Saturday, June 22, 2024
Marathon/Ultra #50
Brent Silkey
Bib #4322
Grandma’s Marathon was my FIRST marathon on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Crossing the finish line of my first marathon was an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life! Hobbling around downtown Duluth in the hours post-race with a finisher medal around my neck and a heat sheet around my shoulders is etched into my core memories.
Fast-forward fourteen years and 49 marathons, ultramarathons, and an Ironman later and we arrive at Grandma’s 2024.
I spent the entirety of Friday at the expo talking with people at the 30 for Freedom booth, meeting Chris Nikic, and Olympian Dakotah Lindwurm!
When I got to my car that night, I tried to lift my left leg into the car to drive to the home I was staying at…but I had so much pain at the front of my hip.
Oh no, what am I going to do??
It’s the night before Grandma’s Marathon. According to the countdown on my Garmin, there were about twelve hours until the starting gun would go off in Two Harbors.
I contacted my amazing chiropractor, Dr. David Roetman.
He jumped on the phone with me and asked a series of questions to help figure out what was going on with my hip.
He switched over to FaceTime and helped me get my body taken care of. I was doing a particular stretch he recommended when I heard a “pop!” in my hip and instantly the pain was GONE! Hallelujah!
Seriously, he is the BEST chiropractor!
I laid out my race gear and tried my best to get some rest before the alarm went off. Historically, I sleep 3-4 hours the night before a race and this was no different.
I checked the forecast for the last time and saw that it was likely going to be cool and rainy. No problem, I love cooler weather for marathons!
I parked my car at the Superior High School parking lot and walked to the shuttle buses at the nearby UW-Superior campus.
I saw a famous Instagram influencer standing in line and had to grab a selfie!
Ben Johnson is a fellow 38 year old, Asian American runner from the Twin Cities!
Our shuttle bus driver broke the sound barrier and got us to the starting line in record time. This guy could compete with the world’s top F1 racers.
Some of my friends were on the same shuttle and had overhydrated with pre-race nerves. They were thankful for such a speedy trip from Duluth to Two Harbors. 
I departed from the world-record shuttle and found my buddy Dan Scally stretching on the side of Scenic Hwy 61.
We stood in line to visit Brent’s Biffie’s one final time before the race began and we saw a ton of familiar faces – several students from the University of St. Thomas (where I serve as a college campus pastor), my buddy and former manager from Best Buy Earl Skrip, friends from the Iron Range, and a pal who was running Grandma’s in memory of a dear friend who was training for Grandma’s Marathon and was tragically struck and killed by a car while training for this race. This day and this marathon was for Marie Savage.
So many emotions heading to the start line.
Marie Savage.
50th marathon.
Hip questions.
The National Anthem.
The nervous energy that permeates the start line of every race.
My buddy Dan Scally would go on to run a personal best of 2:47:22 that morning and would have rivaled our bus driver’s speed down the Scenic Highway!
The Duluth Zephyr train was coming when the starting gun went off and it was surreal to be back at the place where my marathon journey started all those years ago.
My ideal race conditions are 55*, cloudy, with a slight tailwind.
Grandma’s Marathon 2024 was nearly picture-perfect in terms of weather and the rain added a nice cooling effect throughout the morning.
This is an iconic marathon. One of the best in the country. The North Shore is gorgeous, the people are lovely, and the course is fast and relatively flat!
My favorite spectators along the 26.2 course are the mom and pop who bring their folding lawn chairs, newspaper, mugs of coffee, and big smiles to the end of their property line to cheer us on! Love seeing the way the community comes out to support the runners and volunteers!
I was curious how my left hip would hold up during the race and was grateful that it felt really good the entire way!
The flowers were in full bloom, the spectators were out in full force, the volunteers were world-class, and the race was a joy from start to finish.
The infamous Lemon Drop Hill nearly did me in during my 2010 and 2014 runnings of this race.
I train on hills during every single training run these days and when I saw Lemon Drop in the distance, I felt altogether excited and nervous to face my personal Everest!
To my surprise, it was much less steep than I had remembered and I ran all the way up!
One of the local news anchors, Renee Passal, was along the right side of the course toward the top of Lemon Drop. I recognized her from the WDIO Duluth story they ran on 30 for Freedom earlier in the month!
There were a ton of “Every 30 Seconds…” shirts on the course during the race. Central Assembly Superior heard the mission of 30forFreedom.org last summer and went all-out to help 30 for Freedom become an official charity partner of Grandma’s Marathon.
SHORT BACKSTORY
Right before I turned 30 years old, the Lord dropped a crazy dream in my heart: to run 30 miles on my 30th birthday with 30 friends to raise $30,000 to rescue people from sex trafficking because every 30 seconds someone becomes a victim.
I called everyone I could think of to see if they would join me for a 30 mile run on Saturday, May 28, 2016.
To my great surprise, forty-eight people took part in the 30 mile run and seventy-five ran a 5k for freedom!
