Pickle juice, rising stars and other Twin Cities Marathon spectator tips
If you’re headed out to watch the Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday, you have many options.
“There’s no bad place to watch the marathon,” said Mike Logan, president of Twin Cities in Motion, the organization that puts on the event.
About 300,000 enthusiastic spectators spread themselves out along the 26.2-mile route each year, Logan said. More than 8,000 runners are registered for the marathon, and another 13,000 are expected for the 10-mile race.
“We have the reputation as a race of having the entire course supported,” he said. “When we get people in from out of town, one of the comments we most often get is, ‘I was just amazed by the level of crowd support.’”
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If you plan to be one of the enthusiastic supporters in the crowd, here’s a few things to watch for when heading to the course, which starts at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, heads south through the Minneapolis chain of Lakes, crosses the Mississippi River at Franklin Avenue and travels along Summit Avenue in St. Paul, ending near the State Capitol.
1) Leave plenty of time to get where you need to go
Even though MnDOT canceled some planned construction closures because of this weekend’s weather forecast, race organizers say road congestion is expected.
2) Watch for pickle juice
A dancing pickle will greet runners at the 13-mile mark, where a pickle juice stand will be set up.
“For runners it really does help with their sodium levels, get a little salt in the system, and just really helps balance the body after going through 13 miles of running, much less being halfway to 26.2, to help them go the rest of the way,” Logan said.
3) Track the runners you know
A Twin Cities Marathon app can be downloaded to track your favorite runner and check the course map. Logan said spectators sometimes will watch from one location then move to another as the race continues.
4) Watch the fast ones
Several past Twin Cities Marathon winners, including Dominic Ondoro and Elisha Barno, will participate in this year’s race. Sarah Kiptoo, the record-holder of Duluth’s Grandma’s Marathon, will also participate. Several rising stars from Team USA Minnesota will also participate.
The runners
Amy Vorlicky, 37, started training for the marathon just 10 weeks ago when she was staying at Higher Ground Saint Paul, which provides shelter for homeless adults. She said running helped her deal with the stress of living in the shelter.
“I got up in the morning and I ran, and after I ran I was good for the rest of the day,” Vorlicky said. “It’s like an energizing thing, when you run, it makes your whole day better.”
Vorlicky trains with Andy Morgan of Mile in My Shoes, a running group that works with homeless or formerly incarcerated people. Morgan said Vorlicky took to running right away.
“You could tell early in the season that the commitment had kicked in, and she was going to run, and she was going to run hard, and she was going to learn how to run,” Morgan said. “You couldn’t stop her from showing up.”
Just a month ago, Vorlicky got her own apartment. She said she’s excited for the accomplishment of running a marathon.
“I’m probably going to cry,” Vorlicky said. “I’m going to have a marathon under my belt, and it’s going to be my first one, but it’s not going to be my last one.”
Katy Jermann is a Twin Cities resident and runs with Team USA Minnesota. Jermann said it’s especially meaningful to be able to run in her hometown marathon.
“Seeing your neighbors or seeing people you occasionally run by on River Road, and waving hi,” she said. “Just knowing how involved the community is on the weekend, it’s very important for me to see that and to be a part of it.”
Allison Nahr of Plymouth is running the 5K, 10K and the 10-mile races over the weekend. She said she’s been training all year for this race.
“Running is definitely my thinking time, I spend a lot of time in my head,” Nahr said. “Rhythmic with my foot strikes, breathing, so it’s just a good meditative, centering practice for me.”
Meanwhile, Ashley Trier of Farmington is running the 10-mile race alongside her husband for the second year in a row.
“I can’t explain how you have that adrenaline running through,” Trier said. “We didn’t even use our headphones, we just had each other and the amazingness of the crowd, it was phenomenal.”