The Twin Cities Marathon triumphantly returned this year after being canceled last year due to excessive heat. The event was back with a bang, even featuring a surprise spectator: Minnesota governor and vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz.

In a video posted to Instagram, Walz can be seen cheering runners on along the course. Many runners disregarded their PRs to chat with and take a photo with Walz. “I’m a first-time voter,” exclaimed one participant as he gave the governor a thumbs up and continued on the race.

Along with the real thing, another Tim Walz could be spotted running the marathon itself. One intrepid runner took on the course in full Walz cosplay—including a glued-on cardboard head of the vice presidential nominee, a flannel shirt, and jeans to finish the look. The runner was spotted waving to “supporters” along the route. He finished with a respectable time of 5:09:27—not too bad for running with a cardboard cutout attached to your face.

As for the race itself, it was quite a comeback year, with more than 21,000 participants competing to win it all—including a cash prize and medal. The $10,000 top prize for the men’s division went to Kenyan Shadrack Kimining, while Ohio resident Molly Bookmyer won the women’s race.

“I feel really good, a little sore, a little tired, but I’m just happy,” Bookmyer told CBS News following her win. Bookmyer was running as part of a new “race within the race” called “Best of the Midwest,” a group selected by organizers that represent emerging athletes from the Midwest. “There’s a lot of really good runners here in the Midwest,” Bookmyer told the news outlet. “And I thought it was a great opportunity to highlight all the hardworking runners that live nearby.”

The real Walz is a runner himself. The governor ran track in high school and ran to stay in shape while he was in the National Guard. He took running back up in 2012.

“I view running as a hobby that is both a mental stress reliever and a great form of exercise,” Walz wrote for Runner’s World earlier this year. “I turned 60 this year and feel inspired more than ever by the benefits of running. It was about 10 years ago that I started to take running more seriously, and I’ve never looked back.”

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Laura Ratliff
Contributing Writer

Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura's writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and Condé Nast Traveler and was most recently the senior editorial director at TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to "hate running." Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.