More than $1.4 million was raised this year between the Twin Cities Medtronic Marathon’s 56 charity partners, with final tallies expected in the next several months, according to organizer and nonprofit Twin Cities in Motion.
More than 30,000 people registered for the 2025 run which took place Oct. 3 weekend for its 44th year. The annual race is from downtown Minneapolis to the State Capitol grounds in St. Paul. A total of 7,025 participants completed the marathon and 9,607 others completed the 10-mile run.
Prior to the pandemic, the nonprofit tended to average just under a million dollars raised between 40 to 45 charity partners every year, said Dean Orton, Twin Cities in Motion president. With its initiative Raise the Community Pace, officials hope to reach 100 charity partners and $2.62 million raised annually by 2028.
“Of course, we run marathons, so we love the number 26.2. So we thought, well, why not have 2.62 million as our goal?” Orton said.
Some of the charities include Cancer Legal Care, which provides free legal care and education to those dealing with cancer; Children’s Minnesota, a pediatric health system; and World Vision, a Christian humanitarian group that works to provide clean water to communities. A list of the charities can be found at tcmevents.org/charityteams.
The initiative was launched at the end of 2024. Data has shown that charities are struggling to find platforms for fundraising and donor bases are shrinking, and the nonprofit knew it could help, Orton said.
“The numbers are still coming in,” Orton said. “So next year, we want to get a little further, and then by 2028 we want to really be there. So it’s a multi-year goal, and we want to kind of just keep getting better each year. And then by 2028, we will see all our hard work paying off, and we’ll have a new norm.”
Marathons and long-distance events have a record of inspiring funding and “pacing with purpose,” Orton said, meaning many runners support a charity. About 3% of runners in the marathon “pace with purpose.” The nonprofit’s goal is to better motivate and market its partners to bring that average to 10% by 2028, Orton said.
“We know we’ve got a proven way, and we know we can do better,” he said “And it’s needed more than ever when you look at kind of what the uncertainty is for funding out there based on the research of our nonprofits. And the more we can help them and give them the kind of support, it helps every sector of our community.”
This year’s Twin Cities Marathon weekend included runners from more than 24 countries and all 50 states, according to Orton.
Early registration for the 2026 marathon weekend is now open. To learn more, go to tinyurl.com/42bk6yn9.
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