Will Norris, Jane Bareikis win Twin Cities Marathon

Will Norris was determined to be an athlete as a kid. The only problem was he was bad at sports. He tried hockey, baseball and football, but he “was so uncoordinated.”

Still, Norris tagged along to his older brother’s cross-country meets and one day, he decided to try running himself.

That persistence carried Norris, 30, of Charlottesville, Va., to victory Sunday in the 43rd Twin Cities Marathon. He crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 39 seconds — 25 seconds ahead of top contender Tesfu Tewelde, 28, of Arizona. Noteworthy Kenyan runner Bernard Kipkemoi Rotich finished third.

“It just kind of stuck,” Norris said of running. “I guess I just really like the individual sport thing. I really like being able to see myself progress over time and being outside and turning my brain off.”

Norris grew up near the Iowa-Minnesota border and now works as a trades apprentice at the University of Virginia, training around his full-time job. His wife, Cleo Boyd, ran in Sunday’s 10-mile race. Her father is Norris’s running coach.

“Will wakes up, goes to work, comes home, takes a nap, gets up and goes running,” Boyd said. “It’s not a chore but something he gets to do at the end of the day.”

Boyd said her husband’s running career has been marked by both breakthroughs and setbacks.

The couple married two years ago and still haven’t gone on a honeymoon. When asked what he might do with his $14,000 prize, Norris smiled at his wife.

“Maybe a trip,” he said. “Maybe Hawaii.”

Jane Bareikis, 31, of Crestwood, Ill., was the top woman to finish — in 2 hours, 32 minutes, 52 seconds. It was a comeback after she missed last year’s race.

“I signed up last year, and I didn’t make it because I had a bad injury,” Bareikis said. “This year, I signed up and they let me in and I thought, ‘I can’t fail, yeah?’ It’s a nice race. My husband did it many years ago, and I’ve seen so many people around. It’s so beautiful — a different city, different experience.”

Bareikis, who was born in Kenya, said she began running after moving to the United States.

Megan O’Neil, 29, finished second among women in 2:36:43, and Allie Kieffer, 38, placed third in 2:38:44.

About two hours into the race, rain began falling near Lake Nokomis around the halfway point before sweeping into St. Paul as the lead runners approached the finish line.

Earlier in the morning, the 10-mile race concluded with Yemane Haileselassie, 27, taking first among men in 46 minutes, 24 seconds after he finished second last year. The native of Eritrea competed for that nation in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics as a steeplechase runner.

Biya Simbassa, 32, and Nadeel Wildschutt, 28, finished close behind Haileselassie on Sunday.

Ugandan runner Mercy Chelangat, 28, won the women’s race in 52:04, followed by Everlyn Kemboi, 29, and Minnesota resident Annie Frisbie, 28.

The course wound past the Chain of Lakes and along the Mississippi River before climbing Summit Avenue, where crowds traditionally gather to cheer on runners during the final stretch. Organizers said more than 22,000 people finished races throughout the day, from the marathon itself to shorter events.

Among this year’s marathon competitors was Courtney Dauwalter, the trail-running star from Hopkins, returning to her hometown course after a year of international ultramarathon wins. She placed seventh among women, crossing the finish line at just under 2 hours, 50 minutes.

The race remains one of the region’s signature fall traditions, bringing together elite athletes, first-timers and spectators from across Minnesota and the Midwest.

Two years ago, the race was canceled because of “black flag” heat conditions when temperatures soared to 92 degrees. After worries about unbearable heat, cooler weather and sprinkles of rain returned Sunday, with race-time temperatures around 70 — a welcome relief for runners and spectators alike.

For race results, click HERE.