Marathon #4 on my Top 10 Marathons To-Do List is the Minneapolis Marathon.

How come?  I live in a Minneapolis suburb!  It would be convenient, low stress (no travel and I’d get to sleep in my bed the night before the marathon!) and relatively cheap.  Plus, in terms of Minnesota I’m stuck in a Grandma’s Marathon and Twin Cities Marathon rut, so I need to expand my horizons and see what else Minnesota has to offer.

The Minneapolis Marathon is fairly new.  I think this is it’s 3rd or maybe 4th year.  I’ve heard decent things about it.  The organization and “fun factor” are supposed to be top notch.  The course looks decent – different than Twin Ciites.  It starts downtown at the Depot and goes along the Mississippi to Fort Snelling and back.  Looks a little hilly, but not horrible.

What I don’t like is the timing.  It’s the first weekend in June, which could end up being too hot.  It’s also 3 weeks before Grandma’s, so in a year where I do this one, Grandma’s is out.  I don’t know why the organizers of this one or one of the other fairly new Minnesota marathons don’t make it in mid-late April.  I’d definitely move it higher up on my list if it were earlier in the year!

Might be on next year’s list!