It's doubtful that anyone running the TC 10 Mile had a busier weekend than Danny Docherty. He competed in the TC 10K and TC 5K on Saturday morning, served as an usher at his sister's wedding Saturday afternoon and returned to the streets for the 10 Mile on Sunday morning.
Docherty wins TC 10 Mile to complete sweep
Danny Docherty of St. Paul won three races on Twin Cities Marathon weekend, adding the TC 10 Mile crown to victories in the TC 10K and TC 5K.
October 3, 2021 at 10:31PM
As if that wasn't memorable enough, Docherty topped it off with three victories. The St. Paul native won the 10K and the 5K in a two-hour span Saturday, then added the 10 Mile title less than 24 hours later. Docherty won Sunday's race in 49 minutes, 19 seconds, a 41-second margin over second-place Nadir Yusuf of Willmar.
About 400 runners participated in all three races, a feat dubbed the TC Loony Challenge by Twin Cities Marathon organizers. Docherty is the first person to win more than one race on the Twin Cities Marathon weekend program in a single year.
"The goal was to win all three,'' said Docherty, 31, who finished third in the Twin Cities Marathon in 2019. "The door was open to win them all, and I thought I might as well go for it.
"[The 10 Mile] was definitely the one I was worried about the most. There's a lot of great competition in the local running scene. And it felt like a marathon at the end.''
Docherty's time in the 2019 Twin Cities Marathon qualified him for the 2020 Olympic trials, where he finished 88th. Early this year, he was injured while training for Grandma's Marathon. He took a break to recover, then resumed competition in shorter races.
Saturday, Docherty's day began with the 10K at 7:15 a.m., followed by the 5K at 8:45 a.m. He was cleaned up and ready for the wedding of his sister Laura — a former all-Big Ten runner for the Gophers — by 12:45 p.m.
Docherty was no less efficient in Sunday's 10 Mile, taking the lead about a mile into the race and never yielding. Yusuf, an NCAA Division II All-America runner at Minnesota State Moorhead, was second in a time of 50 minutes, with Patrick Larson of Minneapolis third in 50:24.
Drake takes women's crown
White Bear Lake native Rachel Drake also attended Laura Docherty's wedding. Drake, a former Gophers teammate of Docherty's, now lives in Portland, Ore., and hoped to compete in the TC 10 Mile while she was home for the weekend.
Her entry wasn't confirmed until Monday. Grateful to get in, Drake won the women's 10 Mile title with a time of 56:40. Kimberly Horner of Minneapolis was second in 57.25, and Alexandra Fossum of Minneapolis was third in 59:24.
"I've been itching to race,'' said Drake, who knew the course from her Gophers days but had never before run on Twin Cities Marathon weekend. "I had such a blast.''
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Mayors' race
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter are best known for running on the campaign trail. Neither one won their race Sunday, but both made it to the finish line of the marathon.
Frey, a seasoned marathoner, finished in 2:53:22. When Carter crossed the line in 3:57:02, Frey was waiting for him, wrapping his fellow mayor in a hug. "Great job, man,'' Frey said to Carter, who has run shorter races but never tried a marathon before Sunday.
Though Carter said the energy of the spectators and other runners made it "an amazing day,'' he isn't likely to run 26.2 miles again.
"This is my first and last marathon,'' he said, laughing. "I can't believe people do this a second time.''
Frey, 40, finished 47th in the overall men's field and was fifth among men 40 to 44 years old.
Etc.
- According to a preliminary postrace medical report, 35 runners from the marathon and the 10 Mile were treated in the medical tent at the finish line. One was transported to a medical facility. Weather conditions were good, with temperatures ranging from 57 to 69 degrees.
- Dave Eckstrom of Stillwater won the men's wheelchair marathon in 3:17:11. No women competed in the wheelchair division this year.
- Of the 4,405 marathon entrants, 3,192 finished the race. Race organizers said more than 13,700 people participated in the weekend's events, which also included races for children and families.
The win also gave Stewartville a second consecutive perfect season, and the program’s 28th consecutive victory.
