Twins Blog: TwinsFest, Fifteen's 5k & The Winter Caravan
Between the Vikings and the Wild, Minnesota sports fans have had their fill of drama and celebration this weekend.
On Saturday, we celebrated the Vikings playoff run with a game against the Packers. Then they lost.
Less than eight hours after their defeat, we learned the NHL lockout was over. Suddenly the Twin Cities were giddy with excitement surrounding the upcoming Wild season.
You know what warms my heart in the dead of winter? Baseball. (I do have other interests, but for the purpose of this blog, baseball is my life)
Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in February. TwinsFest? That's at the end of this month. The Twins hit the road for their winter caravan next week (I'll have more on that in a bit).
So, if you're an impatient Twins fans and need something baseball related to keep you occupied in the meantime, I've got what you're looking for.
Fifteen's 5k just announced its race date: Sunday, August 18th. (http://www.fifteens5k.com) The 5k is the brain child of Twins pitcher Glen Perkins and his marathon-running wife Alisha (Perkins wears jersey #15, if you're wondering where the name came from). The couple was inspired by family friends whose children have cystic fibrosis.
The disease affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 kids and adults in the US. (http://www.cff.org/AboutCF/).
Last year, hundreds of Twins fans laced up their running shoes and put on their best Twins gear for the race. This fall, it'll be no different. The website says "runners will climb the ladder up from rookie ball to the big leagues" just like Perkins did. The exact route hasn't been announced, but from what I've been told - all Twins fans will want to cross the finish. Last year the course went from the Metrodome to Target Field. Once the route is finalized, we'll post an update.
We do know that every participant will get a Fifteen's 5k shirt & medal (they look like baseballs). Twins players were on hand to pass those out to finishers. You can see our story on the race here. (http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/08/12/perkins-fifteens-5k-raises-money-for-cystic-fibrosis/)
Registration hasn't opened yet. But you should mark the race down on your calendar. For updates on the race, follow @Fifteens5k, @glen_perkins or @runlikeam0ther on Twitter.
On a related note, I'll be riding along with the Twins Winter Caravan next week; Glen and fellow pitcher Brian Duensing are also on the bus. I'm looking for questions from fans. Share your questions for them, or the Twins in general, and I'll include them in my interviews. You can leave them in the comments below, or tweet me at @partray.
