Marathon Again Seeks the Best in the Midwest

This year’s Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on October 5 will again host the Best of the Midwest Invitational as part of its professional athlete program. The Best of the Midwest Invitational will offer support to aspiring marathoners from twelve Midwestern states as they seek to join the ranks of nationally and internationally competitive marathoners.

Along with the established professional athletes invited to the race from around the nation and world, Midwestern athletes accepted into the Best of the Midwest Invitational field will be featured in the “race within a race” and will compete for a dedicated prize purse totaling $20,000 (part of a $79,000+ total marathon prize purse, including wheelchair athletes) and receive full professional athlete amenities.

Last year, Molly Bookmyer of Ohio and Matthew Richtman of Illinois, used successes in the Best of the Midwest Invitational to advance their marathoning career to exciting new heights.

Bookmyer (pictured), who won the marathon outright in a personal best 2:28:52, parleyed the success into an invitation to this spring’s TCS London Marathon, a World Marathon Major, where she finished 12th overall.

“Running marathons is all about taking advantage of the opportunities that we have,” Bookmyer noted. “Winning TCM and finishing with a new personal best gave me the opportunity to reach out to the elite coordinator of the TCS London Marathon. Without the win or the personal best, I may not have been given the opportunity this spring. Winning TCM set me up for success in 2025!”

Richtman, who was runner-up among Best in the Midwest field in 2024 and fourth overall in the marathon running 2:10:45, used his debut marathon success at Twin Cities to his advantage at this spring’s Los Angeles Marathon, where he was the surprise winner in 2:07:57.

Carving out a special place for aspiring Midwestern runners at a top Midwestern marathon only seems natural for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. Midwestern runners have long seen the event as a place to establish their name in the running world.

In 1991 for example, Janis Klecker used a victory at her hometown marathon as a step to becoming an Olympian in 1992, just as 2019 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon runner-up Dakotah Lindwurm claimed a spot on the U.S. marathon team for Paris this summer.

Past men’s champions like Phil Coppess (Iowa), the longtime men’s course record holder, and Bill Donakowski (Michigan) were consistent contenders on the U.S. road racing circuit in their time.

Athletes wishing to apply for the Best of the Midwest Invitational can learn more and apply here.