Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) ran an impressive race on Sunday, and the internet can't stop staring at his shorts.
Walz ran the Twin Cities 10 Mile for the second straight October with his daughter, Hope, as part of the annual Twin Cities Marathon Weekend. The scandal-plagued governor crossed the line in 1:26:15, an 8:45-per-mile pace, which put him 2,134th out of 9,559 finishers. Hope, 25, came in eleven seconds behind him at 1:26:26, an 8:46 pace, placing 2,164th.
Now, props to him. Seriously. He's clearly been improving himself and looks more fit than he did on the campaign trail in 2024. A year ago, he ran the same race with Hope in 1:38:12, so he shaved almost twelve minutes off his time. I couldn't run that fast for ten miles. I couldn't run ten miles at all, at this point. I’ve run 5Ks and even trained to do a 10K, but I was never that fast. My best timed 5K came in at roughly a 9:29 pace, and there's no way I could match that now, though I'm working on it. So I'm in no position to heckle a 62-year-old man for not only completing a 10-mile run, but completing it that fast.
ICYMI: James Talarico's Campaign Goes MIA. What's Going On?
But what I’m actually here to talk about is a photo Hope shared on Instagram from after the race. It’s a doozy, and it has social media buzzing. It shows the two of them after the finish, and the governor has a conspicuous, large wet spot on his shorts that makes it look like he wet himself during the run.
Ummm... @Tim_Walz I have some questions. https://t.co/wTBcmBPBrC
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) October 7, 2026
Ten miles is a long way, and the porta potty lines at these things are brutal. Especially if Graham Platner is around, though I'm pretty sure he wasn't at the race.
When I first saw the image, it showed up in my feed as a screenshot. I assumed it was photoshopped or AI-altered. That's the safe bet with anything this convenient. I mean, there’s no way that Walz’s daughter shared that image, right? Wrong. Sure enough, if you go to Hope Walz's Instagram post, you can see the stain as clear as day. So, yes, I can confirm the photo is legitimate.
What I can't confirm is where the stain came from.
The internet has reached its verdict. Users quickly pointed it out and mocked Walz in the comments.
"I have never ever seen a sweat stain look like that in my 8 years of running in the army," one user wrote.
"Tampon Timmy sprung a leak! We sure dodged a huge bullet on that one!!! Pfhew!!" said another.
"This is the picture you chose?" a third asked.
Other commenters reached back to Walz's 2024 stint as Kamala Harris' running mate.
"I knew he was wearing diapers when he was running with Kamala," one mocked.
"The comments write themselves...this is the pic you chose to post?" another commenter added. "And it never dawned on you that it looks like tampon tim actually needs one?"
Politicians spend fortunes managing their image, and Walz allegedly fancies himself as a potential 2028 presidential candidate (which probably explains why he’s getting in shape). One bad photo can ruin everything — just ask Mike Dukakis or Gary Hart. Clearly, Hope should have reviewed the photo before posting it.
Now, I’m not saying Walz did wet himself. And if the Walzes ever publicly address it, they’ll say it’s sweat, anyway. But still, it’s hard not to laugh.