Tag Archives: Minneapolis

Twin Cities Marathon Pictoral Preview

The Twin Cities Marathon course has been quite busy this summer, just like every summer (actually year round).  This is because the course takes in some of the coolest recreation spots in the metro – or at least Minneapolis.  Beginning in downtown Minneapolis the 26.2 mile course  makes a big circle before ending up in downtown St Paul.  Leaving the sports capital of Minnesota (the Metrodome) runners take in some amazing views before arriving at the state capital of Minnesota.  What a course.   Here’s last year’s course preview.

Below are 26 pictures from the course itself (though they don’t come from all 26 miles of the course).

A picture of the map…
The Hurbert H Humphrey Metrodome – aka staging area and starting line.
A random wall downtown along Hennepin Ave.  I know some of the symbols are Adrinka symbols of West Africa, but I don’t know their history here.
The Basillica of St Mary is on Hennepin as well. Don’t let the old architecture fool you, they are on Twitter.
This is WAC, the Walker Art Center.  On the right is the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.  I’ve heard tell that some people use it as a quick potty stop. (I don’t recommend it) Watch this hill.  If we ran on the sidewalks we’d actually get to run under the Walker.
TCM isn’t called “The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in American” for nothing.  This is Lake of the Isles, the first among several lakes we’ll travel around.  We won’t run by the most expensive house in Minneapolis, but it is located on the Isles.
Here’s another shot of the Isles.
Dean Parkway going underneath the Midtown Greenway.
Lake #2 Lake Calhoun.  On the south end there will be a cool view of the downtown skyline with the lake in the foreground.
The third lake is Lake Harriet which has a cool band shell and yacht club.
Running under the Niollet Ave bridge (I think).   A local marching band stands under one of these bridges and plays.
The 7ft bronze rabbit at the intersection of Portland and Minnehaha Parkway.  I can’t figure out where it came from.
We run a long ways on this parkway. Here is wikipedia’s take on who Minnehaha was…
The Grand Rounds is a great way to see the major sites in the city. A road, trail system, and scenic destination itself, much of the marathon is actually run along the Grand Rounds.
West River Parkway has been under construction all summer, but it won’t affect the race.  This is where I started to fall apart during the 2008 marathon.
The Mississippi River is a national park.  This is crossing the Franklin Ave bridge.
A bad shot of the river!
This is now on East River Road getting ready to go under a rail bridge which will one day connect to the Greenway.
University of St Thomas sits atop a nice hill and is around the 21 mile mark!
A nice long look up Summit Ave. A nice long uphill. And is the longest remaining stretch of residential Victorian architecture in the United States.
Bridge crossing Ayd Mill Rd.
A cool church on the corner of Lexington Parkway and Summit Ave.
One of many cool houses. If you aren’t in complete agony, be sure to check them out! They are on both sides.
This is a great sign!! You are atop the hill and getting ready to turn left into the final stretch.  I always felt a little let down that we turn here instead of just going down the hill!
The Cathedral of St Paul. When you see the steeple it is almost over!
The Minnesota State Capital building and the finish line!!!  Congratulations you’ve finished.

[tags] Twin Cities Marathon, TCM, Marathon, Twin Cities [/tags]

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Bought a House

Pardon the interruption from our normal routine, but Team Cross has an exciting announcement….

We are now homeowners!!!

See the newest addition to our family below:

We are excited about being first time homeowners and putting roots down in Minneapolis. We actually closed yesterday and today are celebrating 3 years of being married!! What an exciting week.

I’ll try not to overwhelm this blog with homeowner posts but thought you’d appreciate knowing. I’ll try to remember to post a link to more pictures as I get them on the interwebs.

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Minneapolis: Best in the World

Yes, I am a little biased, but I do think that Minneapolis is one of the greatest places in the United States.  I would say it ranks pretty high on the world stage too, but there might be some other places I’d rather live.   Nonetheless Travel and Leisure Magazine recently named Minneapolis one of the best biking cities in the world.

Minneapolis actually ranks number 2 in the US falling behind Portland as far as bike commuting goes.  One of the reasons Minneapolis was ranked so high is the

infrastructure that promotes bicycling on many fronts. From bike lockers and designated street lanes to recreational trails and snowplows dedicated to clearing off-street paths, a system exists to make transportation on a bike efficient, safe, and hassle-free.

This same infrastructure makes Minneapolis a great place to run.  Many of my runs use existing bike infrastructure.  The Midtown Greenway is a biking thorough-fare.  Running on downtown’s Riverfront uses part of the Grand Rounds Trail.  Of course all of the lakes have bike and running trails.

Minneapolis has a ton of paved trails, I wish it had more dirt trails within the city that I could easily use from my house.  But I will take the ease of off-road running and the mostly suburb job of plowing that occurs in winter.

