Mankato Marathon

The race weekend begins with a sports and health exposition, which is sponsored by Scheels and is held in the Myers Field House at Minnesota State University, Mankato.^[12] The day before the marathon, there are races for children and a 5K race around the MSU campus. On marathon race day, the other three races begin in the morning from the campus, near Blakeslee Stadium. The 10K starts the day, and an hour later, the marathon and half marathon take off in a combined start. Runners can also do the marathon as a four-person relay team.

Pacers are provided for both the full and half marathon.^[11]

After the races, there is a post-race party near the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center with live music, food and drinks.

In 2019, the course underwent a shift to more neighborhood streets and less long, straight stretches along agricultural fields.^[13][14]

The marathon course starts in downtown Mankato,^[15] and runs through several neighborhoods in the city, winding around quaint blocks with some cheering residents. It also takes runners on the Red Jacket Trail, around Mount Kato, near Sibley Park, along the Blue Earth River and the Minnesota River (though it is hidden by the levy walls), through the 1890s era downtown and past the Hubbard House, and down two rural roads. The finish is on Front Street, near the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, where several restaurants and bars are also located. The largest descent in the course is at mile 18.^[16][11][17] The course is a certified marathon distance (USATF #MN19070RR).^[18]

In 2018, the first-place winners received $250 and a trophy made of Kasota stone from the Kasota-Mankato quarries.^[11]

The race was initially envisioned as a combination athletic and art fair event. However, city leaders felt that either event might outgrow one weekend, so the race was delegated to the regional tourism office, Visit Mankato. The office partnered with Final Events, owned by Mark Bongers. The two entities shared ownership of the race weekend.^[19] The race weekend was set later in the year to avoid competing with the seven other Minnesota marathons, and also to serve as a "last shot" for a Boston-qualifying race in the state.^[20]

The inaugural race was sponsored by Hy-Vee^[21] and the race weekend included just three races: The marathon, the half, and a 10K. The initial participation exceeded expectations: Race applications had to be turned away as 2,000 total entries (for the three races) filled early. The marathon was capped at 800 runners.

James Sorenson graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2005, where he ran cross country and track, and he decided to run the inaugural race.^[22] the Gustie won the race in 2:37:04.^[23] Jen Blue, a Minnesota State Mankato coach for the track and field team, won for women in 3:06:29. It was her fourth marathon.^[24]

For the half, 1,100 runners signed up. John VanDanacker of Greenfield, Minnesota, a veteran runner and Medtronic employee who had run for University of Minnesota Duluth cross country and track in the 1980s, won.^[25] A 32-year-old Janesville, Minnesota, mother of three, Elisa Johnson, won the woman's title in 1:27:36.^[26] 350 runners took to the 10K course.^[27]

In 2011, 3,800 runners raced. And the 5K was added. The finish line shifted slightly, and Mayo Clinic became the main sponsor. ^[20]

In 2014, before the race, 56-year-old North Mankato, Minnesota, resident Brian Mechler called emergency dispatchers to tell them an anonymous person planted four bombs on the marathon race route. The course was searched by local police and bomb-sniffing dogs from the Twin Cities. It was found to be safe, though more officers were added to the event security team for the marathon day.^[28] Mechler was arrested and in court, he pleaded innocent to charges of terroristic threats.^[29][30] Regardless, the court found him guilty. He served jail time and received mental health treatment.^[31]

In 2019 the course was rerouted to avoid the longer country roads. Instead, the weaving new path took runners through the neighborhoods. Most praised the change, but the following year, few runners would get a chance to try it again.^[32]

By the summer of 2020, Grandma's Marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon had already announced cancelations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it wasn't until August that the Mankato race announced it would not be run in 2020. Participants were given the opportunity to run their own course and submit their times.^[33][34]

