Mark Dowdle and Alex Proctor set out at 4:15 AM for an adventure around the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Joined by the previous FKT holder of this route, Caius Anderson, for the first 33 miles, Mark, and Alex would've made a wrong turn within the first quarter mile if it weren't for Caius's route knowledge.
We decided to begin the route going counterclockwise around Lake Nokomis then westward down Minnehaha Creek to the chain of lakes. The conditions were quite chilly and the ground had a fresh few inches of snow to grace our footsteps. After working our way around the west side of Lake Harriet and along the shores of Bde Maka Ska, we were met by Lucy Coy at mile 9.7. She supplied us with breakfast burritos, warm soup, and water bottle refills along with some snackies for the road.
Lake of the Isles and Cedar Lake came and went as we approached Theodore Wirth Park. At mile 16.6, we were joined by Anthony Hirshman who had parked his car about 5 miles down the route, fat-biked the 5 miles to Theodore Wirth Park to meet us, and ran alongside the three of us back to his vehicle. The dawn turned to day as we ran in Robbinsdale/North Minneapolis along Victory Memorial Parkway and crossed the great Mississippi River into Northeast Minneapolis.
5 hours 6 minutes and 31 seconds into the adventure we crossed the 26.2 mi marathon mark and were coincidentally met by Alex's fiance, Natalie Engel, and her father, Ward. This was a pleasant surprise and a nice pick-me-up. After a few hugs and wishes of good luck, we were back moving southward down to Dinkytown and through the University of Minnesota campus to the path along the Mississippi River where we'd spend the next ~15 miles. As always along the river, we passed by many smiling faces and active folks.
At mile 33, 6.5 hours in, Ivy Anderson, arrived to relieve Caius of his duties and help us out with more water and more snacks. Big thank you to Caius for the shared miles! What a beast! Now Mark and Alex were running on their own. Luckily, support was never too far away. 6 miles down the path at mile 39, Lucy met us again for a lunch meal and even more snacks.
Continuing to roll downhill to St. Paul, Mark and Alex were joined by their good friend Landyn Swearingen. At a certain point, we had thought Landyn was going to turn around and run back to his parked car. Instead, Landyn joined us for around 15 or so of the miles around St. Paul! Before he was picked up by our friend, Matt Miller, Lucy met us once again at mile 51.5, 10 hours and 18 minutes in. We got some more grub, liquids, and some good vibes.
The interesting part about this stop was in parking at a building for Jehovah's Witnesses, we were approached by a few gentlemen who notified us they were having a meeting. Not sure how we were impacting their indoor, enclosed meeting in any way but it sure was interesting- especially since right after they went back inside, a car spun and took down a light post out right in front of us. Even more interestingly, the passengers decided to not get out and assess the damage but drive off as if nothing happened. Well, we better get a move on. Two signs we should get out of here.
Soon after Landyn had left, Natalie was back again to run with Mark and Alex for the final 6 miles of the route. Arriving back where we had started at Lake Nokomis Beach, it was now dark, 5:00 PM, and we were elated to have completed the Twin Cities Grand Rounds Infiniti Loop.
We would highly recommend this route as a great way to experience the Twin Cities either by foot or bike. It was the perfect way to ring in the new year and celebrate life with friends and family while actively attempting to achieve goals and suffer a bit in the process.
Thank you to all who supported us in this endeavor! Whether you ran with us, walked with us, provided food and water for us, and/or provided words of encouragement from either near or far, we're very appreciative and grateful. The opportunity to embark on an endeavor of this nature is always a privilege and something we will never take for granted.