At mile 20, I kick it into gear. I'm feeling great, shelling out high fives to spectators, smiling, and talking. Two miles later and here comes Lemon Drop Hill. WTF just happened???

Grandma's Marathon is celebrated as one of the most scenic and popular marathons in the US. It is the 12th largest marathon in the USA and takes place in Duluth, Minnesota, a town of about 85,000 people. The course starts in Two Harbors and runs along a beautiful Lake Superior scenic drive until finishing in downtown Duluth.

This year 2019 was my first time running Grandma's.

Weather

Grandma's Marathon runs along Lake Superior, which is the largest freshwater lake in the world. That type of water mass creates tremendous weather variability. Thus, Grandma's is known for having unpredictable race conditions.

The mid-June schedule means a potential for extremely warm and humid conditions. Many prior races have seen temps into the 80s and 90s on race day. On the flip side, the race can also be very cool. At this time of year, the water in Lake Superior remains very chilly. An Eastern wind blowing across the lake can quickly cool the course by ten or twenty degrees. It's not unheard of for the temperature along the lake to be 25 degrees cooler than the temperature just five or ten miles inland.

Those unpredictable weather patterns certainly showed their colors in 2019. Two weeks out, the forecast was relatively cool but still warmer temps, into the low to mid 70s. From about ten days out until just a few days before the race, the forecast showed strong thunderstorms with lighting, raising the potential for race cancellation. At two days out, the thunderstorms were gone and the forecast showed scattered showers and cool temps with an Easterly wind. By Friday, the rain was gone but the wind and temperature forecast remained cool and with a slight overcast. That would have been perfect!

On race morning the weather was not perfect, but nearly so. Arriving in Two Harbors, the temperature was 53 degrees with a medium ENE wind. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, meaning full strength sun. While the sun was beautiful, it was intense. A few clouds here and there would have been appreciated. Outside of that, it was hardly weather to complain about.

Expo

The expo was nice and what you would expect for this caliber of race. It takes place at the spacious Duluth convention center and includes many, many vendors and displays (several offering some good pre-race deals). I picked up a nice Minnesota-themed running hat from Skadi, some Grandma's apparel, and a few other odds and ends.

There is also a huge spaghetti feed that runs the Friday before the race from 11 AM until late in the evening. Guest speakers included marathon legend Dick Beardsley, notable distance runner and run-walk-run advocate Jeff Galloway, and others.

Lodging

Lodging is one of the few race drawbacks. Duluth is a relatively small town (at least compared to host cities of other similarly-sized events) and Grandma's causes the entire city to explode. As you might expect, hotels do a great job of capitalizing on this to make a pile of money race weekend. Expect to pay around $400 per night with a minimum 2-night stay for Duluth lodging. I did not research hotel costs or availability in Two Harbors.

Race-Day Logistics

Unless you stay within walking distance of the Two Harbors start (which is unlikely), you are required to bus to the starting line. Fortunately, race coordinators make this as painless as possible.

We stayed in a hotel that was about a block from the Duluth convention center. On race morning, I walked to the center, boarded a bus, and headed up to Two Harbors. There were a number of additional bus access points throughout the city.

The bus ride was about 25 minutes. I had a pleasant conversation with a woman from the Twin Cities who had raced this course several times. By the time I got off the bus, I was already racing...to the bathroom.

Starting Line

It's a world-class race, and this begins at the starting line. There were hundreds of port-a-potty's distributed throughout the waiting area. At peak the waiting time was about 10 minutes. A water and Powerade station offered pre-race hydration. Of course, there was plenty of grass and tables to hang out and wait.

Where you line up in the starting line is based on your projected finish time. I wasn't sure how this was going to actually work on race day, but basically they post signs with finish times in five or ten-minute increments from the starting line to the back and you line up with the time that matches your anticipated outcome. There were plenty of pace groups.

