Grandma’s Marathon – Run Lake Superior

Judging by how everyone talks about it, Grandma’s Marathon must be the most famous race in Minnesota. After moving to Minneapolis, every person who found out I was a runner told me I HAD to run Grandma’s. And everyone here has either run it or knows 5 people who have. I give into peer pressure sometimes, so I signed up for the full 26.2 miles.

2019 was the 43^rd year of Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. People come from all over the country and world to run this marathon – 8,000 people to be more exact. In 2018, runners from all 50 states and 49 countries showed up. Race weekend also offers a half marathon, 5K, and 1 mile kids fun run.

What is the draw to run Grandma’s Marathon? I think it’s that the race has been going on for so long, has so many dedicated runners who participate every year, is along Lake Superior/is beautiful, and this small city in Minnesota has managed to attract amazing runners every single year.

I would rate this as a 5/10 on my very biased marathon difficulty rating scale. 1 being New Orleans where there was 1 single hill/bridge and 10 being a hilly trail race. None of the Minnesotans who encouraged me to do this race warned me of how hilly it was. I’ve come to the conclusion that Minnesotans are used to torture from living through the winters here, so they don’t actually notice the torture of a marathon.

Despite the cold winters here, I still think Minneapolis/St. Paul is the perfect spot for runners.

Quick Info

The Course

Grandma’s Marathon is a Boston Qualifier. The race website states that the course is negative in elevation. While the hills are just rolling, there are a lot of them. I felt like I was never running on flat ground… only up or downhill. You run along Scenic Highway 61 point to point. The best parts of this course are that you get many views of Lake Superior and you get to hear many encouraging words from the amazing spectators.

The course is mostly a straight shot from Two Harbors to Duluth’s Canal Park. The only real “turns” are once you get into Duluth near the finish line. I wish I could give a record of the course, but sometimes my brain blacks out a little during marathons – I can’t always remember the whole thing.

Water, Powerade, and gels are given out every couple miles. They give a map of these prior to the marathon so you can prep if you like to do so.

The Starting Line

If you are coming from anywhere other than a couple miles from the starting line on race morning, you will have to take a bus to the start in Two Harbors (remember, it’s 26 miles from Duluth). There are many locations where you can catch a shuttle; this is all listed in the race guide and might change from year to year. In 2019, most shuttles loaded from 5:45-6:15am and arrived to the starting line 45 mins-1 hour before the race started.

The following is my biggest gripe with this race, and I hope they change it for next year. For whatever reason, they decided to have all of the shuttles drop off at the start at the same time. Sooooo that meant having 8,000 runners who had peed 2 hours ago needing to make the necessary porta potty stop before the start of the race they’d trained so hard for. Talk about anxiety. I waited 45 minutes in line while checking my watch every 30 seconds in frustration. They did delay the start time by 10 minutes to accommodate many of those in the bathroom lines, but it was not a great start to the morning.

When I finally made it to the corrals, I voiced my relief of making it in time to a volunteer standing nearby. In pure Minnesota Nice fashion, she offered me a place to stay at her house in Two Harbors for next year.

Mid-Race forced smile

My Race

I went into Grandma’s Marathon with the goal of finishing my 5^th marathon. I killed it in New Orleans with a 3:45 marathon 4 months before, so I definitely felt good about getting a decent time too. (Sometimes if you get a little cocky, the marathon likes to remind you of how it can hurt you.)

I don’t know if “crash and burn” is in the official running terms dictionary, but it should be. And if you want the definition, it is Danielle’s Grandma’s Marathon.

Crash and burn in running means getting to a point where your entire body and mind feel like they are dying. As you’re running you can feel your legs crashing into asphalt and the rest of your body up in flames for every step. My crash and burn started around mile 14, which meant 12 miles of pure misery.

This was partly or mostly my own fault. I had gone backpacking and hiking the weekend before and hiked around 25 miles, 13 of those with a heavy pack on my shoulders. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, but if it’s between backpacking in Yosemite or not backpacking in Yosemite, I would probably make the same mistake again. My legs were still sore three days before the marathon, and my back wasn’t thrilled with me either.

I also thought the marathon was flat. I’m not entirely sure why I thought this. It might have been that the elevation map is incredibly misleading. Or that I can’t read elevation maps. Or that I made an assumption with no facts to back it up. Whatever it was, I started my race thinking that I had a flat course and could get a good time.

Pshhhh.

Because of the flat marathon assumption, I started way too fast. My 10k pace was 7:35 minute miles, and I ran a 1:42 half marathon. What a mistake. By mile 14 I knew there was no chance I could keep up my fast pace, so I decided to slow down and try to salvage my race.

I had about as much success with salvaging my race as I had trying to salvage my oatmeal the time I added cumin instead of cinnamon.

None.

My mistakes led to 12 miles of pain and running hatred. Here are the thoughts that go through your brain when you crash and burn at mile 14 and have over 2 hours left in a marathon:

Why did I sign up for this? Why did anyone sign up for this?

That’s fine, go ahead and pass me. x 1400 people.

