The first edition of the Minneapolis Marathon stepped off at 7 a.m. today from downtown with a larger-than-expected crowd for its two events.
Organizers had expected their field to be around 2
,500 for the half-marathon and 1,000 in a 10-kilometer race.
But organizers told KSTP-TV this morning that about 5,000 runners showed up for the start.
This is the first year for the Minneapolis event. Stillwater had it's first marathon earlier this month.
There are 10 marathons in Minnesota (if you count the Fargo Marathon, which dips into Moorhead), including two trail marathons.
Grandma's Marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon are the big dogs. Grandma's had a record 9,904 registered runners last year, and Twin Cities caps its field at 11,000. Grandma's has a half-marathon (6,600 runners) and a 5-kilometer race the night before (1,500 runners); Twin Cities has a 10-mile race (6,500) and 5K (2,500).
Based on number of finishers, Twin Cities is the 10th-largest marathon in America and Grandma's is the 11th. The world's largest is the New York City Marathon, which had 37,790 finishers last year. An estimated 420,000 people ran marathons in the United States last year.
Grandma's Marathon, which runs June 20, is at 85 percent capacity, with registration closing in two weeks. The Twin Cities Marathon, running Oct. 4, is expected to sell out well before October.