The full marathon starts at 7:45 AM, or at least it's supposed to. The 2019 race got going about ten minutes late. That was too bad because the coolest part of the start was the two Air Force fighter jets that crossed the starting line above us at exactly 7:45 AM. I literally got goose bumps seeing them, and wish we could have gotten going right then. Even now I still get goose bumps thinking of those jets flying overhead.

Course

The race course is beautiful. You are literally running 26.2 miles alongside Lake Superior, again the largest freshwater lake in the world. Even when the lake is not in view, the route is tremendously scenic and you are getting the best that Minnesota has to offer from its varied biome.

It's relatively flat. I believe the net is about a 100' decline from start to finish. My Strava activity showed gross elevation of 562 feet, which seems high but I creep'd on some others that ran it and they were similar. A lot of this is long, rolling hills, with few sharp inclines. Be prepared for your quads to take a pounding from those long, steady downhills.

Aid stations start at mile 3 and repeat every 2 miles until the last 10K or so where they are every mile. The aid areas stretch out longer than in other races, providing opportunities to grab a second cup of water to drink or, in my case, dump on your head. Stations included water and Powerade as well as ice and damp sponges. The mile 17 station also offered Clif gels.

At about mile 19 you start to leave the wilderness and enter Duluth. Two things happen here. First, you see the iconic Duluth lift bridge, which signifies the race finish and the final leg of your journey. Two, you start to enter the Duluth crowds. More on that later.

The finish is in Canal Park in downtown Duluth.

Racers

Grandma's Marathon was the most competitive field that I've ever run with. Granted, I've never run New York or Boston, and imagine those to be even more competitive, but Grandma's was at a different level than say a Twin Cities marathon or other large events.

Not only is Grandma's a huge race with 6,500 runners, but it's held in a relatively small town and has been for the past 43 years. What I believe makes it competitive is that Grandma's sees dis proportionally fewer local runners and proportionally more traveling runners than other, similarly-sized races. Meaning the people that show up are ready to run. The 2019 Grandma's race was represented by all 50 states plus 46 countries. People traveling that far for a race are serious runners, and the field showed. It was visible by the general crowd fitness at the expo, and certainly by the race results.

Grandma's also has a strong showing from male, female, and wheelchair elites. The first place finisher receives a $10,000 bounty for their efforts. Top American female Jordan Hasay was scheduled to run Grandma's in 2019 but dropped out due to injury.

My Race

Grandma's was all about one goal for me...qualifying for Boston. In the men's 40-44 age group that meant running a 3:10 (7:15/mile) race or better. To ensure a successful registration, I was targeting a 3:05-3:08 race (7:05-7:10/mile).

The race had somewhat of a bad start for me. I have a repeatable nutrition and hydration strategy that starts the day before the race and concludes with 10 ounces of Propel electrolyte water at 15 minutes before the race starts. This gives me just enough time to absorb the water and nutrients but allows me to start running (and sweating) before it begins to fill into my bladder.

Unfortunately, the 10-minute delay meant that by the time we started I was already feeling the urge to use the bathroom once again.

I ran the first three miles with the 3:10 pace group (7:15/mile). I did this for two reasons. One, the pacers always start out fast, and this was no exception. The first two miles were at around a 7:05 pace until setting into 7:15 at mile three. Two, I wanted to calm my own race anxieties by taking the pace variable out of play until I settled into a rhythm. I literally did not check my watch until I moved ahead at mile three.

The long aid stations were nice. I tried to consume a gel and/or salt tablet prior to entering the station, drink one glass of water at the start of the station, and then dump a second glass on my head near the end. While the temperatures and wind were cooling, the full sun was intense.

I was targeting a 1:34 half split, so miles 3-13 were slightly faster. I was feeling very strong and running about 45 seconds ahead of schedule until mile 12. At this point, the full bladder was too much and I hit the port-a-potty. With this delay, I hit the halfway point at 1:34:08, right where I wanted to be but unfortunate to have lost the earlier time gains

Miles 13-20 were at a relatively consistent pace and felt good. Of course, there are always times when little pains come in. At one point I was concerned about tightening calves but they later relaxed and opened back up.

