2024 Race Recap Grambassador: Tanya

Since my first Grandma’s event in 2015, this weekend in June has come to mean a lot to me, especially since this was year 10. Hard to believe it’s been a decade of running along the North Shore with a few thousand of my friends! In those ten years, I’ve experienced everything from steady rain, to black flag conditions, to absolute perfection. That lake effect can be a fickle thing, even in June.

This year was my first time my family and I opted to stay down in Canal Park. The last few years we’ve stayed in an apartment on the UMD campus, but it was nice to be right in the thick of things, without having to worry about parking, or being stuck in the DECC parking ramp for well over an hour like last year, after the 5K on Friday night. Uff da!

This was also my third year of running the Great Grandma’s Half Challenge, which has quickly become my favorite way of running more miles over the weekend without having to commit to a full marathon. It also means more medals, and who doesn’t like some extra bling? The challenge consists of the 5K on Friday night, and either the half or full on Saturday morning.

We decided to change things up this year and do the all you can eat spaghetti dinner for lunch on Friday instead. It was the perfect way to still enjoy the event while getting in some carbs for both races. Mother Nature then decided to take pity on us and the rain held off for Friday’s 5K. I had no time goal in mind, knowing I still had a half to run a mere 12 hours later. Even with my “easy does it” mindset, I still managed to negative split the race, which was a nice surprise. The only downside to the evening was my family having a slightly harder time than usual meeting up with me after the race, due to the construction that was taking place behind the DECC, along the lake.

Friday’s dinner consisted of reservations at Silos Restaurant, located within Pier B Resort, where we were staying. I loved the convenience of having a restaurant right in the hotel, but while the service was good, the food itself was not the best. However, the hotel has make your own s’mores kits for its guests, so that was a super fun perk, because who doesn’t love s’mores?

Saturday began bright and early, with my alarm set for 3:30am. The things we do for fun, right? The weather was also looking better than expected, for the most part, which is always a plus, when you’re standing around at 5:45am, waiting for the race to start. It was humid and windy, even then, but it was predominantly a tail wind, at least until we hit Canal Park.

Similar to Friday’s race, I had no set goal in mind, aside from beating last years’ time. Even with an unplanned port a potty stop along the course, which lasted way longer than I would have liked, I still ended up finishing nearly 5 minutes faster than last year. Thanks, tailwind! The skies did open up more once I hit mile 10 or 11, making the last couple of miles soggy ones. Yet one of the best parts of the race, however, had nothing to do with finish times or splits, or anything of that nature.

Despite the rain and the wind, the city of Duluth, as always, showed UP! Seeing thousands of spectators and volunteers, lining the streets, especially London Road, to cheer their hearts out for all the runners was beyond amazing. Lots of times people will tell you that a race has great crowd support, but a decade later, I can attest to Grandma’s being one of the best, hands down.

After we entered Canal Park and came around the backside of the DECC, we ended up running head on into the wind and rain. Thankfully, I knew there was only maybe a mile to go, so it was time to buckle up and earn that medal. Conditions like those, though, is when is usually when I tell myself that I need a new hobby. But let’s be real, I’m already looking forward to 2025.