I ran Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN this weekend. It was my second time running this race. You can check out my race recap from 2015 here. You may have seen that I was supposed to run Mountains 2 Beach on Memorial Day weekend. When the date was moved to a week later, I worried about the heat and logistics. I realized that Grandma’s was still open and Jen was planning to run, so I deferred M2B and signed up for Grandma’s. Unfortunately, Jen got a stress fracture, so I headed up to Duluth solo.
I went to Duluth on Thursday afternoon. Like last time, I flew up to Minneapolis and rented a car. The drive is pretty easy and it’s beautiful. I went to bed early and got up for a 30 minute shake out run on the lakefront. It was pretty warm but the forecast was for perfect temps for the race. I worked for a few hours before walking over to the expo. I stopped at Chacho’s Tacos for a tamale lunch. Highly recommend!
The Expo was large and there were quite a few new (to me) things. That was fun, because race expos this last year have mostly been small. I grabbed my number and some GUs and Salt Stick tabs. I have a ton at home and I forgot them. I also grabbed a pair of Saucony Endorphin Speed shoes on super sale. Luckily, I packed light because had 2 pairs of running shoes with me already. After the Expo, I shopped around a bit in Duluth and headed back to the hotel to relax.
Before dinner, I organized my race outfit and fuel. I’ve been going back and forth on which shoes to wear. When I hurt my hand a month ago, I pulled out some Saucony Endorphin Pros that were easier to put on with one and 1/2 hands. When I raced the 13.1 a few weeks ago, my Hoka Rocket X felt kind of stiff in comparison. I brought both and decided to make a “game day” decision.
Since I was by myself, I ordered take out for dinner. After dinner, I set my alarm for 4:50 AM and went to bed super early.
The weather gods blessed us with a north wind and it was 53 degrees when I woke up. I got ready and made a last minute substitution for the Saucony’s. I also left my sunglasses in the room as it was supposed to be cloudy. I questioned both as I walked to the shuttle bus. I had the great fortune of meeting another solo runner on the shuttle line. Ashley was running her second marathon. She’s a teacher from Minnesota and a former collegiate runner. We stuck together at the start area and porta potty line up and before we knew it we were headed to the corral. She was aiming for 3:30 or below and I was aiming for 3:40 – 3:50 so we said goodbye and wished each other luck.
Ideally, I would have started with the 3:45 pace group but there wasn’t one. Since the conditions were so good, I went with the 3:40 group. It was quite crowded and someone fell in the first half mile. I wound up running a bit ahead of the pacer with a few young women who were doing their second marathons. You should have seen there faces when I told them it was my 55th marathon and what year I started. We clipped along at a nice pace. The mile markers were every two miles at some points and it made the race feel like it went by faster. I felt very strong and relaxed.
I noticed this little group picking up the pace and many runners passing us in the first half. I knew I was ahead of the pace I was trying to run, so I let them go. I felt good in the rolling hills and kept reminding myself that it was perfect weather for me. Even though it wasn’t too warm, it was sunny. I took water and Powerade at every stop and put ice in my sports bra when they had it. (TMI?) I also took the advice of one of my marathon friends to take salt tabs even if it wasn’t super hot. I took one every 30 minutes after the hour mark.
I hit the half way mark at 1:49.32. This is only 40 seconds slower than I ran the Chicago 13.1 two weeks ago. It didn’t seem as tough and I ran confidently. I chatted with a mother and son from the Chicagoland area. We debated the merits of the Majors versus smaller races. I’m on team Majors, of course. I do like races the size of Grandma’s and M2B, as well. The crowd support, music and volunteers on the course were all terrific. There was so much positive energy.
I ran most of the rest of the race by myself, but was content with it. The miles clicked by – some easier than others. I tried to soak up the energy from the crowds and took a bit of extra time in the water stops. Between miles 18 and 20, I realized that I’d need to make a pit stop. I finally stopped at mile 22. There were three porta potties and they were all in use. I had to wait about 30 seconds for one to open. Then, after a 90 second stop, I got back out there. That was my slowest 5K of the race, but it was the right choice. I felt much better in the last 4 miles and I passed more people. It was a bit like a “reset” button.
The clouds rolled in around mile 23/24. The mile 24 mark is right before you get into downtown. There are a lot of twists and turns and it felt like a headwind almost the whole way after a pleasant tailwind for the beginning. I still felt reasonably good so I tried to keep the pace with people who were passing others. I chatted with a few women and we gave each other encouragement.
Before I knew it I was at Canal Park and running for the finish. My A goal was sub 3:40.59 (my 1997 Boston Qualifying standard), my B goal was 3:41 – 3:50 and my C goal was sub 4. I finished in 3:48.53 (8:45/mile). I was really excited. This is my best time since 2019. More importantly, I felt strong the whole way physically and mentally. I had been struggling in the late part of races this year, so I was really delighted by how strong I felt. I ran this race with gratitude and joy. And that’s what it’s all about. I did qualify for Boston 2023 with a 6+ minute buffer. Since it’s the 25th anniversary of my first Boston in 1998, I may just do it again!
I had a quick turn around so I grabbed this photo, some water and a snack and headed back to the hotel. I stopped for coffee on the way back and ran into my friend Kenaia from Houston. She ran a huge PR. We chatted a bit and then I went back to shower and change. Before I knew it, I was back to the airport in Minneapolis and heading home.
In case you’re wondering, I cyberstalked. Ashley ran a 3:27 – a 7+ minute BQ and Sydney one of my young pace group ran a 3:32 – a big PR. My friend, Matt also ran his first BQ and a PR at age 50! Woot!
Even though I went alone, I felt the love and support of many friends virtually. Thank you to all of the friends who trained with me, cheered me on and who offered advice. This was the first marathon that I had a (personal) running coach for and I’m grateful for Kiersten‘s guidance. Some of the workouts were outside of my comfort zone, but they definitely gave me confidence that I put in the work.
Thanks for following along and reading this long winded recap!