Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon 2027: Complete Guide, Course & Registration

Race at a Glance

The Twin Cities Marathon ran on the first Sunday of October for 45 years. That era closed on October 4, 2026, with Lilian Chebii smashing a 25-year women’s course record, 30,000 runners turning out for a farewell that earned its moment and near-perfect racing conditions that made the whole thing feel like the course sending itself off well. The 2027 edition, on October 17, is something the race has never been before: the first mid-October Twin Cities Marathon in history. Twin Cities In Motion made the call after years of warming early-October temperatures peaked in the 2023 cancellation at 92°F. The new date is not a retreat. Mid-October in Minneapolis aligns more closely with peak fall color, brings more stable temperatures and gives runners the conditions the course always deserved but did not always get.

The course does not change. The four lakes still appear between miles 3 and 13, wrapped in autumn color that in mid-October will be closer to genuine peak than early October ever reliably managed. Summit Avenue still climbs between miles 21 and 23 and still breaks the pacing plans of runners who went out too fast around the lakes. The race still rewards patience and punishes ambition at exactly the wrong moment. If you have been meaning to run the Twin Cities Marathon at some point, the new mid-October date gives you a reason to make 2027 the year. Cooler mornings, better color, the same point-to-point journey from one great city to another. The chapter is new. The course is the same.

Registration: 2027 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend

Pricing for 2027 has not been announced. Based on 2026 tier structure, expect the marathon to open from around $162 plus transaction fees at the lowest early tier, with prices increasing as the field fills. The TC 10 Mile sold out within hours of opening in 2026 and is likely to move at the same pace in 2027. TCM Members receive fixed preferred pricing at all tiers. Kids 18 and under run free in all events. The table below reflects 2026 pricing as a reference guide until 2027 details are confirmed.

What Makes the Twin Cities Marathon Worth Running?

The First Mid-October Edition and What That Actually Means

Forty-five years of early-October racing did not end because the race wanted to change. It ended because the data left no room to argue. After the 2023 cancellation at 92°F and a multi-year review involving climatologists, medical partners and community stakeholders, Twin Cities In Motion announced the permanent move to mid-October. The tentative schedule runs through 2031: October 15–17 in 2027, October 13–15 in 2028 and so on. Permits are pending but the direction is set.

What does mid-October actually give runners? Historically, average race-morning temperatures in the Twin Cities drop to around 42–46°F (5–8°C) at 8:00 AM in mid-October compared to 47–55°F in early October. The difference is not just a few degrees. The risk of a warm anomaly collapses. Early October could produce 50°F mornings or 92°F mornings. Mid-October narrows that band significantly. For runners targeting a BQ or a personal best, that predictability matters more than the number on the thermometer. You can train to a plan when you know what conditions to expect. Early October never really allowed that.

There is also the color. Peak fall foliage in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area typically lands in the second and third weeks of October. Every year the race ran in early October, some sections of the Chain of Lakes were still green. In 2027, mid-October running through those same lakeside parkways is more likely to deliver the full palette that makes the course photography look like it was staged for a tourism brochure. It was not staged. It just usually peaks a week or two after the early-October date allowed runners to see it.

A Journey Through Two Great Cities

Most marathons start and finish in the same place. The Twin Cities is a genuine point-to-point race through two distinct cities with two very different personalities. Minneapolis gives you urban energy, the Viking stadium, university neighborhoods and lake parkways. St. Paul gives you historic Victorian boulevards, the Cathedral of Saint Paul and the Capitol finish. You earn both cities in one morning, which sounds like a tagline but actually feels true when you are running it. There is no out-and-back monotony, no looping back through the same streets twice. Every mile is new ground.

The Chain of Lakes section from roughly miles 3 to 13 is one of the most visually extraordinary stretches of road racing in the United States. Lake of the Isles, Bde Maka Ska, Lake Harriet and Lake Nokomis in sequence, each framed by boulevards of maples and oaks in full color. The crowd support from lakeside neighborhoods is consistent and enthusiastic across this entire stretch, with live bands scattered along the parkways. In mid-October, the canopy will be at or near peak. No mile of this race will feel like a grind until Summit Avenue earns the right to make it one.

