2024 Race Recap Grambassador: Hannah

Wow. This weekend takes the title of my favorite race to date of 4 marathons and 13 half marathons. So much love: for this race, my fellow Grambassadors, all the volunteers, the Duluth community, the love of running.

Grandma’s Marathon 2024 came faster than I was prepared for. Between finishing up my last clinical rotation, studying NPTE boards, and graduating with my Doctorate in Physical Therapy, I didn’t get to train as much as I did for Grandma’s 2023 (my 1st marathon ever). In the week leading up to the best weekend of the summer, I read Scott Keenan’s “My Journey to Grandma’s Marathon: History & Heros” and this gave me SO much appreciation for the history of race, those who played a part in making this race a success and my hometown, Duluth MN. Before I knew it, my best friend, Alyson, was flying in from Montana and I was about to run my 4th marathon.

Friday

We woke up excited for the Duluth Running Co. group shakeout run with Olympic Marathoner, Dakotah Lindwurm, and ready for pre-race day festivities including the expo, watching the 5k, the all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner and the atmosphere of Grandma’s Marathon weekend in Duluth.

During the group run we ran along the lakewalk and it was beautiful as always. Running along Lake Superior is something I will simply never get enough of. Being around other runners made it feel more real that the marathon was literally in less than 24 hours. I met a gentleman from Oklahoma city who was experiencing Grandma’s for the first time. He had an awesome story that continued to remind me of how cool the running community is. After the group run, Alyson and I got to meet Dakotah. She was genuine, inspirational and like us, 5’ tall.

Grandma’s Marathon Expo has always been and probably always will be my favorite race expo. I’m very guilty of not taking the advice of getting in to get my race packet and getting out. I absolutely love being in the excitement building for the race. Alyson and I spent our Friday in Canal Park. We went to the Whipper Snapper races in Bayfront, met up with fellow Grambassadors, absolutely feasted at the spaghetti dinner and cheered on fellow runners running the William Irivin 5k. I was absolutely amazed by the volunteers at the spaghetti dinner. They were kind, efficient and made sure the entire event ran smoothly; and I absolutely LOVE the spaghetti and meatballs with ice cream for dessert. I will be back eating spaghetti next year!

After spending 9.5 miles running and walking the day before the marathon (probably not my greatest idea), we decided to head home and get prepared for the early morning. I got my running outfit prepped with the hydration and fuel I needed. The “CLIF shot energy gel” raspberry flavor (which is sadly discontinued), is my go to for marathons. I also decided this year to prep my pre-race meal the night before. My go to is 3 medium boiled eggs and ramen noodles. I also make sure my bib is pinned and is well placed on my outfit the night before race day so I’m not fretting with it the next morning. I tried to go to sleep around 8-9pm, making sure I was well rested for the early morning to come.

Race Day (Saturday)

Morning came quickly as it always does, but I woke up excited to run Grandma’s Marathon. I put my race day outfit on, ate my favorite meal and tried to calm some of the anxious energy. We caught the bus at the mall, a location with ample parking. I’ve always admired how easy and efficient the transportation is to get to the start. Right when we got off the bus, we headed straight for the porta potties. I knew we were cutting start time close and so we jogged to the line. It was long, which was to be expected, and we ended up missing the gun start time. Usually this causes a little anxiety for me, but I kept reminding myself it was okay to start later. It ended up working out well as I didn’t feel like I’d go out too fast or that I needed to weave around as many people. While in line, Alyson and I figured our time would be similar to last year. She then impulsively said to me, “We should go for 5 hours”! I found this to be a joke because I simply thought this is something I wasn’t capable of, nor ever would be. It just wasn’t in the cards for me.

We were so excited to start our Marathon, with slim crowds around us, as we were about 20 minutes behind the gun start. The course and terrain felt familiar and it was nice to know what to expect this time. I didn’t exactly know how I’d feel throughout the race as I wasn’t as confident in my training cycle this year. I was surprised when I didn’t feel any aches or discomfort during miles 1-15- this was definitely a boost of confidence for me. Alyson and I kept commenting how fast the race seemed to be going! Every mental self check-in was that I was really enjoying this race and trying to soak in the experience.

After reading Keenan’s book, I was very aware of how many volunteers Grandma’s Marathon really has throughout the entire race weekend. They truly run this race!! I was incredibly thankful for every single volunteer who stood out in the rain to make sure runners stayed hydrated and fueled. Seeing all the spectators (dogs included) standing in the rain reminded me how much I love Duluth. The way this community comes together for Grandma’s Marathon is what makes it so special. I also loved hearing other peoples stories on the course. We ran next to an older gentleman who ran over 200 marathons! This continued to remind me of the heart runners have for this sport. I’m honored to be amongst them.

Miles 16-20 was a lot of self talk and reassurance. Even though I knew I’d hit the pain cave at some point, I did not go into this race with the plan of wholehearted positivity. However, it truly changed my race, especially in the later miles.

Some continuous thoughts were, “you are so strong”, “you are capable”, “you’re doing great”, “keep pushing, relentlessly moving forward”. However, the one I kept going back to was to “dig deep”. I told myself to consistently ask more from my body and to keep pushing past comfort and through the fatigue. I kept asking myself for more and more; to keep performing and keep showing up for myself.

With these positive affirmations in my head, Alyson and I ran the entire 26.2 miles. Something I had no idea I was physically or mentally capable of. I planned to push myself to run until mile 21. Then I pushed up Lemon drop hill with the positive affirmation that I have strong legs that will carry me up this incline. Realizing we had a 5k left, I knew I was capable of pushing myself to keep running to the finish. I asked Alyson our time split at the 23.9 mile marker and she said we were at 4:37. I couldn’t believe this. 2.3 miles left and that 5 hour barrier that I didn’t think I’d be capable of getting remotely close to, suddenly seemed reachable. We picked up our pace through mile 24-25 and by mile 25-26, we ran our fastest split of the entire marathon. My quads were in a lot of pain at this point, but I continuously asked my body for more. I kept digging deep.

I crossed the finish line with a time of 5:00:47. I missed that 5 hour barrier by 48 seconds. But all of a sudden, that wall didn’t seem so impossible. While I was upset that my sprinting for the last 0.2 miles wasn’t enough, I was proud of myself. Proud I asked myself for more. Proud I showed up for myself. Proud of my new PR (by 16 minutes from Grandma’s 2023). This new feeling of showing up for myself both mentally and physically in the face of adversity is a feeling I will continue to chase when running Marathons. A feeling I will continue to chase in all aspects of my life.

Grandma’s Marathon weekend was everything I could have hoped for and more. Between those who run this race, and those who literally run this race, I am sure it’s a weekend in Duluth I never want to miss.