The Long Road to TCM: Crossing MN on USBR 20

Fargo, ND → Prescott, WI

September 25 – October 2, 2026

Sure, we could have flown to Minneapolis for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, or driven from Connecticut. But where’s the fun in that? Instead, we decided to take the long way, about 310 miles across Minnesota on U.S. Bicycle Route 20, known locally as the Prairie Lakes Bicycle Route. Shan ran, I rode my bike towing our gear, and together we made our way across the state from Fargo, ND to Prescott, WI. There was plenty of rain, a ridiculous number of ladybugs, one memorable wedding anniversary, and, waiting at the end of it all, a marathon.

Not a bad way to get to a race.

At a glance: 

• 8 days to run across MN

• 309 miles on foot for Shan · about 275 on the bike for me, includes scouting and food runs and no bike miles on Day 8 (I was in full crewing mode)

• Longest day = 48.7 miles (Day 2) · shortest = 26.2 miles (Day 1)

• We finished a full day ahead of schedule

• Shan's 28th official state crossing on foot, and our 19th together.

Back in the saddle

This all started many months ago. Shan had been doing consulting work with the marathon's organizers, Twin Cities in Motion, and secured a spot in the 2026 race. Just for fun, we decided to turn it into a much bigger adventure.

It was a big deal, too. This would be our first expedition since our honeymoon on the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route in 2023, and my first time towing the trailer in three years. Yep - three years, a broken leg, and back surgery since we'd taken a human-powered journey together. Shan was in great shape, feeling well-trained. I was feeling pretty good, too, and we were both excited to get back on the road together. But the system was rusty (or so I thought), and I was more than a little nervous about how my body would manage.

My nervousness was pretty obvious. In Minneapolis, I packed, unpacked, and repacked for hours - almost like I'd never done this before. Shan tossed his stuff together within minutes the next morning. He's so chill.

Next, we packed our life into the trailer, left our car in long-term parking, and drove a rental car to Fargo. We dropped off the rental car, slept one more night, and the Long Road to TCM began.

Day 1: Easing into things

The first day was the shortest segment of the trip - 26.2 miles from Fargo to Barnesville. Highway 52 ran through sugar beet, potato, and sunflower fields. We picnicked on gas station food in Sabin, then took another break at a little baseball field surrounded by corn, making the obvious Field of Dreams jokes.

That night we checked into the Barnesville Motel - at the gas station. No joke. The motel had a sign on the door directing new guests to the gas station: check-in, free coffee, and one bag of ice for all motel customers. We’ve stayed at a lot of interesting places in our travels, but this was a first for us. 

Aside from the incessant headwind, Day 1 was quiet and peaceful. Towing the trailer felt just like I remembered. We had a nice dinner in town and had a great night's sleep. Things seemed really good.

It didn't last.

Day 2: The toughest day

The next stretch was the longest day of the trip, 48.7 miles to Fergus Falls, and it rained the whole way. We faced constant, stinging rain, running or biking straight into a headwind, for more than eight hours. I don't know about Shan, but within the first hour of squinting through the wind and rain, I started asking myself why we do this.

Even as I shivered uncontrollably, dreaming of a hot shower, I came back to our usual answer. This is our favorite way to see the world. Shan running, me riding. Pushing ourselves independently but still doing it together. We know how lucky we are that our bodies can still do this, and that we are afforded the time. So even on days like this, when everything is wet and miserable, and we question our decisions, we'll keep signing up. For as long as we can.

And while I was struggling on climbs and giving myself pep talks, Shan was running. The chilly rain was taking its toll on him, too. He had to keep moving just to stay warm. That meant fewer walk breaks, less time to stop and eat, and more continuous running than he'd planned. It was frustrating, and really hard on his body. Nearly fifty miles in those conditions, with six more days ahead of him, and he barely complained. He just kept going. When I think of him doing these things, I go between “he can totally do this” and “how the heck does he do this?”

Everything everywhere hurt by the time we reached Fergus Falls. Shan's shower scream - in his words - was primal. (Chafing. Chafing in all the places. We'll leave it there.)

Of all eight days, this stretch was definitely the hardest one.

Day 3: A little perspective

Day three was another big mile day, but the weather showed us some mercy: a foggy morning turned into a sunny afternoon. And we spent our 45.5 miles entirely on the Central Lakes Trail to Alexandria, saying howdy to runners, walkers, and a smattering of fellow cyclists along the way. This stretch put us over 120 miles in just three days.

That morning, still damp and fed up with being soggy, I stopped beside a lake. It was a lovely scene. The fog hung over the water. There were swans, an egret, and little ducks swimming around. As I took a picture, I realized I'd been so busy grumbling to myself about the weather that I almost rode right past. This prompted me to make a little video for the kids. It started with my usual, “Hi kids, it’s me, your mom,” and turned into a little motivational speech. I used my moment to remind them that even when things are miserable, sometimes all you have to do is stop and look around. There's so much beauty out there in the world. My exact closing advice was, "So get the f**k out there. Do it. Love you."

And somewhere in that foggy Minnesota morning, it hit me: We. Were. Back. Back on the road, doing ridiculous things, finding little moments that make it all worthwhile.

Day 4: Ladybugs bite?

Day four was simply beautiful: 37.9 miles from Alexandria to Melrose through cornfields, hay bales, lakes, and fall foliage, with almost no wind. What we didn't expect were the biblical swarms of ladybugs and grasshoppers. By the way, did you know ladybugs bite? Well, we learned they do, and now you know, too. We reached Melrose early enough to do laundry, have dinner at a local tavern, and rest our weary bodies for another day.

