editorials

This week's cold probably doesn't make most Minnesotans think about running, unless it's from their cars to their front doors. But it's actually a great time to lace up, particularly with the news that two new marathons have been added to the metro area's race schedule.

The inaugural Stillwater Marathon will be run May 24, featuring a St. Croix River route that will also wend through parts of the picturesque town. There will also be a 20-mile race, a half marathon and a 12K run. (Stillwater's will be the second big race in the state that day, as the Med Cities Marathon's starting gun goes off in Rochester that morning as well.)

A week later, the first Minneapolis Marathon will also showcase a river, taking runners along the West River Road to Fort Snelling. Permits are pending, but it's likely a downtown Minneapolis loop will be incorporated into the course.

As with the Stillwater Marathon, the Minneapolis event will offer other race distances, including a half marathon and a 5K run. There will also be an event that may prove popular (at least if the crowded pathways around the city's chain of lakes are any indication): a 5K run with dogs.

Both of these new events come about a month before the granddaddy of springtime marathons in Minnesota, Grandma's Marathon and half-marathon in Duluth, scheduled for June 20. Grandma's attracts thousands of racers and spectators, but like October's Twin Cities Marathon it fills up fast. So the new Minneapolis and Stillwater marathons will provide more options, especially for those in the Twin Cities who may not be able to travel to -- or afford -- a weekend in Duluth.

But the new races shouldn't be looked at as competition, according to John Larson, executive director of the Team Ortho Foundation, which is organizing the Minneapolis Marathon: "Our goal is not to take away from anyone. Our goal is to get more people active."

His counterpart in the Stillwater race agreed. "Hopefully there will be more runners in the world," said coordinator Dave Eckberg. "It would be great if the country gets in shape," he said, "including me."

More activity is an admirable goal for everyone, particularly in a sedentary society that sees widespread obesity in kids, not to mention their parents. So more options are better, both in geography and distances. This year's 5K runner may become next year's half marathoner or marathon finisher (leave your dog at home for that race, however).

There is one element of race day that both new marathons will need to be competitive in, however: the volunteers who are essential to the quality of the race and the safety of the runners. Some prominent marathons have been marred by not having enough volunteers, or even enough water, which can create life-threatening conditions, particularly when temperatures soar. The Twin Cities and Grandma's marathons are world-class in this respect (as in others), so there is a good model to follow.

So get going on those training runs. Sure, you'll have to bundle up now, as it was 11 below zero the morning the two races were announced. But on May 24, the day of the Stillwater Marathon, the average high is 72. It's never too cold to start warming up.