Over 300 runners enjoy the inaugural edition of the Twin Cities’ summer running party, each starting and finishing at a celebratory lakeside Relay Festival with a DJ, food truck, Athletic Brewing N/A Beer Garden, and lots of good summer running vibes!
Minneapolis, MN (July 22, 2025) – On a beautiful summer Friday evening, Endurance Sports Consultancy hosted the inaugural edition of its first owned event, the Twin Cities Twilight Relays, in Minneapolis. The unique event featured a 6:00pm start time with each member of a team of four completing the same 3.25-mile loop beginning and ending at a Relay Festival with a DJ, food truck, Athletic Brewing Nonalcoholic Beer Garden, and lots of good summer running vibes. “Our goal,” said Relay Director Eli Asch, “was to throw a summer running party that celebrated the Twin Cities’ vibrant and diverse running community and all that makes it great. Based on the feedback we’ve received since Friday, I feel confident in saying we accomplished our goal.”
80 teams and 320 runners registered for the event, in which each team member ran a loop of Lake Bde Maka Ska beginning and ending at Thomas Beach. Teams taking home time-based awards in the approximately 13-mile relay were They/Them Mayhem in the Come as You Are (All-Nonbinary) division in 2:05:31, November Boys in the All-Men’s division in 1:12:07, Sigma Rizzlers in the Mix-and-Match (Any Combination of Genders) division in 1:25:54, and Just Jog Another Mile in the All-Women’s division in 1:31:50. Full, official results can be found here.
The Club/Crew Cup for the club or crew with the most teams consisting entirely of their members was won by Mile in My Shoes, and the Corporate Cup for the company with the most teams consisting entirely of its employees was taken home by the Lake Street Council. The Best Team Name award was won by Menace to Cisiety, and the inaugural “Spirit of the Relays” award for the runner, team, or volunteer who best embodies the celebratory and community-forward spirit of the spirit of the Relays will be revealed in a ceremony at a later date.
A diverse cross-section of the Twin Cities Running community–including 10 teams from the event’s “5% for the Sport” Program, which provided comps to running groups and organizations that primarily serve BIPOC, queer, or other communities that have historically faced barriers to experiencing the benefits of running, as well as a team from Black Men Run’s national Senior Leadership Team–came together to run, cheer each other on, and–as sunset approached and shadows lengthened–enjoy the event’s Relay Festival. With music by DJ Richie Rich, chicken and waffles (and veggie and vegan alternatives) from BIPOC-owned food truck The Bougie Waffle, runner rehydration from Nuun, and an Athletic Brewing Nonalcoholic Beer Garden giving participants the opportunity to celebrate their finish with a healthy “cheers!” it was a festive, supportive, and inclusive environment that was enjoyed by participants and the estimated over 150 spectators alike.
Said Asch, “Any time you try something new it is, at least to some degree, a leap of faith, and we’re so grateful to the runners who took the leap of faith with us and participated in our inaugural edition! We hope they had as much fun running in the event as we did producing it.”
A post-event impact report including participant demographics, waste diversion rates, and funds raised for the event’s Official Nonprofit Beneficiary the Minneapolis Parks Foundation is being compiled and will be released at a later date. The second annual Twin Cities Twilight Relays is already confirmed for Friday, July 17 at Thomas Beach on Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis, and early registration details will be released in the coming weeks.
About Endurance Sports Consultancy
Founded by Eli Asch, a Minneapolis-based endurance sports industry veteran and the former Race Director of two top-10 American marathons–the California International Marathon and Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon–Endurance Sports Consultancy helps endurance sports events and organizations modernize, break through, and reach their full potential. Areas of expertise include strategic planning, program design and management, and event operations. The Twin Cities Twilight Relays is ESC’s first owned event, and while it is a timed race with awards for top teams, at its core it’s more fun than competitive and is intended to be a summer running celebration of the vibrant and diverse Twin Cities running community and all that makes it great!
For more information, including media or sponsorship inquiries, contact Endurance Sports Consultancy Founder & Principal and Twin Cities Twilight Relays Relay Director Eli Asch at info@TwinCitiesTwilightRelays.com.