Twin Cities Marathon: Unfunny Joke Falls on Runners in Minnehaha

Minnesota is the home of Jesse Ventura, Prince, Walter Mondale, SPAM, the suburban mall, and the thermostat. After an hour layover in Salt Lake City, I arrived in St. Paul on Friday afternoon and took a local city bus from the airport to my hotel. En route, a suspicious looking troublemaker got on and proceeded to move to the back of the bus. I averted eye contact as he sat next to a woman. To my surprise, they had an intellectual conversation on Dean Koontz novels. Why am I telling you this? I realized that you shouldn't make preexisting judgments about other people and that it's safe here. Wasn't the motto here during the Republican National Convention, Minnesota: Nice? I wouldn't go that far since some people here look at you (the tourist) oddly with restrained, yet critical curiosity.


My hotel was situated between the magnificent St. Paul Cathedral and the Capitol building. Church and state, both a block away from the hotel in opposite directions, is divided merely by the local freeway. Every day and night I can see the cathedral from my hotel room in its glorious splendor. I don't normally stay at hotels for races as they can be costly. I would rather prefer a hostel or motel that provides a clean bed and cheaper prices. Fortunately, the hotel was less than a block away from the marathon finish.
The marathon expo was moderately huge but not too overwhelming. There were tons of freebies, which for the most part were my lunch for the day.

There were some highlights too since Kristin Armstrong and Alberto Salazar were guest speakers. Armstrong used running as an outlet for giving time out for herself. Being selfish can be a good time when you’re constantly sacrificing your goals for your family and career. She was in a lull during 2003 when things weren’t going well for her. Now she’s at peace with herself and with running new challenges including an ultra this December.

Alberto Salazar, on the other hand. doesn't make too many trips far from home since his heart attack scare last year. But he was committed to title sponsor, Medtronic, for the defibrillator that ultimately saved his life. Watching him speak was certainly a highlight of the weekend. Having almost died from sudden cardiac arrest and many failed resuscitations, he is proud to be alive and running. He said that 95% of people suffering heart attacks don’t make it. He also talked about the potential Kara Goucher has for the upcoming New York City Marathon since she has more of a long distance body than a sprinter’s build. He also admonished any belief that anyone would go under 2 hours in the marathon during our lifetimes. Salazar also compared the difference between American and African long distance runner. He theorized that American runners can definitely add in more miles to make up the years of running they didn’t run as a child but risk injury. However, if we were to compare American runners and African runners in term of running miles by the sixth grade, Salazar theorized that Americans would be 30,000 miles short. Years of running as a way to get from point A to point B has been conditioned at an early age; the thought of running to earn money just made it that much more appealing. Running has naturally become a sight of wonder that others want to mimic, the efficiency of African runners’ stride and biomechanics. After Salazar’s heart condition, he’s just proud to be running or jogging without noting miles or splits. Speaking of which, Alberto Salazar ran the Twin Cities 10 Mile in roughly 68 minutes, just under 7 minute pace!

The many vendors at the expo catered to local participants because 70% of the participants are from the MN area.

On Saturday morning, I had an easy 70 minute run with Oliver, who came over the previous night bored with Chicago, through downtown St. Paul and over the Mississippi River to Harriets Island and through the residential area along Selby and Summit Road, which is part of the last few miles of the Twin Cities Marathon. We happened to come across the Twin Cities 5K and ran concurrently alongside the runners on the wide sidewalk. After a low-key day at the Mall of America in Minneapolis and the official marathon Bucca di Beppo pasta feed that evening, I had to sleep early that night.
The next morning, I woke up at 4:15am and met some runners I was going to pace for a 3:30 marathon finish. We took a school bus to the start at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. We took shelter indoors and sat in the corridor. The outlook wasn't good. Ominous dark clouds loomed in the direction of the race and all the runners feared the inevitable--torrential downpour and thunderstorms. I only had minutes to spare to get a good position from the back of the field to Corral One. But we made it and we were off on time. I have to admit that I don't remember too much of the first few miles since I was more concerned with tripping and staying on pace. But there was that other famous cathedral in Minneapolis that stood out. I get stupidly cocky and decide on catching up to the 3:20 pace group. I don't make a huge effort but slowly reel them in at mile 3. Thunder and rain begin to throw buckets at the runners as we turn into the Minnehaha area as we cruise between miles 2-17. No joke as the visibility in Minnehaha is diminished with the amount of rain that's coming down. It gets dangerous as runners try to dodge puddles in the narrow road. It's become a futile effort that runners begin to run through puddles during the later miles. The race course winds around greenbelt parks surrounding the many lakes in Twin Cities. Definitely, much reminded me of Central Park in NYC with the lush green and orange foliage along the roadside, judging from the low visibility under my visor. The rain took a toll on me as my body was probably going to seize up around mile 18 so I slowed down...and later I had walked a bit from there on out to the finish. Mile 19 was the most significant rise as you begin to cross the Mississippi River, but it's short. It was also an eventful mile with a guy dressed up as the Devil and a woman as a nun holding a sign written “The End is Near”. Mile 25 had a music tunnel sponsored by Target and that was interesting. I haven't done any long runs over 18 miles since my injury in August so I am very pleased with my 3:35 finish. After all, I only expected a long run. Truly, one of the best highlights was the huge downhill finish after mile 26 to the finish at the state capitol and the huge crowds from start to finish. This marathon ranks high on my list. Oh yeah, there was free pizza for all as post-race food! I went back to the hotel to watch the runners run down from mile 26, where two fire engines hanged an oversized American flag midair above the runners, to the finishing chutes.

A few facts: there are more than +380 churches along/near the course, although one wouldn't know that fact while running. 1982 was the fastest year with 14% of the field going under 3 hours. Women constitute 45% of the field and the marathon plays host to the USATF Masters Championship. Also, it is one of the few races that BANS HEADPHONES ENTIRELY! They will actually look at race photos to disqualify you. I think it's pretty fair.

Visiting another state in the union has broadened my understanding of its inhabitants, values, and beliefs. My perception of St. Paul (and perhaps even Minneapolis) is that it is socially conservative but is open in supporting Barrack Obama. On the very liberal side, Al Franken is in a close three-man race for the Senate seat in Minnesota. But there are a good number of McCain supporters too and you begin to realize why that’s the case. With so many churches in the Twin Cities area, one can understand that gay marriage ranks low on their list while universal health care in an aging population may be on the higher end of the spectrum. It’s not to say that their values are right or wrong, it’s just different from a Californian standpoint. Even staying a couple of days, you sense the stark contrast that resonate with and are relevant to Minnesotans and Californians. Despite how different Minnesota is to California in terms of income disparity and percentage of minorities and state economy, much reminds me of Sacramento, CA. And for that reason, I forget that I had ever left home at all. Twin Cities Marathon reminds me of California International Marathon, and I’m really looking forward in doing that one in December.

While minorities only constitute a much lower percentage compared to the Bay Area, people are respectful of other cultures even though they may not understand them.

Starting with the Vietnam War, the Hmong, a small tribal ethnic enclave in Southeast Asia, was resettled in the Twin Cities area as refugees. They had no written language and coming over to assimilate into a distant country proved to be the most difficult.

A plan that initially began as a crusade to run quality marathons on the basis of either fast or scenic courses in 50 states has become a mission in understanding and tolerance of people, culture, and beliefs in the United States.