The Chicago athlete went to the road and went to the twin cities for a weekend full of physical state and fun. These family holidays for the family come together so that they can replicate on their own or with the smallest. Our goal is to create an itinerary that a family with physical mentality will enjoy complete with high movement options and healthy food availability.
As many of you remember, the Twin Cities marathon was canceled last fall, due to high heat and safety precautions. All participants received a complete reimbursement or postponement option. As such, we know that many of you are contemplating visiting the twin cities again this October for a re-do! The Twin Cities marathon is one of our favorite west marathons and will not disappoint the racing experience. You can read a complete summary of the 2022 race here.
This year’s race will take place on Sunday, October 6Th And promotes its traditional marathon route to point that shows autumn colors in a truly picturesque way. The record for all events is still open and can be found here.
In Chicago, the athlete we think we should see the area again to ensure that our travel recommendations were still in point for runners who were looking to travel this autumn. Therefore, as any good cable-cation-e, we find a local race to accompany the trip, half of Xenia Avenue and the complete marathon in Champlin, Minnesota. Keep reading to obtain details about this small and community -centered race.
When arriving on Friday, my family and I went directly to the Radisson Blu hotel, which is connected to the mall of America. This hotel is, with much, the most convenient, comfortable and elegant place to stay for a trip like this. The Radisson Blu also embraces athletes with the best gym I have found in a hotel, complete with first -line running ribbons, weight machines and squad bicycles. There is also a pool and spa with inner heating so that the guests enjoy during their stay.
The staff was an incredible and helpful child from the moment we arrived, making sure that everything was expected. The hotel offers contiguous rooms, which is very important when you have teenagers. This is an important feature to look for many families, and the Radisson Blu not only has several adjacent rooms, but it ensures that it actively has them when registered, regardless of time. Some hotels only have a few adjacent rooms available and go to the guests at a first arrival, the first service base. Not this hotel. If you reserve adjacent rooms, you will be waiting for your family upon arrival.
The rooms were clean and comfortable, immediately calling everyone to drop on their beds after the 6 -hour trip from Chicago. The bathrooms were spacious and welcoming, and made a great shower after the race. There was also a small refrigerator where I could store my morning food prior to the race and a coffee maker that would be useful for an awakening of the 5 am
After establishing ourselves, we walked towards the lower level and we could get immediate access to the mall of America through the Sky Way Walking bridge. This access is invaluable when you have a hungry family and wants to find food quickly. As Chicago, we often parked our cars on Friday and we did not touch them again until Monday morning to work. That is the exact routine you can have if you stay in the Radisson Blu.
The Mall of America is the largest shopping center in the United States with almost 3 million feet of retail space, not including the amusement park. There are hundreds of stores, many of them exclusive to the mall, in addition to restaurants, a theme park, cinema, mini golf, aquarium and much more.
We left the catwalk, we found Wahlbergers and enjoyed their American classic favorites. Then we arrive at the M&M store, which is something that cannot be lost. Children have the opportunity to fill small cubes of chocolate with color with color, and even mix all flavors such as peanut butter, carmel beer and almonds. It is a cheerful and bright space and promotes two levels of fun and charm.
We return to the hotel to be able to sleep a little before Saturday’s race, but not Bee making a fast walk through the amusement park. There is nothing like a full -size roller coaster located inside the mall!
On Saturday morning, I woke up at 5 am and let the family sleep. I drove about 30 minutes to Champlin Park, where the race was being a hero. Runners, all in local high school to grab packages and enjoy a rapid morning information session. This small community event is only 5 years old and services as a fundonator for the Cross Country teams of Champlin Park. This year, the event raised $ 6,500 for runners to use them in uniforms, meetings and other equipment needs. Many of Cross Country runners and their families were in the race, which was organized by all volunteers.
The race advanced at 6:30 am, however, despite the early temperature, humidity levels were already 70% and temperatures were from the mid -70s. The sun did not make it with all its strength until 8 in the morning, but surely did its damage after that point. The runners, including myself, fought through high temperatures, moisture, full sun and black path with a lid, which makes it an extremely defamated event.
The course began and ended in high school with multiple exits and support in a 4.80 mile circuit. The course begged with a quick 2.2 minucious miles a adjoining neighborhood, after which Begen Begen corridors, which complete marathons complete five times. The course was mainly in a system of trails and crossed a local park. There was an aid station at the beginning and in the end and one that the runners passed twice, so in each loop the runners could help him three times.
The volunteers and spectators dispersed through the course encouraging the runners and ensuring that they all touch the right turns. I found that the course was very well marked and after making the circuit once, I had the pattern below.
I think I would have enjoyed this event if I had not had a leg for climatic conditions. So, I was quite miserable during the last 10 miles and I really appreciated the support of the volunteers. I would like to return to this event when it is cooler, more cloudy and maybe only Rainier. But, we all know how it goes with the races: you get what you get and do not put yourself in shape!
All runners received a short -sleeved cotton shirt and finalist medal. Each of the aid stations had water, fat and a variety or fuel options. The volunteers did a great job with this race and the runners became a little more hard as results of the conditions.
After the race, I return to the hotel a sweaty disaster and was grateful for the clean and efficient shower that awaited me. The children were ready to hit the mall of America, so I lost little time to clean myself, drink a drink and address stores.
This shopping center will certainly obtain its steps, since each one accumulated 20k steps only on Saturday alone. The shopping center has four purchasing floors, restaurants and entertainment options. We make sure to visit Arc’teryx, Lululemon, Vuori, Under Armor, Nike and Wilson. We also review a new shoe store called Kizik, which has sneakers that have technology with hands -free that eliminate the need to bend and fight to tie their shoes. What a great concept! Another fun visit was Travismathew, which had great athletics offers. The Moa Lululemon is an experimental store, such as ours located in Lincoln Park, so there is a small coffee that sacrificed coffee and only a gluten -free donut!
There are a multitude of healthy eating options with smoothies, healthy wraps and many high protein bowl offers. We also reach a not so healthy option and take cold stone ice cream for a night cap.
Nickelodeon Universe theme park is a place that you can’t miss. It is housed in the center of the mall and requires a wedding to mount the walks. There are options for all ages that are linked to Nickelodeon’s characters as Dora The Explorer and Sponebob Squarepants. There is only one area in which it can be advanced if you want to relive those double days!
However, from massive roller mountains to water trips, there is something magical in being able to mount the rides of the theme park inside a mall! There are no meteorological elements to have to deal with, as noted above, it was a painful point for me on Saturday afternoon. And the park was clean. Pristino actually. The floor shone, the walks were impeccable. It was refreshing to be in a theme park and not have a funnel cake that hit me at my feet or in the hole in the seat where I had to fashed.
After our ice cream gift, we found our way back to our rooms where we collapsed to spend the night. The mall of America will certainly build its steps counts and keep all entertaining with purchases, roller mountains and food.
We went on Sunday morning to return to the city and prepare for the training of the autumn marathon! Twin Cities in Motion Marathon Weekend is from October 4 to 6 and the record is still open for 5k, 10k, 10 miles, half and complete marathons, as well as the Challenge series that combine those events. I encourage you to make your reservation at Radisson Blu and combine your stay in the Marathon with a visit to the Mall of America and Nickelodeon Universe theme park.
And, if you are looking for a complete half or marathon at the end of July, put half of Xenia avenue and it is full in your calendar. There are very few marathons in July, and less the last weekend, so if you are looking for a longer distance, this is excellent. You will support the Cross Country High School team, a team that many of us came and we will have the opportunity to meet really great people. The runners are always great people!
