Eagan Woman Went from Runner to Race Organizer

When Mary Anderson first began running in the 1980s, runners were not a common sight in her rural Minnesota community of Madelia. In those days, she says, people often stopped to ask if she needed a ride.

These days, Anderson said, there are upwards of 2,000 races that take place in the local area each year. Anderson is involved in about 200 of those races through her company Anderson Race Management.

Starting small

Anderson recalls her humble beginnings as a runner. Her best friend in high school was a girl whose family members were avid runners and who participated in marathons and races. Secretly, Anderson began running a quarter mile each day. After a week, she proudly revealed to her friend what she thought was her big accomplishment. The friend's response, Anderson says, was something like "so what."

That got Anderson's competitive juices flowing, and the rest is history.

She ran her first marathon, Grandma's, in 1988, and in 1991 joined the board of directors of the Twin Cities Marathon. She served on the board for 12 years, culminating in a year as president from 2000-2001.

Running morphed from passion to career in 1996 when Anderson formed her business. She started small, doing two to five races per year and has steadily increased her clientele. Her company's services run from directing, marketing or timing an event to renting cones or timing equipment and everything in between.

Give it a try

The advice Anderson would give anyone considering taking up the sport is "come out and try it. Don't get discouraged and don't take it too seriously."

Anderson and her company help sponsor the beginning running classes offered by the Eagan Parks and Recreation department.

Juli Seydell Johnson, director of Eagan Parks and Recreation, teaches the class on a volunteer basis because she loves running and because it's a "great way to build out a network and connect Eagan women who don't know a lot of people."

Johnson also spearheads an Eagan running club made up of graduates of the beginner class and other women from the area who want to have a group to run with each week.

Johnson says once each session Anderson provides class participants with an opportunity to experience a race atmosshere by bringing in chips and timing equipment and providing shirts and medals.

During the upcoming Twin Cities Marathon weekend, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, Anderson will be busy serving up pasta to carbo-loading marathoners. 

The next beginning running class, which starts out with a two-minute run the first night and works up to 3.1 miles by the end of eight weeks, is scheduled for mid March of next year.

Contact Eagan Parks and Recreation at 651-675-5500 for more information.