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    Grandma's Marathon

    4.7 (15 reviews)
    Open 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Christopher H.

    While I've only done two marathons I've done several halves. And I have to say this is easily the most well organized, best run event I've ever had the pleasure of participating in. First of all - the registration. Very simple, very straight forward. They do a lottery for the half and an open registration (up to 10,000 people) for the full. And compared to several over events (the RnR ones come to mind), this one is rather affordable. The expo is held in the DECC. Plenty of space to spread out. They also hold a huge pasta dinner there. (I didn't partake in the pasta dinner as I'm picky about my food pre-race). They had a side room with speakers throughout the day of the expo, including Deena Kastor, who I was beyond thrilled to meet. The expo itself was a bit smaller than I was expecting, but I was still able to get the last minute race needs and tchotchkes - again all at a reasonable price (again, are you listening RnR?) My wife and I stayed at UMD as getting a hotel is near impossible. The shuttle system to the event was near flawless. They kept everything moving and everything was very clearly marked. The start area for the full was at a car dealership which gave the runners plenty of space to spread out. There was also more portapotties per runner than I think I've ever seen before. The gear check was also very simple and well organized. I am going to ding them on the starting corral. They didn't divide up the runners or have a wave start. As a result, we were all crammed into a pretty tight area to start and were shoulder to shoulder for about the first 7 miles. They could break things up just a bit and give us a bit more room. The course is absolutely gorgeous. Well, normally it is. This year (2013) was foggy so we didn't get to see much of the water. But it was rather cool watching all the runners ahead of me sort of disappear into a mist. Some people have noted that there isn't much fan support until you reach Duluth. While that is true for the most part, there are pockets of fans every so often, and those fans are very vocal. So while you won't have a lot of people cheering you on, the people that are cheering are very into the event. The mile markers are huge balloons, which made it very easy to see from a good distance away. In addition, the water stations were pretty much exactly where the organizers said they'd be - every two miles starting at mile three, and then every mile after mile 19. They were also very well staffed Fantastic. They didn't have clocks every mile, but really - what runner doesn't have a watch of some variety with them? I ran with the 4 hour pace group, and the pacer (Darin?) was amazing. Very friendly, very helpful, very positive and his splits were spot on the entire way. The finishing area is well laid out and well marked. I also loved the fact that they don't give you your shirt until you finish - it's supposed to be a finisher's shirt after all! And again - the shuttle system back to UMD was well done. In all - I can't recommend this event highly enough. It's a wonderful event and one that I will likely do again. As for my race, well - I was on pace for 4 hours until I fell apart at mile 23. I did manage to hang on for a 4:07, which is a new PB for me.

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    Photo of Lisa S.
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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    Photo of Ed L.
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    12 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    17 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    4 years ago

    well organized, beautiful views, course was fairly easy, perfect weather, highly recommend!

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    12 years ago

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    Photo of Amy K.
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    15 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Great race. The only thing they need more of is bathrooms and to allow family in at the ending space.

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    12 years ago

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    18 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    Ask the Community - Grandma's Marathon

    Review Highlights - Grandma's Marathon

    Grandma's gives great medals and you get your shirt at the finish line rather than the generic one at the expo.

    Mentioned in 6 reviews

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    Grandma's Marathon - races - Updated May 2026

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