Grandma's Marathon

Grandma's Marathon is an annual road race held each June in Duluth, Minnesota, in the United States. The course runs point-to-point from the town of Two Harbors on Scenic Route 61 and continues along Lake Superior into the city of Duluth. The finish is located in Canal Park, near Grandma's Restaurant, which is next to the highly visible Aerial Lift Bridge.[1]

Grandma's was first run in 1977 with only 150 participants; the first race was won by the Minnesotan runner and 1976 Olympic 10000m runner Garry Bjorklund. The newly-opened Grandma's Restaurant was the only local business that would sponsor the then-fledgling event for $600. Race organizers thought it only fitting to name the new race after their sole sponsor. At the present time, Grandma's Marathon is run by almost 10,000 runners every year, has nearly a $2 million operating budget and is credited with bringing tens of millions of tourist money into the City of Duluth.[2]

The men's record time for Grandma's is 2:09:37, set in 1981 by Wayzata, Minnesota native Dick Beardsley. The women's record time is 2:27:05, set in 2003 by Firiya Sultanova.[3] In 2005, Halina Karnatsevich was the first finisher with a time of 2:33:39 but she was later disqualified for failing her post-race doping test.

Grandma's Marathon also includes other running events in addition to the full marathon. These include the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, the William A. Irvin 5k, the Fitger's 5k, the Park Point 5 Miler, and the Grandma's Minnesota Mile, as well as several "whipper snapper" races for kids.[4]

The 35th edition of the race in 2011 the marathon had its first photo-finish: eventual winner Christopher Kipyego mistook the electronic timing mat for the finish point and prematurely stopped, leading to an impromptu sprint finish against Teklu Deneke with just two tenths of a second separating the pair.[5]

Contents

2009 race

The race was scheduled for June 20, 2009. This was the first year that all of the 9,500 available spots have not been filled, leading to a deficit in its budget. The fee for runners was approximately $85. Executive director Scott Keenan suggested that the economy is the main reason for the downturn in participants; although, there are also two new marathons starting in the area which may be pulling runners away from the Duluth race.[6][7]

