A Cheer for Everyone: The Community Comes Together Along the Course
Over 70 cheer zones brought encouragement, energy, and community support to Marathon Weekend.
For some runners, the most memorable moment of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon comes at the start. For others, it's crossing the finish line. And for many, it's the sound of a neighborhood cheering them forward -- or even the chance to spot Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, Alan Page, along the way.
Over 300,000 spectators lined the route from downtown Minneapolis to the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul during 2026 Marathon Weekend. Cowbells, costumes, and music filled the neighborhoods, while more than 70 organized cheer zones marked a record level of support through the Diane & Alan Page Community Cheer Challenge.
Twin Cities In Motion and Justice Page launched the challenge in 2022, inspired by the decades that Alan and his late wife, Diane, spent cheering participants along the course. Now in it's fifth year, the challenge expanded to include Saturday's events for the first time, giving even more people the chance to take part in the tradition of inviting the community to gather, make some noise, and help runners feel supported.
"Seeing the community show up for runners and walkers in this way is what makes the Diane & Alan Page Community Cheer Challenge so special," said Sam Rush, TCM's event operations manager. "This was our biggest year yet, and it's exciting to see it continue to grow. Every cheer zone helps to create an exciting atmosphere to help participants feel supported, it also makes Marathon Weekend feel like something we're all part of."
For Page, who can usually be seen on course playing a sousaphone (a brass instrument in the tuba family), that sense of shared experience is what the challenge is all about. During the 2026 More than a Marathon Live Show, he reflected on how cheering brings the wider community into Marathon Weekend.
"We're growing, and that's the whole idea: to get as many people out to cheer the runners on," Page said. "Running a marathon is not exactly easy. And to have the support, have the enthusiasm and fun that comes along with people cheering you on, I think it helps runners, it helps the whole event. They bring the community out and it turns into a community event. It's not just for the runners, although it is all about the runners. It also brings out the community."
Winning cheer zones receive donations for nonprofits of their choice. Saturday's overall winner receives $250. Sunday's overall winner receives $1,000, and category winners receive $500 each.
More Ways to Join the Celebration
The Cheer Challenge gives groups a simple way to take part: gather people, choose an approved spot along the route, and find a fun way to encourage the thousands of participants passing by. That might mean a handmade sign, a favorite song, a line of cowbells, or a familiar face calling out a runner's name.
One of the new cheer zones this year was the Red Bull Flying Mile which invited marathoners to race a professionally timed one-mile segment within the full 26.2 mile course. Runners competed for exclusive prizes and bragging rights. Cameron Posner of Delaware, Ohio, won the segment with a 5:55 mile. Their prizes included a 2027 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon bib, VIP passes for the 2027 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, and a full calendar year of Red Bull. The segment gave runners a chance to pick up the pace mid-race while still taking on the full marathon.
A Mile for Many Causes
One of the most visible gathering places was the Mission Mile at Oaks Park in Minneapolis. Located near mile 20 of the marathon and mile 4 of the TC 10 Mile, the Mission Mile brough together cheer zones representing the over 70 nonprofit organizations in TCM's Charity Program.
The organizations recruit runners to take part in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, TC Half for More, and Medtronic TC 10 Mile while raising funds for their causes. At the Mission Mile, their signs, supporters and cheers offered a reminder of the many reasons people run and the many people who benefit when they do.
The Community Cheer Challenge is about more than creating a lively course. It makes space for people who may not be running to take part in Marathon Weekend, and it gives runners encouragement at moments when they need it most. In the process, the route becomes a gathering place for the whole community: runners moving forward, neighbors cheering them on, and everyone sharing in the experience.
