TC 10 Mile race registration is now first-come, first-served. And it opens Tuesday.

Race organizers are changing from a lottery system. Registration opens online Tuesday morning.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
March 2, 2025 at 11:05PM
The TC10-Mile race is moving away from the lottery system it has had for entry since 2001. (Jerry Holt/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Runners, are you ready for some speed work?

Entry into this fall’s popular TC 10 Mile running race no longer will be left to a lottery. Organizers have opened the Twin Cities Marathon’s partner event to first-come, first-served.

Registration begins online at 10 a.m. Tuesday at tcmevents.org for the 10-mile and related marathon weekend events Oct. 4-5. The 10-mile field caps at 12,700 runners; the marathon, 9,125.

The change to registration is a double-win for runners and charities, said a Twin Cities in Motion spokesperson.

Runners can have certainty of getting in “instead of waiting until summer for lottery results with their fingers crossed,” said Charlie Mahler. Organizations also will have more time to recruit people to run for charity.

“We definitely want to build on our usual $1 million funds raised each year,” he added, saying the group has a target of $2.62 million (a nod to marathon mileage) by 2028.

TCM also has tweaked the marathon, extending the finish time limit by a half-hour to six hours, 30 minutes. The addition will give runners more time to finish and get acknowledged in the official results.

This year’s Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon, part of Grandma’s Marathon weekend, sold out in 18 hours; the 5K in 36 hours.

The move to first-come, first-served for the Duluth races several years ago was “more procedural,” said Grandma’s spokesperson Zach Schneider, adding that pooling registrations on one date was intentional.

“Oct. 1 has become a holiday for Grandma’s Marathon [weekend],” he said. “[Participants] know each year when it opens.”

TCM began using a lottery for the TC 10 Mile in 2001.

Mahler said TCM is prepared for the high volume that can bog down registration websites. Registrants will move to a waiting room and keep their place in line if there is a surge, he said.

The nonprofit Run Minnesota, the largest running organization in the state, supports the TC 10 Mile change. The group has training programs that begin this summer for both the 10-mile and marathon.

Getting assured of a 10-mile spot earlier “will allow runners to focus more on the preparation part of the equation,” program director Danny Docherty said, ”and be as prepared as possible when race day arrives.”

about the writer

about the writer

Bob Timmons

Outdoors reporter

Bob Timmons covers news across Minnesota's outdoors, from natural resources to recreation to wildlife.

See More