This year’s Grandma’s Marathon was heartbreaking, disappointing, frustrating and TONS of fun! For the first time since 2013, I was spectating on the third Saturday in June. I experienced my first ever
running injury at the worst possible time that unfortunately sidelined me for the 50 Anniversary of Grandma’s Marathon. 2026 was supposed to be my redemption race after a rough Grandma’s 2025. I was so excited to run the 50 anniversary of Grandma’s. However, I got to experience Grandma’s from a lens that I havnen’t been able to experience in 13 years and let me tell ya . it was pretty awesome!
Luckily, I did register for the Great Grandma’s Challenge so I was able to run the 5K on Friday night! I was honored to be at the starting line of my fourth William A Irvin 5K with three other runners in our running group. My goal was to run as much as my injured leg allowed me to. No time goal, just to finish. I ultimately ran the race with some pain (which made me feel much better about my decision to sit out on Saturday!) but in the least amount of pain I had felt through my training cycle. I got to add another medal to my collection and another 5K to my list of completed races. It was a beautiful day for a run and I am SO glad I got to participate in one of the races of the 50 Anniversary weekend!
SATURDAY
After our MANY family traditions on Friday- driving north with our running crew, blasting “America the Beautiful” as we crest the hill into Duluth, expo, packet pick-up, spaghetti dinner, 5K, race predictions, and last minute meetings before the race- we all settled in for what was to be a wonderful Saturday in Duluth. Since I was unable to run (and hoping that I will be running on Saturday of Grandma’s for many years to come), I decided to experience spectating to the fullest. This included waking up at 2:30 am, dragging my mom and best friend out of bed, and cheering on the Grandma’s Marathon Double runners as they ran past us in the middle of the night. Those guys are CRAZY! But it was fun to be able to see them for 20 seconds and cheer them on in the dark of night. This is something I have always wanted to do, but always decided against when I had a race to run on Saturday. After going back to sleep for about 15 minutes, we wished our runners good luck and headed out for another first for me: volunteering during Grandma’s weekend! We volunteered at the mile 11 water stop. I have ran past this energetic spot for years, but experiencing it while handing out water to the
amazing half marathon runners was such an amazing experience! The runners were so appreciative and it was fun to see the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon from the “other side”. Congratulations half marathoners (and if I accidentally missed you when you wanted ice, I apologize!).
We watched our half marathoners and most of our full marathoners before heading to the finish line for the Back of the Pack Bash. As a proud back of the pack runner, I was honored and excited for the Back of the Pack Bash, but I also had no idea what to expect. There have been many years where I run towards the finish line with just our group cheering me on, which is totally fine and understandable! But I was hopeful that the back of the pack runners for Grandma’s 50 were going to be brought in to the finish line with loud cheers and so much love
And let me tell you . I was not disappointed! Seeing people in the bleachers well after the official cut off time, hearing the roars and MANY cowbells as
the runners passed by on their way to the finish line, seeing people walking back to their hotels stop to cheer on the other runners truly brought tears to my eyes and so much warmth to my heart.
As I always say 26.2 is 26.2, no matter if you are first, last, or anywhere in the middle. You. ARE. a. MARATHONER! THANK YOU to anyone who came out to cheer on these finishers! It was truly amazing and I know it made their finish even more memorable.
When I signed up for Grandma’s in October, being sidelined due to injury was not what I had envisioned. I pictured redemption, PRs, and an incredible race for Grandma’s 50 anniversary. Although this is not what I got, I gained so much in the process!
I got to experience the pure magic of Duluth and Grandma’s without the
stress of running a long-distance race, I got to cheer on the double runners in the middle of the night, I got to volunteer for the first time, I got to be a cheerleader for the back of the pack runners (whom I absolutely admire, you guys crushed it!), and I got to watch each of our runners finish their races for the first time. I know I will always remember Grandma’s 2026 and will look fondly on each
and every memory of the weekend. I do hope to be back for Grandma’s 51st birthday. Hopefully with a shiny new PR, injury-free race, and redemption.
And as I keep saying since I couldn’t run Grandma’s 50th, Now I need to make it to Grandma’s 100th! Catch me shuffling to the finish line in my 80s in 2076!
A QUICK SHOUT OUT TO OUR CREW.
This year we had four 5K runners:
Two of which ran a race on Saturday morning as well
A new “post-double knee replacement” PR for my mom
Three half marathon runners:
A 10-minute PR for my INCREDIBLE husband
Four full marathon finishers:
My dad’s 26th Grandma’s Marathon
Two children who ran circles around the rest of us at Bayfront after the
races!!
It was an awesome year and I can’t wait to see what 2027 brings
Rachel Barger
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Favorite Grandma’s Marathon Memory:
I have far too many Grandma’s Marathon memories to choose just one! My first ever 5K, half marathon, and full marathon were all at Grandma’s. Along with joining several family members in 2016 when we revived our family running club that started with our dads, uncles, and cousins in the 80s, running my husband’s first half marathon with him in 2018, getting to experience the first race back after COVID in 2021. Most recently, I had the great honor of running 26.2 miles with my dad and crossing the finish line with him for his 25th Grandma’s Marathon in 2025. All of these are memories that I will never forget and I look forward to adding to this list every year.
Song that must be on your running playlist: The Rocky theme song… every version from every movie. I will sometimes hear that song 6 times during my long runs haha!
Running Superstition: I always say the same little prayer as I cross the starting line and finish line. I also run all of my races on the far left side of the course- a superstition that was started at Grandma’s so I could be closest to Lake Superior.
Advice to other runners: Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, you’ll get there eventually. AND if it takes you longer than you wanted it to, just remember you are still putting in the same amount of miles as the person who came in first!
2026 Running Goals: Redemption! I had huge goals for 2025, which unfortunately were not met on race day. I am excited to continue the fight and hopefully hit my goals in 2026! Throughout my training process, I hope to post a new PR at every distance.