Albany is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,561 at the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Avon is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,396 at the 2010 census. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Freeport is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 632 at the 2010 census. Freeport is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Holdingford is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 708 at the 2010 census. It claims to be "The Gateway to Lake Wobegon", the fictional central Minnesota town created by author Garrison Keillor.
St. Cloud or Saint Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stearns County and was named after the city of Saint-Cloud, France, which was named after the 6th-century French monk Clodoald.
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometres. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of 31 miles (50 km) and up to 3100 miles. World Championships are held by the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) for 50 km, 100 km, 24 hours, and ultra trail running. The Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners (GOMU) holds World Championships for 48 hours and 6 days. World Records are ratified and recognized by World Athletics, the IAU, and by GOMU.
The Twin Cities Marathon is a marathon in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area which normally takes place the first weekend in October. The race is often called "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America" due to a course that winds through downtown districts, then along parkways that hug lakes and waterways all throughout dense urban forests in the neighborhoods of both cities.
Grandma's Marathon (Grandma's) is an annual road race held each June in Duluth, Minnesota, in the United States. The course runs point-to-point from the city of Two Harbors on Scenic Route 61 and continues along Lake Superior into the city of Duluth. The finish is located in Canal Park, near Grandma's Restaurant, which is next to the highly visible Aerial Lift Bridge.
Sports in Minnesota include professional teams in all major sports, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, especially in the Winter Olympics, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations and active amateur teams and individual sports. The State of Minnesota has a team in all five major professional leagues. Along with professional sports, there are numerous collegiate teams including the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and St. Thomas Tommies in NCAA Division I, as well as many others across the Minnesota public and private colleges and universities.
Irina Permitina is a Russian long distance runner, who won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg. She is the women's course record holder for the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, along with fellow Russian Zinaida Semenova, who ran the same time in 2001.
Lake Wobegon is a fictional town created by Garrison Keillor as the setting of the recurring segment "News from Lake Wobegon" for the radio program A Prairie Home Companion broadcast from St Paul, Minnesota. The fictional town serves as the setting for many of Keillor's stories and novels, gaining an international audience with Lake Wobegon Days in 1985. Described as a small rural town in central Minnesota, the events and adventures of the townspeople provided Keillor with a wealth of humorous and often touching stories.
The Fargo Marathon is an annual road running marathon in Fargo, North Dakota, first held in 2005. Most years, it begins and ends inside the Fargodome, and the course also travels through Moorhead, Minnesota, Fargo's twin city. The event weekend also hosts a half marathon, 10K, and 5K. The race is a USATF-qualified course, so marathon finish times can be used to qualify for the Boston Marathon. The event has been sponsored by Sanford Health.
The Lake Wobegon Trail are two paved recreational rail trails in central Minnesota, named after the fictional Lake Wobegon in Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion". Each trail is marked with mileposts every 0.5 miles (0.80 km), corresponding with the mile markers of the former railroad lines. Snowmobile use is allowed on the trail in winter, conditions permitting.
Sarah Sellers is an American long-distance runner.
The Mankato Marathon is an annual marathon race in Mankato, Minnesota, United States, that was first run in 2010. The race weekend now brings nearly 5,000 runners to the city for several races: the marathon, a marathon four-person relay, a half marathon, a 10K run, a 5K run, children's runs. The race course is certified by the USATF, making it a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon.
The Med City Marathon is an annual marathon in Rochester, Minnesota, started 1996. The race course is certified by the USATF and is one of the races in the US that can qualify a runner for the Boston Marathon. Although the race was formerly a point-to-point course from the Rochester International Airport, to the Mayo Civic Center in downtown Rochester, the 25th running in 2021 saw a course change to a two-loop route around the city. Previously, Mayo Clinic and Scheels were main sponsors of the marathon. In 2021, Rochester's Active PT and Sports became the main sponsor.
The Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon is a race in Bemidji, Minnesota, first run in 2013. The race runs around a lake, along a state trail and through a state park. It takes place in October, when many of the forest surroundings are bright with color.
The Stillwater Marathon was a race run in Stillwater, Minnesota, from 2009 to 2011. The race was put on by St. Croix Events.
Sally Brent is an American long-distance running athlete who broke barriers for female runners in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Brent was the winner of the inaugural Twin Cities Marathon in 1982, running the race in 2:43:50. Only a few other American women had breached the 2:45:00 mark in 1982, and just seven years earlier, it had been the woman's world record.
Dakotah Marie Lindwurm is an American professional long-distance runner who qualified to represent the United States in the Women's Marathon at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Lindwurm gained notoriety after winning back-to-back victories at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota in 2021 and 2022. Her victory in 2022 made her the 12th fastest U.S. women's marathoner of all time.