A Legitimate Boston Qualifier

The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon is USATF-certified and holds a World Athletics Label Road Race designation. Times run here are accepted by the Boston Athletic Association. In good conditions — which mid-October should now deliver more reliably — a well-prepared runner in the 3:30–4:15 range has a realistic shot at their number on this course. The BQ rate has historically been as high as 8% in cool years and as low as 4.3% in warmer editions. The mid-October move does not guarantee a fast morning but it meaningfully reduces the risk of a warm one. If BQ is your goal and you race here on a cool mid-October day, the Chain of Lakes section will give you the splits. What happens to those splits on Summit Avenue is entirely up to how patient you were in the first half.

One honest note: the course is not flat. Total elevation gain is approximately 680 feet and it is distributed in a way that punishes runners who do not account for it. The Walker Art Center hill in miles 1–2, the subtle Minnehaha Parkway rise at mile 13.5 and then Summit Avenue between miles 21 and 23 are all real climbs that do not always show up clearly on standard elevation profiles. If you come in expecting Chicago, you will be surprised. If you come in having respected the profile, you will be fine.

A Race That Welcomes Every Runner

The 6:30 time limit is one of the most generous at any major US city marathon. Twin Cities In Motion runs a dedicated program called the Runtourage: volunteers and pace leaders specifically assigned to support back-of-pack participants through the later miles. Kids 18 and under race free in every event. The weekend also offers the TC 5K and TC 10K on Saturday, the TC 10 Mile on Sunday and the charity-focused TC Half Marathon for More. For the truly ambitious, the Loony Challenge (10 Mile plus Marathon on Sunday) and the Ultra Loony (10K Saturday plus 10 Mile and Marathon Sunday) are available. This is a race weekend built to find a distance for every person who shows up.

Twin Cities In Motion raises over $1 million annually for charity through the race weekend, with more than 54 charity partner organizations represented on course. The Diane and Alan Page Community Cheer Challenge brings neighborhoods out to support runners at designated spots throughout the route. After the finish, the Finish Festival on the Capitol grounds includes live music, food trucks and a Summit Brewing beer garden. The streets belong to the runners for a morning and the city genuinely shows up.

The Twin Cities Marathon Course: Mile by Mile

Miles 1–3: Downtown Minneapolis and the Walker Hill

The race opens in the energy of downtown Minneapolis. Coming out of the U.S. Bank Stadium area through Cedar-Riverside, the streets are wide, the crowd is thick and every runner’s legs feel like they belong to someone younger and faster. Do not trust that feeling. At miles 1.6 to 2.3, the course climbs about 100 feet past the Walker Art Center. It is an unremarkable hill on fresh legs. Most runners absorb it without thinking twice. In mile 21, when the body is recounting every calorie spent since the gun, that early hill will have its say. Run these opening miles conservatively. The course gives no meaningful reward for arriving at mile 5 having banked 20 extra seconds per mile.

Miles 3–13: The Chain of Lakes

This is where the Twin Cities Marathon earns its reputation. Lake of the Isles, Bde Maka Ska, Lake Harriet and Lake Nokomis appear in sequence, each framed by boulevards of maples and oaks in full October color. Crowd support from lakeside neighborhoods is consistent and enthusiastic through this entire stretch, with live bands scattered along the parkways. The terrain is rolling but friendly. In mid-October, the canopy overhead will be at or close to peak. It is genuinely as beautiful as the photos suggest. This is also the section where most runners float, feeling better than they should and quietly running 10–20 seconds per mile faster than their target. Enjoy the scenery. Do not enjoy it at race effort.

Around mile 7 the road narrows slightly near Lake Harriet and runners bunch together. Use this as a cue to settle pace rather than weave through. At mile 7.5, as the course doglegs around the lake, the first runners who went out hard start fading. You will see them. Your instinct will be to accelerate. Resist it.

Miles 13–18: Minnehaha Park and the Mississippi River

Mile 13.5 is where the course delivers its best-kept secret: a climb onto the Minnehaha Parkway that reads as nearly invisible on most elevation profiles but physically surprises almost every runner who has not been specifically warned about it. The rise is short and sharp enough to break rhythm, and at the halfway point of a marathon that is exactly what it should not do. After Minnehaha Park, the route follows the Mississippi River Parkway south toward the Franklin Avenue Bridge. The scenery is genuinely beautiful: bluffs, river views, fall color on both banks. But crowd support thins noticeably through miles 14–17 and this is where mental discipline becomes as important as physical conditioning. A small elevation bump at mile 17 is followed by a pleasant downhill at mile 18. Do not let that downhill seduce you into running the next few miles too fast. The hardest section of the race is still ahead.