Days 5–6: Rediscovering our rhythm

The rain came back for Day 5, 38.8 miles to St. Cloud. We just shrugged and got to it, because somewhere along the way, our bodies had caught on to what was happening. It's a shift we experience on every expedition. After days of pushing ourselves, the aches don't quite disappear, but the routine starts to feel normal: wake up, pack, run, ride, eat, sleep, repeat.

Day six was the unglamorous one: 36.7 miles to Otsego, much of it on the narrow shoulder of a busy road. Poor Shan was regularly pelted by wind and truck grit. No photos of that stretch, for obvious reasons. That night we took stock. We had planned another three days to finish (my cautious plan) but decided we didn’t need them. Instead, we would finish in two days, giving Shan a day of rest before the race. 

Days 7–8: The home stretch

Day seven was 38.3 miles into St. Paul, much of it on popular bike trails through the Twin Cities, a welcome change after the busy road and truck grit. It was also our fourth wedding anniversary (why are we always doing something weird on our anniversary?), and we spent it in a St. Paul motel we will happily never return to. By far the worst place we’ve ever stayed…and we have been places.

The mattress was wrapped in plastic (which may actually have been a good thing). The linoleum was peeling up off the floor (I refused to go shoeless). There was an unpainted rectangle on the wall where something, a mirror maybe, used to hang. And in the corner sat an old, dirty chair with a leftover piece of duct tape wrapped around one leg (was it an interrogation chair?). We had a good laugh about it, though, which made the night even more memorable. We were together, right? That's all that matters. We celebrated the way we do everything, tired, happy, and on the move, with dinner at a great local spot and a toast to being less than forty miles from the border.

Day 8, the final leg, took Shan 36.9 miles from St. Paul to Prescott, Wisconsin, under very warm, sunny skies. I traded the bike for full-time crewing duty: retrieving the car from long-term parking, packing up the bike and trailer, scouting trail detours, and bringing Shan food and water at various stops.

It was a long day, and Shan was tired. Really tired. I could see how much the previous seven days had taken out of him. His stride was getting a little sluggish, and he was salty with sweat. But no matter how tired he was, he always greeted me with that familiar smile, like he was genuinely happy to see me. And I found myself smiling right back, like a big dork. After three years away, it felt pretty wonderful to be out there together again, doing our thing.

He finished up the day at the Wisconsin border in Prescott. I was waiting to get photos and celebrate another awesome accomplishment. And yes, I was beaming with pride.Yay! Eight days, 309 miles, across Minnesota to the Wisconsin border. Shan had completed his 28th state crossing, our 19th together.

We celebrated that night with a hotel upgrade. We stayed at the W at the Foshay in Minneapolis (a huge improvement over our anniversary motel), had a great dinner out, and slept a lot.

But there was still the marathon! That’s why we were doing this after all. We seriously wondered how Shan’s legs would hold up.

Sunday: The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon

Sunday, October 4th. The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon was finally happening.  Shan was off and running with thousands of his closest friends. 

There’s something special about the energy at a marathon starting line.  So many excited and nervous faces, parents cheering on their kids, partners cheering each other, and friends rooting for their besties.  And the costumes!  I spotted a shark, a cow, a banana (isn’t there always a stupid banana?), and - I kid you not - a guy carrying a canoe. 

(The canoe guy was Travis Meier, portaging for the Boundary Waters. He’s since announced 52 canoe marathons in 52 weeks. We'll be watching for his updates!)

Meanwhile, back to Shan and the marathon. For most of the runners around him, this was the beginning of a 26.2-mile adventure. They had completed their training cycle and probably spent the last few weeks tapering. They were toeing the line on very fresh legs. For Shan, it was the final stretch of a journey that had started ten days earlier - in Fargo. He had nearly 310 miles behind him, with one lone rest day. I knew he could do it. But after watching him push through eight days of rain, wind, and long miles, I also knew it wouldn't be easy.

And now, I'll let Shan tell you how it went. :)

The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon is billed as the most beautiful urban marathon in America, and it really is—and I am not just saying that because they are clients of mine (Hi Scott and Dean!). There are lakes everywhere, of course, and the whole city comes out for it. It is the only race I have ever run in which there were multiple rows of people cheering the whole course literally, and I have done some big ones, like Chicago and LA.  That was quite a change from the quiet peacefulness of the run across the state.

It is a good thing there was a big, boisterous crowd, because I needed the energy.  After crossing the state, I was really beat up. I was more beat up than I have been at the start of any race, including last year's Eversource Hartford Marathon, which I ran the day after running over 1,000 miles through all 169 towns in Connecticut.  It hurt just walking to the TCM start line, so I knew it would be a tough day.  

The highlight of the day was seeing Josh around mile 18, right when things were really starting to hurt. That little boost helped me keep the wheels from coming off the last few miles, finishing in 3:38, about an 8:20 min/mile pace. One of my slower marathons, but I was happy with the effort. I could say more, but this video probably explains best how it felt:

Thank you, Josh, for fighting all the traffic to make it to the finish line!  

What the long road to TCM meant to us

Shan ran across an entire state, averaging nearly 39 miles a day, and then ran a marathon on top of it. I'm still in awe. :)

As for me: three years away, a broken leg, back surgery, all that careful planning and worry, and my body did it!. Muscle memory is a wild thing. That's not to say any of it was easy. But the system still worked. And so did we.

The Twin Cities Marathon gave us a destination and one heck of a finish line. But the chance to get back on the road together, doing something we've loved for years? That was a big part of the plan from the start. After three years, we wanted to see if we still had it in us.

Turns out we did. And it felt pretty damn good to be back.

~ Us

A big thank-you to MnDOT for answering our questions about a trail closure without once asking why we wanted to run it, to Adventure Cycling Association for championing routes like USBR 20, and to Twin Cities in Motion for giving us an excuse to take the long way.