The eleventh edition of Midwest Speedfest’s flagship marathon, Midwest Speedfest 2025, will take place at VGM Con: Dimensional Riff on April 11-13 at the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West, just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota!

This marathon also marks our 10th anniversary of hosting speedrun events!

Timeline

• Submissions open: Jan 25, 2025
• Submissions close: Feb 10, 2025
• Schedule reveal: Late February/Early March
• Volunteer applications: TBD
• Marathon begins: Friday, April 11
• Marathon ends: Sunday, April 13

Important Information

• Midwest Speedfest 2025 is part of VGM Con: Dimensional Riff and will begin on the morning of Friday, April 11, and end on the evening of Sunday, April 13 (CDT).
• This is an on-site marathon, taking place at the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West (3131 Campus Drive, Plymouth, Minnesota 55441). Any person wishing to attend must purchase a ticket for VGM Con: Dimensional Riff, which can be done on their website.
• This marathon will support PFund Foundation. More information about what they’ll use these funds for will be provided later.
• Attendees must follow VGM Con’s COVID policy and Code of Conduct at all times.
• As always, bigotry, harassment, and otherwise inappropriate and/or disrespectful conduct is not permitted. We reserve the right to bar a runner, commentator, or volunteer from participating in this and future events if we feel they have violated this rule.
• For more information, contact MWSF staff and/or check VGM Con’s website.

Submission Details

• Midwest Speedfest 2025 is an on-site marathon, meaning runners (and commentators) must attend VGM Con: Dimensional Riff in Minnesota. Registration for VGM Con will be required to attend. If you are accepted and absolutely cannot afford the registration fee, contact a staff member and we will try to find a solution.
• Potential runners must be in our Discord server, which is our main method of communication. Submissions from runners not in our Discord server when submissions close will be disqualified.
• Submission videos must contain a completed run of the submitted game and category, under estimate, by the same runner(s) who submitted. For races and co-op runs, all players must submit (contact a staff member if you are having trouble). Submissions that do not follow this rule will be disqualified.
• Runs with a length over 3 hours or under 10 minutes are difficult for us to accommodate due to scheduling and/or logistical constraints. While you may still submit these runs, be aware that they have a lower chance of being accepted.
• We can support up to two screens for co-op runs and races. Submissions requiring more than two screens will be disqualified.
• Providing a commentary example (either in your submission videos or in the Commentary Example field) is strongly recommended. Commentary is an important part of a marathon run, and submitting without a commentary example may impact your chance of being selected.
• Console runners are generally expected to bring their own game, console, video and power cables, and necessary accessories (especially if using a newer or less common console). If you’d like to submit a console run but cannot bring the respective console with you to the event, contact staff first to ask about accommodations.
• We will accept emulated runs, but we prefer real hardware be used if possible.
• More information for accepted runners will be given after the schedule is released.

Safety

• As always, the safety of attendees and staff is our and VGM Con’s top priority.
• All attendees must adhere to VGM Con’s Code of Conduct and COVID-19 Policy at all times.
• We will be cleaning all equipment between runs, as usual.
• Please stay home if you are sick. We take the health of our attendees very seriously; anybody who is found to have intentionally attended with a contagious illness (such as COVID-19) may be subject to banishment from future marathons.