More than 30,000 people have signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon weekend races, and the first events start Friday before the marathon sends runners from downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul at 8 a.m. Sunday. The weekend also includes Saturday’s Diaper Dash, along with 5K and 10K races that fill out a schedule built for runners of every age and ability.
That scale is why the Twin Cities Marathon 2026 is drawing so much attention now. Tens of thousands of participants from every state and two dozen countries are expected in the Twin Cities this weekend, turning the race into one of the year’s biggest local gatherings and putting road closures and detours in play across Minneapolis and St. Paul. The health and fitness expo opens Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the St. Paul RiverCentre, then reopens Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. before the focus shifts to the streets.
Will Norris of Iowa knows the course better than most after winning last year’s marathon in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 39 seconds. He said he loves the route, especially the stretch around the lakes, and called it a magical experience. Jane Bareikis of Illinois and Kenya was last year’s top woman in 2 hours, 32 minutes, 52 seconds, and she joked that she dropped him last time and may have to hang on with him this year.
The comfortable temperatures expected in the 60s should make for ideal racing weather, but that comes against a longer-running concern. Organizers have already decided to move the marathon to mid-October starting in 2027 because past fall weather has increasingly turned hot, a shift that underscores how even a popular autumn race is being forced to adapt. For residents, the immediate issue is simpler: arrive early, expect detours, and plan around a weekend that will be hard to ignore in either city.
By Sunday morning, the race will again start in downtown Minneapolis, wind around the lakes and finish at the state Capitol in downtown St. Paul. With more than 30,000 entries and a record-setting turnout, the weekend is set to be as much a citywide event as a race, and the only real surprise left is how fast the front of the field can make the trip.
