Minneapolis Marathon and Half Marathon

Yesterday morning, I got out and cheered for the runners of the Minneapolis Marathon and Half Marathon. I bumped into Matt M who had just finished a long run, and we chatted as we cheered for the runners. And the whole time, I snapped photos of the runners going by. Here are some people I knew who were doing the full or half marathon:

Nicole, the 1:30 half marathon pace setter (yes, the 1:30 pace setter!). She was the one I battled at the Tesfa 5K this last November, and we’re gearing up for an all-out duel at that race this Nov! ;)


Speedy duathlete Julie H.

Funny story: when Julie ran past after the turn-around, she shouted “I want your legs!” No, I don’t think she was coming on to me. Nobody (and I mean NOBODY) wants these hairy chicken legs. I think she wants my leg SPEED. But if she WAS coming on to me, Erik (Julie’s hubby), you can tackle me as I’m starting the bike at Liberty Oly next weekend. You know where to find me.

Interval buddy Jen R.


Jenny M. with her new race buddy


Jenn B, an “internet buddy” who I officially got to meet for the first time!

The race was bigger than I thought! Here are people running near the Lake Street Bridge:

To see more race photos, check out my Examiner article about the Minneapolis Marathon and Half Marathon. I have lots more photos of the great runners out there!

After cheering at the race for about 90 minutes, I headed home to get ready for a run. I decided to run along the race course, so I headed out for a 9.5 miler that had me with the marathon runners from about mile 1 through mile 6. That was a good idea! I cheered for people the whole time, and I got a lot of “Hey, it’s ‘Steve in a Speedo’” along the way! I ran with one woman I didn’t know for a few blocks (who knew me from my blog and who was doing her FIRST marathon!!), and she asked if we could stop and get a photo. I laughed and said “It’s your race! We can stop if YOU want!” So she grabbed a quick (sweaty) photo of us before she was on her way to mile 22.

I worked my way up to 46th where Jumper was a course marshal. We chatted for a few minutes, and I took off to finish my run. That was my last long run before this weekend’s race: the Liberty Olympic Distance Triathlon. It’s my big “A” race for the year, so you know what that means!... I’ll be doing a massive hair removal effort in a day or 2!! So stop back to see how that goes! ;)

Again, click here to see more photos from the Minneapolis Half Marathon and full Marathon. Congrats to all the finishers! (Oh, and check out the sweet video from the Gear West Duathlon in the post below. It’s pretty awesome!)