Grambassador 2026 Recap: Angie

50 for 50

I was honored to be chosen as a Grambassador for the 2026 event. I was hoping to run the full marathon as part of the Great Grandma’s Challenge, but an injury sidelined me and I had to pivot to the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon as part of the challenge. 

I have enjoyed visiting Duluth since 2014 as a participant in one or many of the Grandma’s Marathon events. I am going to highlight the 50 things that have kept me coming back as well as things that brought me to enjoy the 50th year. 

1. Registration opened October 1st.
2. The number of Barker’s Barks I heard. The James R. Barker is a freighter that frequents the Duluth Harbor. It has a very distinct sounding horn. I heard it the first time while sitting at the finish line as a spectator, it was just arriving. I heard it a second time as I was taking pictures of my medal and it was departing.

3.1 The William A Irvin 5k, is always a great shakeout run before the longer distance races, plus you get an additional medal. 

4. 4:45 AM the time of day when I was in line to get a shuttle bus to the starting line. 
5. I consumed 5 different things during the race: pickles, a watermelon slice, frozen pineapple, a strawberry and SaltStick. (Not including water.)
6. It takes 6 hours and 41 minutes to drive to Canal Park from our home. 
7. I ran using intervals, 7 minutes running and 3 minutes walking to accomplish the half marathon.
8. Possibly the number of times I crossed the pedestrian bridge to get back and forth to the spectating bleachers. 
9. The number of days I wish I could stay after the race to enjoy the North Shore. 
10. My longest training run. I ran 10.14 miles on June 8th.
11. The pieces of candy I earned playing games at the expo.
12. My pace was 12:24 per mile using my intervals

13.1. I completed my 79th overall Half Marathon.

14. 2014, the year I first ran a Grandma’s Marathon event. I stayed in Minneapolis the night before and woke up super early to catch a shuttle to the start. That moment is where I ran my half marathon PR and broke 2 hours. 
15. There are 15 aid stations for the full marathon. 
16. 16.2 miles completed to earn Great Grandma’s Challenge Medal
17. March 17th, the day I started to walk at least one mile per day, to resume training.
18. Mile 18 (or mile 5 of the half)  is one of my favorite spectators. There is always a sign with a play on words, then a person is dressed in character to reflect what the sign said. This year the person was dressed as the Count von Count from Sesame Street as a tribute to counting to 50 Grandma’s Marathons. 
19. There were over 19,000 event finishers, the largest ever. (races combined)
20. In 2020, I ran the virtual Grandma’s Marathon.
21. A Shakeout run was hosted at Duluth Running Company 21 hours before my race. I walked to it, and walked back.
22. The number of times I questioned if I would be able to run the race. 
23. Probably the number of physical therapy appointments I had to get back to running. 
24. My bib number for the half marathon was 24037.
25. The number of audiobooks I have listened to since March 17th.

26.2 I have run the full Grandma’s Marathon 7 times. 

27. Registration for 2027 will open on October 1st. The race will be on June 19th.
28. June 17th is the race date for 2028.
29. The number of days I did 0 mileage due to injury. For 29 days I did no intentional walking, no running, or no movement.
30. The Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge was first lifted in March of 1930. It was first designed as a gondola style bridge, but reconstructed. On the 50th anniversary of Grandma’s Marathon the bridge was lit up green and white. 
31. My bib number for the 5k was 31037.
32. Each aid station is laid out so well, I feel it takes me 32 seconds to get through the area and not because it’s a traffic jam. They begin with cups of water, then cups of blue powerade, then cups of ice, and more cups of water and then sponges. Maybe not in that specific order, but the area is stretched out.
33. Dick Beardsley’s marathon record stood for 33 years before being broken.
34. The age when I ran my first event in Duluth.
35. Approximately 35 hours before my race started I enjoyed the live podcast recording of “Nobody Asked Us” with Des Linden and Kara Goucher, featuring guest Dakotah Popehn.
36. The Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon celebrated 36 years! 
37. I finished the 5k in a time of 37:19. I told myself that I should not run it and I took two walking breaks.
38. It feels like the last mile takes 38 minutes. Not only because it is the last mile and you are tired, but it’s where the only turns on the course are. However, it is the heart of Duluth and there are so many spectators cheering people on. 
39. The average strands of noodles in a plate of pasta at the Michelina’s all you can eat spaghetti dinner. Ok, I didn’t really count the number of noodles on my plate and you can go back for seconds. I am not familiar with any other large race offering a dinner option before the event. The pasta supper is an event in itself. 
40. Ok, so I might have cheated but I saw this stat from the Grandma’s website, “Grandma’s Marathon weekend generates almost $40M annually in regional economic impact.“
41. I had a total of 41,282 steps on June 20th. There were so many things going on, we walked back and forth to enjoy it all.
42. 42.2 is the distance of a marathon in kilometers.
43. I ran the 43rd Grandma’s Marathon in 2019.
44. The average time I spent at the expo, 44 minutes. However, I went multiple times.
45. 45 years ago the band Soul Asylum was created, but as Loud Fast Rules. Grandma’s participants were treated to a post-race concert at Bayfront Park performed by Soul Asylum. I was excited to learn I knew 4 of their songs.
46. The average travel time from the DECC to the half marathon start should take about 25 minutes, but I was fortunate enough to go on an adventure. My bus went the wrong way and we sat in a parking lot for a bit, and it took about 46 minutes to get to the start. All was well, in fact it was not the first time I had been on a bus to the start that went the wrong way. 
47. The age I will be when I run the 51st Grandma’s Marathon
48. Possibly the number of volunteers OR MORE at each aid station. There are sooo many people that put in their free time to make this event happen.
49. Possibly the number of troll dolls spotted on course.
50. The number of seconds to realize the front desk clerk didn’t give us paperwork to rebook for the next year. My biggest tip for this race is book your lodging now. 

I really enjoyed coming up with 50 things and spelling out my Grandma’s 50th experience by the numbers. I like to do race reviews, but I am not sure I could have kept it short. Hope to see everyone in Duluth next June.