Because the U.S. prepares for the Nov. 4 election day, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz made a quick cease in his hometown of Saint Paul, Minn. Walz was there to assist the 6,700 runners competing within the 2024 Twin Cities Marathon, providing high-fives and phrases of encouragement on the 21-mile mark alongside the scenic Mississippi River.
Nevertheless, the star of the occasion was Larry Hosch from St. Joseph, Minn., who ran the marathon dressed as none apart from Walz himself. Sporting a cardboard cutout of Walz’s face, blue denims and a flannel shirt, Hosch accomplished the race in 5 hours, 9 minutes and 27 seconds.
Congrats to all of the runners at at this time’s Twin Cities Marathon. Liked cheering everybody on! pic.twitter.com/5ac7m77M0A
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) October 6, 2024
At 46, Hosch is greater than only a marathoner; he’s a former Democratic politician with deep roots in Minnesota. He turned mayor of his hometown on the age of twenty-two and now works as a improvement director within the Minnesota-St. Cloud area. Hosch has a powerful athletic background as properly (for a politician), ending within the high 10 of his age group on the 2024 Fargo Half-Marathon, with a time of 1:32:13. He additionally represented Workforce USA on the 2015 World Triathlon Age-Group Championships in Chicago.
Whereas Minnesotans have lengthy admired Walz, who at the moment serves as governor, working a marathon whereas dressed as a political determine takes fandom to a different degree. Hosch and Walz do go means again, having beforehand labored collectively within the Minnesota state Home of Representatives. Along with his time within the Home, Hosch additionally served as mayor of St. Joseph, situated an hour from Minneapolis.
The Twin Cities are not any stranger to speedy politicians. Town’s mayor, Jacob Frey, is a former skilled runner with Saucony. Frey positioned fourth within the males’s marathon on the 2007 Pan-American Video games with a private finest of two:16:44, and even tried to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Workforce for Beijing 2008. In 2022, Frey ran his first Twin Cities Marathon as mayor, ending in slightly below three hours with minimal coaching, in line with Vogue.