Running is joy. That’s a nice shirt. Maybe I’ll chant “running is joy” in my head for a while and then this will be fun again.

Running is joy. Running is joy. Running is joy. Running is joy. No. No. Running is the worst.

Oooooh a medical and drop-out tent… that sounds enticing.

Oooooh that bus is backing up and I’m sort of in its way…. that sounds enticing too.

Everything hurts. On repeat. Reciting each individual body part that hurts.

Cold beer? Okay, I’ll have some of that. I couldn’t possibly feel any worse than I do right now.

Just. Keep. Moving. Forward.

At mile 19: SEVEN MILES LEFT? I CAN’T DO IT. I can’t possibly run 7 more miles in this agony.

At mile 25.7 as people are yelling, “you only have a half mile left!”: I do not care. I will walk if I want to because I have no pride left in this run.

At the finish line, with my head down, trying not to vomit: I am never doing that again.

It was basically just one negative thought after another until I reached the end.

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I am normally a very positive person, but marathons have a way of ruining your spirit.

To the credit of Grandma’s Marathon, it has the best spectator turn-out that I’ve ever experienced. I swear every person in Duluth came outside to support the runners, which was awesome.

And to the credit of Nice Minnesotans, every time I stopped to walk and had the I’ve given up look, someone would tell me words of encouragement like “you’ve got this girl!” Being the nice Minnesotan that I’m becoming, I’d respond with a smile and a thanks rather than shouting “I do not got this” like I wanted to do.

See, crash and burn = Danielle’s Grandma’s Marathon. Pure misery, but I finished. At marathon finish lines, I am always, always impressed by what the human body can accomplish. This one almost meant more because I came so close to quitting. Sheer willpower got me to the end of that race.

The Finish Line

It’s your typical marathon finish line with bananas, granola bars, beer, and chaos. There are so many people that it’s hard to find your supporters, especially when your brain is not functioning post-marathon. Grab your medal, tshirt, and a space blanket, make your way to the food area, then find your family. They had an area where you could meet up with people by last name letter.

After I got over my nausea, I thoroughly enjoyed a $4 slice of pizza from the tent selling it near the end of the race. They also had other food truck and quick meal options for runners and spectators.

Will You Run Grandma’s Marathon?

I had a miserable race, but it’s the marathon. It happens. And honestly, I would never tell someone to not run Grandma’s. Plenty of people have enjoyable runs on this course and some even PR (how they do this, I do not know.) If you think you’re up for it, I would recommend running Grandma’s Marathon. Just try to enjoy it more than I did 🙂

If the answer is yes, you’re crazy and signing up for it, sign up here then continue reading for advice on how to get there, where to stay, etc. It’s not the easiest marathon weekend to plan.

How to get to Duluth, Minnesota

Depending on how much money you have, you have a couple options. Duluth does have an airport, but flights will be much more expensive than if you fly into MSP/Minneapolis airport and drive the 2.5 hours to Duluth. Or if you have a private jet or boat I suppose you could use those.

Where to Stay

Duluth, MN has a population of around 86,000. Grandma’s Marathon Weekend brings in around 20,000 runners + all their family and friends. That’s a lot of people to stay in a relatively small city. Expect really expensive hotel rooms/AirBnbs ($300+ per night) and expect them to fill up WAY early.

Many hotels charge 4x their normal rates, yet they still fill up months ahead of time. I signed up 3 months before race day, and every hotel room and AirBnb was full already.

You basically have 3 options:

#1. Book your accommodations early and be okay with paying a bunch of money.

#2. Book a spot in a college dorm room near the race. This is a less expensive, more available option.

#3. Go camping. Duluth has quite a few campgrounds that are not far from the shuttle pick ups. This is your cheapest option.

We stayed at Spirit Mountain Campground for $30ish per night (2 night minimum), and the shuttle stop was 3 minutes away. This campground is the closest to shuttle stops of all the campground options in Duluth. I google mapped every campground to every shuttle pick up spot, so you can trust me on this one.

Zoe post-race 🙂

The Expo/Packet Pick-Up

The race had a lot of options for packet pick-up, and there is no race day bib number pick up. You must pick it up on Thursday or Friday. Fortunately, they have long hours to accommodate this.

The Michelina’s spaghetti dinner was not the greatest food I’ve ever eaten, but it was located in the same building as the expo and all-you-can-eat. It’s a nice way to be surrounded by other runners and not have to drive all over Duluth to find dinner.

Budget a couple hours for the Expo and dinner.

My Advice for Grandma’s Marathon

Stay in a campground to save money. Take the bus to the starting line (arrive towards the later end of the pick-up time), and don’t stress about the porta-potties like I did; it’s all chip timed anyways. Always lay out your clothes the night before. Start out slower to get a feel for your body and the course. Say hi to everyone; people in Minnesota are so nice.

Remember: Running a marathon should make you feel like a badass.

And always remember: running is joy.

For more running posts from Nurse to Nomad, check out The Charlevoix Marathon Experience, The New River Marathon in Boone, NC, and Running in the Cold – Lessons from a Minnesota Winter.

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