Key:   Course record

All cities in Minnesota unless indicated otherwise

	Men						Women
Year	Place	Name	Age	Hometown	Time		Year	Place	Name	Age	Hometown	Time
2024		Mike Walentiny	36	Lewiston, Minnesota	2:42:56			2024		Maddy Sweeney	25	Green Bay, Wisconsin	3:10:58
		Jeff Schulz	44	Le Sueur, Minnesota	2:59:05					Amanda Montplaisir	24	Shakopee, Minnesota	3:13:17
		Seth Carlmark	24	Minneapolis	3:08:50					Alison Zigler	24	Mankato, Minnesota	3:20:40
2023[35]		Jonathan Keller	29	Hugo	2:29:29			2023		Caryn Herrick	33	St. Louis Park	2:59:33
		Max Hand	22	Saint Paul	2:40:45					Kelli Deeg	41	Wayzata	3:14:41
		Nicholas Rudolph	30	Waseca	2:42:12					Sydney Paulson	24	Minneapolis	3:15:23
2022[36]		Kaleb Colston	27	Bloomington	2:36:20			2022		Steph Cloutier	31	Eleva, Wisconsin	3:08:06
		Michael Walentiny	34	Lewiston	2:39:31				Angela Byers	42	Minneapolis	3:21:43
		Zach Fogarty	35	Rochester	2:55:26				Carissa Carroll	42	North Oaks	3:35:41
2021[37]		Tristan Coughlin	38	St. Paul	2:37:34		2021		Breana Siljander	31	Minneapolis	3:19:43
		Michael Walentiny	33	Goodview	2:42:25				Emily Linscheid	28	Johnston, Iowa	3:28:44
		Daniel Lauer-Schumacher	37	Minneapolis	2:44:13				Christine Skopec	32	Woodbury	3:30:50
2020[33]		Race canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic*					2020[38]		Race canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic*
2019[39]		Nicholas Wimmer	29	Minneapolis	2:35:28		2019[40]		Rebecca Mayer	38	Eden Prairie	3:01:55
		Kyle Smith	32	Duluth	2:40:26				Parry Larson	24	Cologne	3:23:22
		Ali Khalili	30	Byron	2:41:03				Janet Smith	38	Dundas	3:25:15
2018[41]		Jacob Gallagher	23	Mankato	2:37:17		2018		Katie Herald	30	Marshfield, Wisconsin	3:12:33
		Jeff Lanners	35	West Saint Paul	2:41:58				Megan Sauer	23	Lismore	3:14:31
		Robert Economy	54	Victoria	2:50:20				Anja Standly	41	Lonsdale	3:21:27
2017[42]		Jacob Gallagher	22	Lisbon, North Dakota	2:29:26		2017		Monica Dorn	38	Hendricks	3:04:40
		Brett Rosauer	27	Iowa City, Iowa	2:30:36				Erin Manlove	32	Minneapolis	3:07:09
		Daniel Bretscher	34	Northfield	2:39:34				Sarah Schmidt-Dannert	29	Shoreview	3:15:33
2016[43]		Jeff Stuckenbroker	30	Windom	2:41:07		2016		Lisa Tavares	37	Colfax, Wisconsin	3:06:39
		Brock Tesdahl	24	St. Louis Park	2:42:11				Hiedi Johnson	43	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	3:10:19
		Eddie Stenger	26	Woodbury	2:45:17				Brittney Nichole	27	Isanti	3:25:12
2015[44]		Tim Hardy	40	North Mankato	2:41:16		2015[45]		Susie Fox	32	Chaska	3:18:58
		Eddie Stenger	25	Lacrosse, Wisconsin	2:55:41				Melanie Moriarty	42	North Oaks	3:22:11
		Luis Leonardo	35	Minnetonka	2:57:32				Paula Johnson	28	Andover	3:23:19
2014[46]		Tim Hardy	39	North Mankato	2:33:07		2014		Laura Edlund	28	Minnesota City	3:09:37
		Eric Januszewski	26	Grove City	2:51:56				Kim Scheel	38	Madison Lake	3:10:44
		Todd Landgraff	37	North Mankato	2:54:08				Paula Morozas	27	Andover	3:12:19
2013[47]		Eric Thies	24	Arlington	2:34:55		2013		Amy Halseth	43	Minneapolis	2:58:18
		Tim Hardy	38	North Mankato	2:36:06				Laura Gillette	28	Goshen, Indiana	3:01:32
		Jake Traxler	23	Le Center	2:39:35				Michele Asmus	33	Austin	3:07:20
2012[48]		Paul Donnelly	29	Minneapolis	2:49:38		2012		Leslie Anderson	35	Waseca	3:14:23
		Patrick Geary	25	Sheridan, Wyoming	2:53:08				Dawn Michaud	38	Sartell	3:21:35
		Joseph Paille	23	Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin	2:54:27				Holly Hillstrom	39	Mahtomedi	3:24:51
2011[49]		Brian Sames	25	Shakopee	2:36:18		2011[50]		Kim Scheel	35	Mankato	3:00:47
		Eric Thies	22	Arlington	2:44:49				Monica Dorn	32	Hendricks	3:01:19
		Ronald Hoffman	34	Waconia	2:51:36				Leslie Anderson	34	Waseca	3:22:11
2010		James Sorenson	28	Minneapolis	2:37:04		2010		Jen Blue	35	North Mankato	3:06:29
		Tim Hardy	35	North Mankato	2:38:48				Kim Scheel	34	Mankato	3:08:05
		Justin Henkel	34	Owatonna	2:44:33				Monica Dorn	31	Walnut Grove	3:17:09

*A "virtual" race was scheduled.