"I said I think we should just run it on the river trail. He looked at me and said we could do that."
Amy Nugent was talking about 2020. Every race had been canceled, and she and Dale Fredrickson of Northfield had both been raising money for marathons that were no longer happening. She was raising for the Chicago Marathon and he was raising for the Alzheimer's Association. While they were out running, they decided to run a marathon of their own on the paved trail along the Cannon River.
On Sunday, October 11, that same stretch of trail hosts the fifth Mill Towns Race Series. It's a chip-timed marathon, half marathon and 10K that start and finish at Memorial Park in Dundas, and the marathon is Minnesota's state championship this year. On the same morning and in the same park, Northfield-Dundas receives a national Runner Friendly Community plaque. The race and the plaque rest on the same thing. A flat loop of river trail runs through the middle of Dundas, and the state trail beyond it keeps getting longer.
From Two Runners to a Capped Field
The race has grown fast for a course with no hills to brag about. Nugent is president of Your Pace or Mine Running Club, which organizes the race. The 2026 field is capped at 225 runners, up from 200 in 2025. Last year's runners came from 75 Minnesota cities and 18 states, and they ranged in age from 15 to the 70s.
Two credentials explain why runners travel here. The marathon is a certified Boston-qualifying course. This year the Road Runners Club of America also picked it as its Minnesota state championship race, and everyone who registers for the marathon is automatically entered. The race series raises money for Project Purple, which funds pancreatic cancer research and financial help for patients.
The course records show how fast it is. Dzmitry Dauhuenka of Champlin holds the men's marathon record at 2:36:55 and Leah Knowles of New Ulm holds the women's at 3:08:32. Northfield High School track and cross country coach Janet Smith holds the women's half marathon record at 1:25:43, and Maria Richert of Northfield holds the women's 10K record at 40:22.
One Loop, Run Up to Four Times
The half marathon runs a 6.55-mile loop twice and the marathon runs it four times. The 10K runs a single loop of a slightly shorter version of the route. Nugent describes the route like this:
- Start in Memorial Park in Dundas.
- Head north on the river trail into Northfield.
- Cross the footbridge by Kwik Trip.
- Come back south on the Mill Towns Trail through Sechler Park.
- Return through Dundas to Memorial Park.
The whole loop climbs only about 100 feet. Nugent says that's why the course works for first-time marathoners and for runners chasing a Boston qualifying time. The loop also suits spectators. "If you are supporting a marathoner who has to run the loop four times, you can see your runner four times," she said.
For anyone who lives near the river in Dundas, that means race traffic passes the same spots several times over the course of the morning.
How Sunday Morning Runs at Memorial Park
Memorial Park is at 214 South 1st Street. Here's the morning in order:
- Plaque presentation: The City of Northfield and KYMN both list 7:30 a.m. The race's 2026 participant guide lists 7:20 a.m. If you want to see it, plan on the earlier time.
- Marathon start: 7:30 a.m.
- Half marathon start: 8 a.m.
- 10K start: 8:30 a.m.
- Marathon cutoff: 6.5 hours after the 7:30 start, so runners can be on the course until about 2 p.m.
Runners pick up race-day packets at the Memorial Park pavilion. Early pickup is at Twin Cities Running Co., 14240 Plymouth Ave. in Burnsville, on Friday, October 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. and Saturday, October 10 from 10 a.m. to noon.
If you'll be driving or walking a dog that morning, the participant guide has the details that matter. The trail stays open to other users during the race. One short stretch runs on an open road, and runners cross Hester Street twice in Dundas. The guide tells runners to watch for bicycles and traffic, and drivers on Hester should watch for runners just as closely. The race materials don't list any street closure times.
A Northfield Mayor and a Plaque, in a Dundas Park
The organizers chose Memorial Park for the plaque ceremony, where Your Pace or Mine Running Club will present it to Northfield Mayor Erica Zweifel. The Road Runners Club of America named Northfield-Dundas one of five new Runner Friendly Communities for 2026, alongside Austin, Texas; Columbia, Missouri; McKinney, Texas; and Reston, Virginia. There are now 49 nationwide. Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rochester are the only other Minnesota communities on the list.
The designation names Dundas alongside Northfield, and the reasons on the city's announcement explain why. The first is connected paved trails between the two towns, with the Mill Towns State Trail linking them to the wider region. The second is Carleton College's Cowling Arboretum, which has more than 15 miles of natural-surface trails. The third is a local running club that puts on races and weekly social runs and works with local businesses, schools, nonprofits and city governments.
"This designation reflects the work of so many people, organizations and the cities who have invested in trails, events and opportunities for runners of all ages and abilities," Nugent said in the announcement. The public is invited to the ceremony and to stay and cheer for the runners.
The Trail Keeps Growing in Both Directions
The award recognizes trail that already exists, and the Mill Towns State Trail has been getting longer on both sides of Dundas this year.
To the south, the Minnesota DNR announced on January 29, 2026, that a new one-mile paved segment had opened. It runs from the Dundas city trail network to just south of town, and it brought the state trail to about four miles. There are two places to park. One is the Mill Park trailhead lot at Hester and Railway streets and the other is a gravel lot just south of town off County Road 8. The trail is open to non-motorized use only, with no snowmobiles or horses, and the DNR noted it's available for walking, snowshoeing and skiing in winter.
To the north, the same DNR release said the agency expected to finish a segment from Northfield to the Waterford Historic Bridge during the 2026 construction season. That would bring the trail to about 10 miles. On July 27, Friends of the Mill Towns Trail held a short business meeting and then rode "newly completed miles" from Memorial Pool to the Waterford Bridge. The ride included longtime volunteer Peggy Prowe and the group's president, Meg Otten. The DNR hasn't issued a release saying the whole segment is officially finished, so check trail conditions before planning a long ride north.
The long-term plan is bigger. Segments from Faribault to Dundas and from the Waterford bridge to Lake Byllesby Regional Park still haven't been built. When the trail is complete, it would run about 30 miles and connect to the Sakatah State Trail in Faribault and the Cannon Valley Trail in Cannon Falls, creating 85 to 90 miles of continuous trail between Mankato and Red Wing. Dundas sits near the middle of that route, which explains how a marathon loop that began as a pandemic workaround ended up on Dundas trails.
The Next Race on the Calendar
The Runner Friendly announcement named one other local event, the Turkey Trot. The 2026 Northfield Rotary Turkey Trot is a 5K on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, at 9 a.m. It starts at Carleton College's Weitz Center, 320 Third St. E., and same-day registration opens at 8 a.m. Shirts are guaranteed for anyone who registers by Friday, November 6, and registered runners can pick them up at the Weitz Center on Wednesday, November 25 from 5 to 6 p.m. The race supports Rotary's Youth Exchange Program and polio eradication, and it collects food for the Northfield Food Shelf. Kids can run the free Drumstick Dash, which is about a mile. The course loops through northeast Northfield along Spring Creek Road before returning to the Weitz Center.
If you're cheering from a spot along the Cannon River on October 11, or you just want to know which Dundas streets and trail stretches the race uses, Eric Frank knows these neighborhoods block by block and is happy to help. Let's Connect.
