Details for indoor running at the State Fair Coliseum

I headed to the MN State Fair Coliseum today to run. I posted some details in an Examiner article a few weeks back, but I hadn't been then this winter, so I wanted to check to make sure it was how I remembered it from last winter.

Attached to this note is a map. It shows where to enter the fairgrounds and where to park. Parking is free, and it's really close to where you enter the Coliseum. Just take Snelling Ave to the Como exit. Note where the entrance to the Coliseum is, because it's NOT the "normal" (or "main") entrance. You enter the building between it and the big, white, temporary-looking structure that has been there for a few years.

There was no one inside the door to take money today! (It's normally $3.) It could be because it's New Years Eve, and they just expected a small crowd. But the doors were open and hockey practice was starting at 9:30 am. (I got there around 9:15 am.) MAYBE they don't start taking money until open skating at 11:30! I'm making a note to head there early to try to save $3 a pop!

They say it's 5 laps to a mile inside the Coliseum, but it's more like 5.5 laps. If it's 5 laps / mile, I just ran TWO 4:40 miles. Yeah, I don't think so. It's just hard concrete that you're running on, and there's a MINI hill along one of the straight-a-ways. You don't notice it until after like 20 laps, and then it hurts a bit!

The air ISN'T as dry as in the Dome, probably because there's moisture here-and-there from the ice and Zamboni. But the concrete is COLDER than at the Dome. So if you sit to stretch, wear pants not shorts!

Hours for walking / running are M-F from 7 am to 2 pm. $3 to run. $20 for a 10-punch card.

Questions? Happy running!








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coliseum_map_small.jpg (84KB - 10 downloads)
schedule.jpg (37KB - 9 downloads)