That group of one hundred twenty-three people raised $81,346 on my 30th birthday and a movement was born!
Over the last nine years, we have seen nearly 12,000 runners take on 5ks, 10ks, half marathons, marathons, 30 mile ultras, 50ks, 100ks, 100 milers, and Ironman triathlons for freedom.
By the grace of God, we have raised $2,222,180.87 for freedom since that first 30 mile run!
We give 100% of every donation to the cause.
We support three organizations with the funds raised: Venture, Project Rescue, and F.R.E.E. International who do sex trafficking prevention, rescue operations, and survivor care.
Central Assembly heard the vision and mission of 30 for Freedom last July and decided to move forward to make 30 for Freedom an official charity partner of Grandma’s Marathon!
We had 105 runners and over 50 volunteers take part in the William A. Irving 5k, Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, and Grandma’s Marathon in 2024!
Two people told me that 30 for Freedom was the largest charity partner at this year’s Grandma’s!
Seeing so many “Every 30 seconds” shirts was invigorating and motivating. Awareness was being raised, funds were being raised, and together we were making a difference for victims and survivors of sex trafficking.
I had the honor of running alongside several of our 30 for Freedom runners during Grandma’s Marathon and many of them were first time marathoners!
Our mission is to end sex trafficking in our lifetime.
When we “move from comfortable to less comfortable” on behalf of victims and survivors, we raise awareness and funds to make a direct and tangible difference.
I am so proud of every runner and volunteer who made Grandma’s Marathon weekend such a success.
Getting into downtown Duluth was electric! The energy level and crowds really pick up when you get to the final miles of the marathon!
You look left and see the grimaces on the faces of those pushing for personal bests, you look right and see the bright smiles of spectators holding comical marathon signs, you look down and see the rain water splashing with each footstep.
A man from Peoria, IL ran next to me and said “Hey, nice tattoos!” As he passed me, I could see that he had a Boston Marathon tat on his left calf and an Ironman Wisconsin tat on his right calf! WE HAVE MATCHING TATS!!!
With all the construction on Harbor Drive, someone created a triple archway with three Wren Works and Rachel excavators as you got to the DECC area of the course! It was such a cool, improvised addition to the course under the circumstances!
Coming down the final stretch of the marathon course is the best part of the day…cheering spectators scream and ring cow bells like their lives depend on it, loved ones yell out your name to get your attention as you run by, official race photographers snap thousands of burst photos as people barrel to the end of the 26 mile 385 yard journey, and the booming voice of the announcer reads off names as runners cross the finish line in Canal Park!
I used the “action mode” camera on my iPhone to record the final 75 yards of the Grandma’s Marathon course and crossing the finish line; my friend Kevin Mussetter recorded the same 75 yards from the very end of the VIP tent! We spliced the videos together and it made for a pretty cool Instagram Reel (@brentsilkey).
The finish line volunteers were on top of it and recognized how very cold a body can become when it goes from running for several hours to standing in the cold, strong wind after the finish. They wrapped us lovingly in heat sheets and made sure we got our finisher medals and finisher shirts!
I knew that my race wasn’t yet over when I crossed the finish line at Grandma’s Marathon…
My goal in 2024 is to run a 30 mile run and raise $1,000 each and every month. This goes back to the original 30 for Freedom goal of running 30 miles and raising $1,000.
The final 3.8 miles were long, slow, freezing cold, and took me what seemed like an eternity…
But I know that my temporary discomfort is nothing compared to the ongoing nightmare that trafficking victims face every single day.
Every step, every dollar, everything to RUN, RAISE, RESCUE, RESTORE.
Grandma’s 2024 was a race that I will never forget.
Grandma’s was my 1st marathon and now my 50th marathon.
Would I recommend Grandma’s Marathon to a first-time marathon runner? 100% yes!
Would I recommend Grandma’s Marathon to someone looking to PR or BQ? Absolutely!
I would recommend Grandma’s Marathon as one of the finest races and race experiences in the country!
I hope to be back again next year for more Grandma’s awesomeness!
For Freedom,
Rev. Brent D. Silkey
Grambassador ‘24
Brent Silkey
Follow Him on: Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter
Favorite Grandma’s Marathon Memory: Lemon Drop Hill 2010 – first marathon, first challenge facing a hill of that measure, caused me to dig deep and helped me become a better runner
Quote that guides, inspires, or embodies your training, racing, or life: “Remember why, remember for whom, it’s not about you.” -When I’m running for a cause like 30 for Freedom – to rescue people out of human trafficking.
A song that must be on your running playlist: “Love Runs Out” OneRepublic – the song playing when I became an Ironman
Reason you absolutely won’t run outside: Hail is the one weather-related reason I wouldn’t run outside!
Running superstition: when the pain starts, smile more!
2024 running goal: to run a 50k every month of 2024 to rescue people from the nightmare of human trafficking and raise $12,000 for 30forFreedom.org in the process.
Three words to describe your training, racing, or life: outside-the-box!