Taco Bell 50K returns to Twin Cities with 86 runners

The Taco Bell 50K turned seven Twin Cities locations into checkpoints on a 31-mile brand activation, drawing 86 registered runners and giving Border Foods a rare chance to put store-level visibility at the center of a local event. The self-guided race started at 6:30 a.m. Sunday, May 31, at the Bloomington Taco Bell on Lyndale Avenue South, and runners had 12 hours to finish for medals and bragging rights.

To count as official finishers, participants had to eat at least one burrito and one Crunchwrap at each stop. That made the course less like a standard road race and more like a moving service challenge, with crew members at seven Taco Bell restaurants along the route watching a steady stream of bibbed customers move from Bloomington to Oakdale across the Twin Cities metro. Border Foods, the Minnesota franchisee behind the local stores, donated swag for runners and backed the event as it returned for only its second year.

The race is modeled on the original International Taco Bell 50K in Denver, but the Twin Cities version has already become its own local brand play. Border Foods said the event had 50 participants in 2025 and grew to 86 registered runners in 2026, a jump that suggests the stunt is finding an audience beyond novelty seekers. Some runners showed up with bib names like Taco Belle, Chalupa Chaser and The Dorito Kid, adding a playful layer that fit the brand while still pulling real foot traffic through multiple locations.

For store teams, the significance goes beyond the spectacle. A route that begins in Bloomington and stretches across the metro puts individual restaurants in front of runners, spectators and social media attention at the same time. For managers, that is the real test of an event like this: whether a one-day race can do more than generate a headline and instead help build repeat visits, local loyalty and a stronger neighborhood identity around the restaurant. In a business where wages, staffing and franchise performance can vary store by store, a branded event that sends customers through seven kitchens in a single morning gives local operators a chance to show the brand as a community stop, not just a drive-thru.