run. Make sure you leave time for the shuttle!!
Perfect 1st Half Marathon
Other than the crappy shirt (the screen printing on mine was off), this was the perfect first half marathon. Weather was perfect and the finish in the park was great! … MORE
Other than the crappy shirt (the screen printing on mine was off), this was the perfect first half marathon. Weather was perfect and the finish in the park was great! I’ll always have a soft spot for this race since it was my first half marathon plus I did it with my mom!