Get in Gear to Add Half Marathon

This year's edition of Get in Gear, Minnesota road racing's self-proclaimed "Annual Rite of Spring" will feature a half marathon race along with its signature 10K, race officials announced.

The event, entering its 32nd year, also features 5K and a 2K races. All events will be held at Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis on April 25.

"We are extremely excited and proud to be able to offer a half marathon to our family of events to make Minnesota's Annual Rite of Spring truly an event that has something for everyone," Paulette Odenthal, Get in Gear executive director said in a media release. "We think the half marathon will fill the need of the long distance runner who needs the distance as a benchmark for their spring marathon or as a challenge for runners working toward the marathon."

The half marathon course, which follows the 10K route up West River Parkway in Minneaplis to the Lake Street Bridge, will continue south along Mississippi River Blvd on the St. Paul side of the Mississippi River to a turn-around point on Shepard Road before returning the the Minnehaha Park start/finish area via the Ford Bridge.

The Half Marathon will be limited to 1,000 participants this year.

The 2k Fun Run, which attracts hundreds of children through the Fit for Fun Youth Running Program, will kick off the day's action at 8:15 a.m. The Half Marathon starts at 9:00 a.m., followed by the 10K race at 9:30, and the 5K run at 9:50.

The prize purse for the 10K, which attracts over 4,000 runners, features $1,000, $750 and $500 for first, second and third place open men and women, plus $250 each for the first Minnesota male and female. The master's prize structure is $500, $250 and $100 for first, second and third place men and women, respectively.

The Get in Gear 10K serves as the USATF-Minnesota state 10K championship this year and is part of teh USATF-Minnesota Team Circuit.

The Get in Gear 10K race began in 1978 as a means to spark interest in fitness. In its first year, over 6,000 participated and from this initial response, the race has been a fixture on the spring running calendar as well as Minnesota's largest 10K race.