Past winners

Key:       Course record       American championship race

Edition Date Men's Winner Time
(h:m:s)		 Women's Winner Time
(h:m:s)
1st 25-06-1977  Garry Bjorklund (USA) 2:21:54  Wendy Hovland (USA) 3:23:39
2nd 24-06-1978  Barney Klecker (USA) 2:18:42  Cheryl Westrum (USA) 2:57:14
3rd 23-06-1979  Richard Wilde (ENG) 2:14:44  Lorraine Moller (NZL) 2:37:37
4th 21-06-1980  Garry Bjorklund (USA) 2:10:20  Lorraine Moller (NZL) 2:38:35
5th 20-06-1981  Dick Beardsley (USA) 2:09:37  Lorraine Moller (NZL) 2:29:35.5
6th 19-06-1982  Dick Beardsley (USA) 2:14:50  Janice Ettle (USA) 2:41:21
7th 11-06-1983  Gerry Helme (ENG) 2:12:10  Jenni Spangler (USA) 2:33:52
8th 16-06-1984  Derek Stevens (ENG) 2:12:41  Anne Hird (USA) 2:37:30
9th 15-06-1985  Don Norman (USA) 2:11:08  Susan Stone (CAN) 2:39:45
10th 21-06-1986  Joseph Kipsang (KEN) 2:12:53  Karlene Herrell (USA) 2:38:45
11th 20-06-1987  Dan Schlesinger (USA) 2:16:00  Janis Klecker (USA) 2:36:12
12th 11-06-1988  Armando Azocar (VEN) 2:20:07  Jacqueline Gareau (CAN) 2:43:27
13th 17-06-1989  Doug Kurtis (USA) 2:16:49  Louise Mohanna (USA) 2:39:50
14th 23-06-1990  Igor Braskavski (URS) 2:18:12  Jane Welzel (USA) 2:33:25
15th 22-06-1991  Driss Dacha (MAR) 2:13:59  Janice Ettle (USA) 2:35:27
16th 20-06-1992  Roy Dooney (IRL) 2:13:25  Jane Welzel (USA) 2:33:01
17th 19-06-1993  Doug Kurtis (USA) 2:16:38  Lorraine Hochella (USA) 2:34:46
18th 18-06-1994  Donald Johns (USA) 2:18:19  Linda Somers (USA) 2:33:42
19th 17-06-1995  Mark Curp (USA) 2:15:23  Irina Bogacheva (KGZ) 2:34:11
20th 22-06-1996  Patrick Muturi (KEN) 2:13:43  Mary Alico (USA) 2:32:42
21st 21-06-1997  Patrick Muturi (KEN) 2:15:44  Irina Bogacheva (KGZ) 2:38:44
22nd 20-06-1998  Simon Peter (TAN) 2:12:47  Elena Plastinina (UKR) 2:35:46
23rd 19-06-1999  Andrew Musuva (KEN) 2:13:22  Elena Makalova (BLR) 2:29:13
24th 17-06-2000  Pavel Andreyev (RUS) 2:14:31  Svetlana Şepelev-Tcaci (MDA) 2:33:53
25th 16-06-2001  Benjamin Matolo (KEN) 2:14:25  Lyubov Belavina (RUS) 2:35:13
26th 22-06-2002  Elly Rono (KEN) 2:10:57  Zinaida Semenova (RUS) 2:32:21
27th 21-06-2003  Joseph Kamau (KEN) 2:11:22  Firiya Sultanova (RUS) 2:27:05
28th 19-06-2004  Vladimir Tyamchik (BLR) 2:17:59  Firiya Sultanova (RUS) 2:35:08
29th 18-06-2005  Wesley Ngetich (KEN) 2:13:18  Halina Karnatsevich (BLR) 2:28:43
30th 17-06-2006  Sergey Lukin (RUS) 2:14:30  Svetlana Nekhorosh (UKR) 2:37:33
31st 16-06-2007  Wesley Ngetich (KEN) 2:15:55  Mary Akor (USA) 2:35:40
32nd 21-06-2008  Lamech Mokono (KEN) 2:13:39  Mary Akor (USA) 2:38:50
33rd 20-06-2009  Christopher Raabe (USA) 2:15:13  Mary Akor (USA) 2:36:52
34th 19-06-2010  Philemon Kemboi (KEN) 2:15:44  Buzunesh Deba (ETH) 2:31:35
35th 19-06-2011  Christopher Kipyego (KEN) 2:12:16.36  Yihunlish Delelecha (ETH) 2:30:39

Amazing Fact

On the same evening that the North Shore strider's (the founders of the Grandma's Marathon) were celebrating the completion of the first marathon, mayhem broke out at the famous Glensheen mansion located near the 22-mile mark. The heiress of the estate, Elisabeth Congdon, and her nurse were brutally murdered in the house by the husband of Elisabeth's adopted daughter, sparkling national media attention and a high-profile police investigation.[8]

Grandma's Marathon Staff

Scott Keenan, Executive Director –

Jon Carlson, Race Director –

Sarah Culver, Director of Administration –

Bob Gustafson, Public Relations Director –

Linda Hanson, Finance and Operations Director –

Zach Hitchcock, Promotion and Design Director –

Dani Minardi, Director of Event Development –

Jeffrey P. Rosenthal, Director of Race Management Services – [9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Grandma's Marathon :: Races - Grandma's Marathon
  2. ^ Grandma's Marathon :: Other Info - History
  3. ^ http://www.grandmasmarathon.com/other_info/history.php?page=records
  4. ^ Grandma's Marathon :: Races - Races for Kids
  5. ^ Gaffe at finish line leads to photo finish at Grandma's Marathon. InFormum (2011-06-19). Retrieved on 2011-06-19.
  6. ^ "Grandma's Marathon Sees Decline In Participants". KBJR TV, Inc. May 28, 2009. http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/46404042.html. Retrieved 2009-06-03. 
  7. ^ "Grandma's runs short of entrants". Star Tribune. June 2, 2009. http://www.startribune.com/sports/46768892.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUo8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU. Retrieved 2009-06-03. 
  8. ^ Keenan, Scott (2006). [www.marathonandbeyond.com Grandma's Marathon and Beyond]. Champagne, IL: 42K(+) Press, Inc.. pp. 176. ISSN 1088-6672. www.marathonandbeyond.com. 
  9. ^ "About Us". http://grandmasmarathon.com/site/index.php?page=about-us-contact-us. Grandmasmarathon. http://grandmasmarathon.com/site/index.php?page=about-us-contact-us. Retrieved 10/12/2011. 
List of winners

External links