HT Mayor’s Blog

[tags] Minneapolis, Biking, Trails, Travel [/tags]

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Running the Minneapolis Riverfront

One of my newer favorite places to run is along the Minneapolis Riverfront. It is about 1.5 miles from my house which makes it a good place to run for any distance run, plenty of scenery with the Mississippi River, cobblestone streets, dirt trails, mill ruins, and much more.  From my house I also get to run by the Metrodome – where the Vikings and Twins play.

The official riverfront website describes the area:

The Minneapolis Riverfront District is many things to many people. To some, it’s a giant archaeological dig. To others, its a playground of dining and nightlife. And to yet others, it is a maze of beautiful parks and trails.

The picture is from a recent 10 mile run and you can see a more detailed map of the area. I often run this route in the other direction crossing over the Stone Arch Bridge first.  On this particular run I never actually crossed the bridge since I extended it and ran through the University of Minnesota.

Surface Type Before I take you on a tour of the above route a quick note about running surface.  Most of the run is on some type of hard surface – road or sidewalk. Along much of the West River Parkway you can find a single track cow path that has been worn into the dirt between the walking and biking trails.  There is a section on the west side of the river there is a short section of dirt trail that follows a small cove. Crossing the bridges provides some elevation change, otherwise it is mostly flat.  After crossing over the river you can run on grass and dirt trails for awhile as you jump onto Boom Island and cross over onto Nicollet Island.  After a short period of dirt trails at the beginning and end of the Island the rest of the run is on sidewalks or roads.  This might be one of the best runs from my house for getting off the hard surfaces.

Step-by-Step Guide to the Sights and Trails There are a ton of things to see along the way. The downtown skyline is always present in your view. But my route mostly skirts the downtown area running by the Metrodome, before turning onto West River Parkway. From here the trail splits, you can go straight down to the river (and come back up later) or stay up on the top of the bluff.  Either way you see the Guthrie Theater and Mill City Museum. You can cross the pedestrian/bicycle only Stone Arch Bridge or continue on the West side as we will do here. You are now running along the St Anthony Falls Heritage Trail, which takes you into First Bridge Park before the trail crosses the Hennepin Ave Bridge.  We’ll stay on the West River Parkway and run past the Federal Reserve Building and through a stretch of turtle trail.  Lots of turtles are scored into the sidewalk on this stretch. From here you begin to run under a lot of trees and a more natural scenery.  You can stay on the paved trail or take a short detour on a dirt trail that follows the little inlet with two bridge to choose from (I prefer the shorter one because it makes a better loop) and can continue along the trail until it forces you back up into a little park area.  A nice benefit of running the Riverfront is the ample supply of water and occasional port-a-potties! Both have come in handy. Finally, we get to cross the river via the Plymouth Ave Bridge which drops you onto Boom Island.

Unfortunately, Boom Island is no longer an island, but hosts a nice park which includes a lighthouse and access to several riverboats. There is a paved trail that cuts through the park, but I prefer running in the grass along the river, this adds distance and also keeps you on softer surfaces longer.  You’ll eventually get to the Boom-Nicollet Island Pedestrian Bridge which is a cool old-school bridge onto Nicollet Island. Follow this dirt trail until it comes out on the road.  Here you can complete the short side of the island or double backon the road to get a longer and more scenic section. Running along Island Ave will take you along the river but also through some very nice residential sections before going under the Hennepin Ave Bridge and into Nicollet Island Park. I recommend continuing along the river’s edge around the tip of the island and crossing over the wooden Merriam St Bridge. As you cross over this bridge you almost enter another time period as you enter the cobblestone streets of Historic St Anthony Main. Running along this bridge also puts you back onto the St Anthony Falls Heritage Trail. If you want you can go explore the Hennepin Island Hydro-electric plant, but I’d save it for another day.  I’ve never noticed signs for Pillsbury Park, but it is on the map, Father Hennepin Park is well marked and takes you back away from the road.  Somewhere along this stretch you have the option of following the “Lower Trail” section which takes a lot of stairs down to the river. (I wouldn’t recommend taking the lower trail, it is a bunch of steps that lead down to the river – it is neat, but not really worth the effort on a run). As you come up to the Bandstand grab a quick drink of water and make an important decision.  You can cross over the Stone Arch Bridge and complete the loop or head up 6th Ave SE and do some other running. I’ve seen runners do multiple loops along the Riverfront so give that a thought too.  As of this writing you can see the finishing touches being put on the new 35W Bridge from the Stone Arch Bridge or by running up to the 10th Ave Bridge which is just south of where you are currently contemplating.

Whatever you end up deciding this is a fun run to do and gives you a good taste of Minneapolis.  The route as I’ve described it is approximately 4.5 miles long starting at 11th Ave S and W River Parkway and ending at the parking lot on the West end of the Stone Arch Bridge.

All of this is also part of the Mississippi National River Park and Recreation Area.

I should give credit to AEngelsrud for pointing this loop out to me via Twitter.

[tags] Minneapolis, Riverfront, Minneapolis Riverfront, Mississippi River, Tourism, Running [/tags]

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