Law center seeks to challenge Twin Cities Marathon’s ‘racist and illegal’ discount program

A local public interest law firm is seeking plaintiffs for a case challenging the Twin Cities Marathon’s “race-preference” discount.

The marathon, scheduled for Oct. 5, has launched an “Equity in Motion” program, offering a 50% registration fee discount to runners from “historically underrepresented” groups.

The discount applies to “people who have been systematically excluded, oppressed, or disadvantaged” and includes “Black, Indigenous, People of Color, athletes with a disability, LGBTQ+, low-income individuals and non-binary runners and walkers.”

“By discounting the cost of Marathon Weekend registration, our hope is to promote social justice, equity, and inclusivity within our running community,” says the Equity in Motion webpage, offering 300 discounted entries.

The discount covers events like the Family 1 Mile, 5K, 10K, 10 Mile, and Marathon, but excludes the TC Half Marathon for More charity event. Eligible individuals who can still afford the full cost are asked to “please consider others who may be experiencing financial hardship.”

Applications opened March 4 and will remain open until spots are filled.

The application form says, “Our vision at Twin Cities In Motion is to level the start line” and “decrease barriers for runners and walkers who face ethnic, social, economic, or other barriers.”

“We look at the discounted entry fee as a small step in the right direction in reducing one of the financial barriers that prevents people from participating in TCM events,” the form adds.

However, the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMLC) deems the policy “just as racist and illegal” as a discount for whites only, quoting Chief Justice John Roberts: “The way to stop discrimination based on race is to stop discriminating based on race!”

UMLC hopes to challenge the policy in court, seeking runners who are ineligible for the “race-preference” discount to act as plaintiffs. The legal group said it would represent such individuals after they apply for, and are denied access to, the discount.

“We’ve attacked a number of race-based policies we believe violate the Constitution and discrimination laws,” UMLC President Doug Seaton told Alpha News.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly addressed this issue, most recently in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, and has clearly ruled that “discrimination laws are meant to address any discrimination based on race, not just selected race,” Seaton explained.

“It keeps happening—sometimes from good faith anti-racist beliefs, sometimes for political machine building. We need to keep fighting it, like a whack-a-mole game,” he continued.

UMLC would represent plaintiffs free of charge, aiming to force the marathon to abandon the policy, as in a past case involving race-based agricultural loans.

Seaton noted the policy’s publicity value, saying, “Even if well-intended, these race-based programs are simply wrong and shouldn’t be countenanced.”

UMLC invites interested runners to contact [email protected] “confidentially and without obligation.”

In response to a previous request for comment, marathon organizer Twin Cities in Motion referred Alpha News to the Equity in Motion webpage as well as pages for its other community programs.

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