Twin Cities Marathon sells out, makes adjustments after last year's heat cancellation
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Twin Cities Marathon is sold out.
Twin Cities in Motion shared the news Wednesday night. The sellout came nearly two weeks before race day, which organizers say is a sign many are eager to make up for lost time.
In 2023, a day-of decision was made to cancel the race, as temperatures unseasonably soared, creating unsafe course conditions.
This year, nearly half of the field is comprised of runners making their return from last year.
"For us to sell out, and even a couple of weeks before our event, that's something we haven't done in a while," said Twin Cities in Motion President Dean Orton.
Orton says the race's governing body has learned from last year: they'll start race prep already with a "red flag" race designation – a signal to runners to be cautious, and a trigger of course preparedness.
"We just realized that heat is a much more prevalent variable to deal with," Orton said. "We were ready for red conditions last year, but this year, we're just preparing for red right out of the box ... We found it's easier to scale them down than to be able to scale them back up in a week or so."
New this year: a half marathon, saved for teams competing together. Orton says he's hopeful to see crowds line the course.
As September wraps as potentially the hottest in Minnesota on record (beating out 2023, which was the hottest Minnesota September on record), Orton says the organization is consulting with climatologists about the long-term safety impacts of keeping the race during October's first weekend.
"We have to think about where it will be for the next generation, and the next generation," Orton said. "We're going to start to look to look on 2026, and beyond ... If those probabilities over time look like the first weekend in October becomes less and less green, and more and more likely black level, that's something we're prepared to look at and make a change."