Serendipity
>> Sunday, February 06, 2011
On Friday, I was sitting in a computer lab putting the final touches on 130 senior photos from a late-summer shoot. (Click that link - those are my 9 favorite. [And I REALLY need to update that site!])
Behind my chair were hundreds of old "Communications Arts" magazines from decades past. I found the one from my birth: March / April 1981. After flipping past some funny Nike ads, the magazine popped open to a page that had a polaroid stuck in it. This is the image that I pulled out:
I posted the image to Facebook, and tagged the Minnesota Distance Running Association in the photo. They couldn't place the race off the top of their head. Does anyone know what this race could be?
How crazy is it that a photo from the local running scene (literally 1 mile down the road from the college where I was sitting) fell out of an arts and design magazine from the month of my birth? I love it.
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14 comments:
That is cool. I love old Polaroids they have instant intrigue.
what a cool find!
The first 5K I ever ran was in 1999? or 2000, in late spring, I think. It started at the capitol, ran up onto Summit Ave, turned around and came back down. I don't remember the name of the race, but it was to honor fallen police officers. I know the time frame is later than your photo, but I don't know how long this race had been put on.
In 1963, Minneapolis had the Land of Lakes Marathon. And then in 1976 there was a Saint Paul Marathon. In 1982 they merged! I wonder what time of year the Saint Paul Marathon was and if it's possible that this picture is a pic of it? It would make sense that one marathon wasn't scheduled too close another!?
BTW, I only have this info because I searched it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Cities_Marathon
Look under history
Hey Jumper, I love the detective skills! Thanks! I tend to despise people who "ask before Googling," and that's basically what I just did. Oops. ;) I checked out that article... I wonder if that's the race here...
LOL,
No, that's only irritating if people are spreading non validated misinformation, like FB starting to charge 5.95 a month or something.
I can't find when the marathon would have been run. That doesn't appear to be on the internet. If you look at the pic, people are working hard, but not running as fast as they can. At least, it looks like that to me. So, I think there is a good chance that it might be a marathon??????????
Plus, I looked it up and Al Quie was governor then. Maybe that's why they are running AWAY from the Capital building? ;-)
Ha! Love it, Jumper! But yeah, you're right about the "not running as fast as they can" point. It really doesn't seem to be a 5K. MAYBE a 10K. But it seems to be a "longer" race for sure...
I think I recall the MDRA mag having a pretty detailed history of the of the TCM and its predecessors in a recent issue. If I find time, I'll try looking for it and see if they have a timeframe.
While the magazine was from 1981, the polaroid is the 1982 (inaugural) Twin Cities Marathon, when the course went past the capital and ended in downtown St. Paul. I recognize the numbers the runners are wearing (I even remember my number was 3456 that year).
SteveQ FTW!
Thanks SteveQ, fascinating info.
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