Miles 18–20: Crossing into St. Paul

The Franklin Avenue Bridge crossing is one of the course’s visual highlights: broad views of the Mississippi, fall foliage on both banks and the river city of St. Paul coming into focus ahead. After the bridge, the route moves onto East River Road, where short rolling climbs begin. These are not significant hills on their own but at miles 18–20 of a marathon, after 13 miles of flat lakeside running, they register. Legs that were coasting through the Chain of Lakes now have to work differently. The mile 20 arch reads “The Wall” and it is both a landmark and a checkpoint. Every experienced Twin Cities runner knows: the race starts here.

Miles 20–23: Summit Avenue and the Race Within the Race

This is the stretch that defines the Twin Cities Marathon for recreational runners. After the brief steep climb off the Mississippi River bluff, Summit Avenue begins its long, slow ascent. The grade is never severe. There is no single dramatic hill to crest and recover from. Instead, Summit Avenue rolls upward across miles 21 through 23 in a way that feels manageable for about three minutes and then begins to feel permanent. At mile 21 with depleted glycogen, every foot of gain costs twice what it cost at mile 5. Runners who banked time in the Chain of Lakes arrive here already deep in the red. Runners who held back arrive here tired but functional. The difference between those two outcomes is almost entirely about what happened between miles 3 and 13. Shorten your stride, drive with your arms and do not look at your GPS pace. Run by effort. The Cathedral of Saint Paul appears at approximately mile 24 and serves as the last major checkpoint before the race opens toward the finish.

Miles 23–26.2: Cathedral Hill and the Capitol

Past mile 23 the climbing relents. Not immediately, but incrementally. The Cathedral of Saint Paul at mile 24 is surrounded by some of the loudest crowd support on the entire course. If you are still running at anything resembling race pace at this point, the crowd will carry you the rest of the way. After the Cathedral, the route descends toward the Minnesota State Capitol. The dome comes into view around mile 25.5 and it is one of the most motivating pieces of architecture in American running: white marble, neoclassical columns and a finish line in the shadow of state government. The final half mile is mostly downhill on John Ireland Boulevard. The finishing straight is wide, well-supported with grandstands and exactly what this race deserves after 26 miles of work.

Race Weekend and Expo

Spectator Guide: Best Places to Watch the Twin Cities Marathon

Race Day Weather: Twin Cities Marathon in Mid-October

The permanent move to mid-October changes the weather conversation for this race in a meaningful way. The TCM Event Alert System — a color-coded five-level system from white (ideal) through black (possible cancellation) — remains in place and communicates real-time weather risk via the Twin Cities In Motion app. Download it before race weekend. For 2027, plan your kit for a range of 38–58°F and carry a throwaway layer for the start corral. A front-pocket rain layer weighing under 100g is worth packing even if the forecast looks dry, since mid-October drizzle hits differently at 8:00 AM than October sunshine does. The good news: a typical mid-October morning in Minneapolis is as close to ideal marathon weather as the calendar offers in the Midwest.

Where to Stay for the Twin Cities Marathon

The point-to-point course creates a genuine lodging decision: stay near the start in Minneapolis and handle transportation to the St. Paul finish, or stay near the finish in St. Paul and take the light rail or a shuttle to the Minneapolis start. Both work. The consensus from experienced TCM runners is that St. Paul near the finish makes Sunday logistics easier, especially if you have family or spectators who want to be at the finish area. Minneapolis options are better if you prioritise walkability to the expo and a more vibrant pre-race restaurant scene.

Book as early as possible once registration opens. The official hotel blocks tend to fill quickly once the event date is confirmed, and a 2-night minimum (Friday through Sunday) is the standard setup at the Minneapolis properties. If you are extending for pre-race tourism, both Minneapolis and St. Paul have strong dining and cultural scenes worth an extra day — and mid-October in the Twin Cities is a genuinely beautiful time to be in either city.

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