At mile 20 I felt amazing. I was still at a 3:08 pace, but felt that I could speed up to a 7:00 pace for the last 10K and perhaps finish with a 3:06:30 to 3:07 time. So, I kicked it into gear and accelerated.

Lemon Drop hill is right around mile 22 and corresponds to the mile 22 aid station location. Lemon Drop is the last big hill at Grandma's, and akin in reputation to a Heartbreak Hill at Boston. I don't recall which comes first, the station or the hill. What I do recall is going into the aid station feeling amazing and coming out wondering what in the heck just happened. All that energy that I had dissipated and a tremendous fatigue set in.

The 23rd mile was challenging and I saw my pace drop to around 7:20. At the end of it, I was passed by a female runner who was continuing strong at about a 7:10 pace. I knew that I needed that to hit my 3:08 target and thus did what I could to stay on her tail. I stuck with her until the mile 25 marker at which point she faded back and I passed by.

This close to the finish always bring an extra burst of energy. I was able to get back down to about a 7:00 pace for the last mile. With about a quarter mile to go I accelerated to about 6:30-6:45 but soon felt my right hamstring start to lock up. The first thought was panic...I'm going to cramp with the last quarter mile and have to walk it in and miss my time. Fortunately, I slowed and the leg relaxed and I was able to resume a 7:00 pace.

I crossed the finish line at 3:07 and change. At the top end of my target range, but within goal and a time that should get me into Boston 2020. Gotta love that!

Hydration and nutrition were good. By the end of the race I had at consumed the second half of my Propel drink, a cup of water at each aid station, 5 gels, and one salt tablet per mile (starting at mile 3). An area to improve upon next time is to take the gels and tablets sooner before the aid station. My timing was off and too often I found myself rushing to down one or both before taking on water, which left me out of breath by the end of the station.

The crowds were amazing, as they are in most races. The fan base from the start until mile 19 is great but it's not until you enter Duluth that it really picks up. From about mile 19 to mile 24 you get a lot of residents as well as college kids (from UMD or The College of St. Scholastica) to keep you going and there will also be plenty of bands and music at this time. Around mile 24 you hit the heart of downtown Duluth and then at mile 25 the fans are pretty much lined up continuously and cheering to the finish.

Finish Area

The finish area is like many other races. There is plenty is medical support, volunteers to wrap you in a thermal blanket and drape a medal around your neck, someone to hand you a shirt, and of course lots of food and beverages. While initially I was hot, the post-race shivers soon set in and I was glad to take in the warm soup broth along with other goodies.

Many runners take the opportunity to recover by walking into Lake Superior and feeling the cold water on sore and tired legs. This year the lake water was still particularly cold plus the morning conditions remained cool and windy. The waves were strong and crashing into the shore, and I did not see anyone in the lake.

There are other post-race events including beer tents, music, etc.

Overall Impressions

Of the marathons that I've run, Grandma's is by far the best. The course is fast and scenic, fellow racers are fit and competitive, and the history and nostalgia are equaled by few other races. The lodging cost and unpredictable weather are perhaps the largest drawbacks.

I still think about that mile 22 falter. I thought that I had experienced enough racing to know when you have it and when you don't. To feel so good at mile 20 and then so bad at mile 22 was unusual, especially when it came on so quickly (there wasn't the usual slow, grinding build-up). The last time I felt that good at mile 20 was a race where I cruised to the finish with a strong negative split. It just goes to show that there is always something new to learn and experience at the complex marathon distance.

Thank you for reading. Keep doing amazing things. And however you run, Run Uncommon.

The Uncommon Runner
www.rununcommon.com

Race management does a tremendous job on this one and the indoor Fargodome start makes it so much easier and warmer considering how cold Fargo can still be at this time of year. The first blast or cold air out of the Fargodome is something but you warm up quick. Crowds are good but seem to be getting less and less each year. Course if flat and fast. Wish the shirt quality would improve...they use a local company called Lakeshirts which is a huge manufacturer but the hoodies are fairly low-end quality. www.rununcommon.com