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Minnesota News
Tim Nelson

As air clears, thousands of runners head to Duluth for Grandma's Marathon

Grandma's Marathon
More than 8,000 runners leave the starting line of the 42nd annual Grandma's Marathon on June 16, 2018 near Two Harbors, Minn. The 2023 race takes place on Saturday.
Tyler Schank | Duluth News Tribune 2018

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About 20,000 people will be running in Duluth this weekend for Grandma’s Marathon and its associated races.

There are about 9,000 entrants for each of the long-distance events, including the full marathon and the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon on Saturday. There’s also the William A. Irvin 5K race on Friday evening.

The full marathon starts near Two Harbors and follows the shore of Lake Superior to the finish line in Canal Park in Duluth.

Organizers said they’ve been monitoring air quality. Wildfire smoke gave Minnesota dangerously polluted air earlier this week, prompting the cancellation of many outdoor sporting events in the state. Air conditions have improved significantly since then.

Grandma’s Marathon spokesperson Zach Schneider said the race could theoretically be canceled if pollution were serious enough, but conditions are forecast to be good this weekend.

“We have a medical director who keeps her eye on these things throughout the week. And the top priority of course, is keeping all the runners as safe as possible,” he said. “If (the bad air) does continue and something needs to be done, then we’ll act accordingly. But right now the hope is that the forecast is correct and that we’ll have some clean air for running on Saturday.”

Among the field in this year’s marathon is defending men’s champion Dominic Ondoro. He won the Houston Marathon in January, and set the Grandma’s course record when he won in 2014. He could be just the second man ever to win three or more Grandma’s marathons.

Minnesotan Dakotah Lindwurm will be bidding to win her third straight Grandma’s — she’d be the third woman to win the race three times.

Schneider said the event is still recovering from pandemic disruptions, which cut into both registrations and the number of participants who actually showed up at the starting line. But he said there’s hope this year will look more like normal.

“The full marathon and half marathon are over 9,000 [runners] each and then we’ve got another 2,700 registered in our 5K on Friday night,” he said. “We’re looking forward to, hopefully, a lot of people getting to the start line. Last year, coming back from COVID and maybe some travel worries and things like that, led to a higher-than-usual no-show rate at our start line.”

Organizers said the event is a huge draw for the Twin Ports, and has a nearly $21 million annual impact on the local economy.

“It’s awesome. Like, it’s so great,” Duluth Mayor Emily Larson told The Current during an interview Friday, talking about the race weekend. “We have 20,000 runners, and all their friends and spectators” in town, along with hundreds of volunteers who help make the race happen.

Find the schedule of events for Grandma’s Marathon Weekend on its website.