We called this a mini New York - great organization, lovely course, superb spectator support. We stayed at the Best Western Kelly Inn which was right beside the finish line and a close walk to the expo/pasta dinner. We were shuttled to the Metrodome in the morning where we stayed warm before the start. Spectators all along the route made it an exciting event. Even the police cheered us on. The finish line was exception with a view of St. Paul's Cathedral before the turn and then the state capitol building beckoning us to the finish line. It was a lovely finish area with enough food and drink to rejuvenate us.

Beautiful course, great crowd support, terrific organization! The city really turns out and lines the course with cheering and support, from start to finish. I don't think I noticed any gaps greater that 20 to 30 yards where there were not spectators.
Terrific packet pick-up and possibily the best finish area I've encountered. The hot chicken brooth was really welcome after 26.2 miles at 50 degrees. It was chilly that day, but I didn't really feel it from the start until after the finish.
The 'big hill' from 20.5 to 23 wasn't as big as the map would indicate, and then it's a gentle down hill to the finish. Great for making up a couple of minutes for a better finish.

As advertised, the course is beautiful from start to finish. Fan support was unbelievable with most of the course absolutely lined with cheering spectators.

As this was my first marathon, I have to say the bar with which to judge other marathons is now incredibly high. I cannot think of one thing I would change. From the organization, the course, the support staff and the crowd.... I don't know what could possible be done to make it a better experience.

Great marathon. Great course. Outstanding organization. Great community support. I am coming back in 2013.

I've been among TCM spectators at Mile 24 for 14 years, and finally, after catching the marathon bug, I ran my hometown race.

Nothing about the course was disappointing. Nothing. As others have indicated, Minnesotans turn out in force (and, for the record, most don't carp about the road closures). The only sparse spot is on the Cedar Avenue bridge, which on a warmer day would've been a nice respite, but admittedly was a slog right into a southerly wind.

But I'm pretty lucky, OK spoiled, because I run Summit Avenue every day, and River Road once or twice a week. Our Twin Cities are indeed beautiful, and those stretches are even awesome in the winter!

The trot to the finish is fantastic, and the medals and food handout areas nicely staffed. Loved the chicken broth! I have to agree that medal looks cheap in comparison to other races.

That's about it, though. I'm hooked on this marathon stuff. And while I'm sure I'll run Chicago and/or New York at some point instead of TCM (and will volunteer at TCM when that happens!), I'll be in my hometown race many more times and love to hear the many compliments of my hometown!

Wow, my second marathon and a perfect, beautiful course and fan support. Thank you twin cities. I have run this marathon twice and definately will be back.
The medal was not all that great, but hey, it's a medal. I am so proud to say that I ran this race and had a great experience. Be sure to hit up the Twin Cities Marathon if you are in the area. You won't regret it.

Having run all my long runs in 72+ degree heat with 80-90% humidity in Mississippi, the 32 degree temperature at the start was a Godsend, and actually made it hard to contain my pace for the first ten miles.

But even better than the weather was the fact that fall foliage does exist in Minnesota, as opposed to Mississippi; the trees with all their yellow, orange, red, and brown leaves were gorgeous!!

Running around the lakes at the start brought far larger crowds than I expected, and it was truly energizing, as was coming off the Mississippi River bridge on the 20th mile. The climb on mile 21 along E River Pkwy was the toughest part of the course, even tougher than the persistent gradual going up Summit. As many have said before, the finish passing the cathedral and going down to the Capitol was fantastic. And the crowd during that entire last 10k were not only supportive, but knowledgeable about what's going through the runners' minds at that point - keep moving, stay positive, and pretend the finish line is pulling you like a magnet.

The down side was the same as others have mentioned - the aid stations. While there were a ton of volunteers, there were a few mile marks in the first half that did not have fluid, and at a marathon this size with so many runners with different hydration patterns, having fluid at every mile is a must to me.

This was my third marathon, and so very different from the first two, which I will always remember for other reasons. However, this one far surpasses those experiences in the factors mentioned above - weather in the context of my training in the South, course, and spectators.

This was an absolutely beautiful marathon. The Fall colours, as well as the beautiful lake views, homes and historic buildings were stunning. The spectators were fantastic and everywhere despite the cold temps. It felt like the community really supported and was behind the race. The course itself was varied enough to keep it interesting. There are some hills, but they are totally doable. The corrals were very tight at the start, so if you desire to run near a pacer, be sure to get out early. It took at least a few miles to spread out. I felt the organization was very well done and the runner tracking was really helpful for my family to find me to see me on course. I also felt that the Runner's only area after the finish and the Family meeting area was well managed and I was through quite quickly. There have been other marathons where this part was pure chaos, so I was happy to get through fairly quick. All in all, I was really impressed and would travel to do this race again some day and definitely recommend it to others.

Pros
The spectators were unbelievable the entire way!
I liked the cold :)
Staying in the Metrodome until race start.
It's a very pretty city in the Fall.
Great volunteers.

Cons
1) Corral 2 crowds. I ran 26.5 miles because of all the back and forth to get around people for much of the race.
2) Water/Powerade stops should offer on both sides of road in such a crowded race.

3) The medal is a dud for the price. It headlines with '2012 Finisher'. Great, I'm a finisher but where? California, Nevada? In what event? the 5k, the half? ... 'oh wait, there's some fine print around the outside, let me take a closer look' ...
This is definitely the dullest race momento I have. I also saw that the 10k medal headlines '5k/10k'. Seriously Medtronic? You can't do better than that? With fees I paid $133 for the marathon since I signed up later in the year. For that kind of money I expected top-notch quality, not something generic. If I paid $30, I would expect what we got or even nothing at all. However I paid 153 dollars if one also includes parking for both the race and the expo.