The thirty-fifth annual Grandma's Marathon will be held this coming Saturday, June 18, in Duluth, Minnesota.
Grandma's Marathon was first held in 1977 when a group of local runners were attempting to plan a scenic road race from Two Harbors, Minnesota to Duluth. The first year it was held, the race had only 150 participants, but now the whole event draws more than 17,000 runners for its three-race event every year. It got its name from Grandma's restaurants, which was the original sponsor of the race, and has maintained its name through the years.
In addition to the 26.2-mile marathon, there is also the Garry Bjorklund half-marathon, which is named after the Duluth native that was part of the 1976 United States Olympic Team and won this event in its inaugural year as well as in 1980. The race was created in 1981 in order to celebrate Bjorklund's numerous contributions to long-distance running in the state of Minnesota.
We hope that you will use this as your home for everything relating to the 2011 Grandma's Marathon and the events surrounding it. We will have everything here for you from race information, routes, and everything you need leading up to the race, and the results from the races when they're finished.