Goals
This year, I came into Grandma’s Marathon with big goals. I was going to run my 8th full marathon with my dad as he crossed the finish line in Duluth for the 25th time. In order to achieve this goal my dad and I trained together, logging 90 miles together and countless miles apart. We communicated nearly every day about how our training was going- running, nutrition, cross training, sleep, and everything in between. My training had gone better than it had since 2014 (my first marathon and my still my current PR). Our goal was to finally set a new PR and I felt ready. I was so excited to see what I could do in Duluth now that my training had gone so well and everything was lining up nicely.
The Night Before
My family has countless traditions when it comes to Grandma’s Marathon- dating back to the 1980s when my family first started running Grandma’s. Including (but certainly not limited to) driving up together with many of our runners, blaring “America the Beautiful” from the car speakers as we crest the hill to come into Duluth, going to the spaghetti dinner and expo together, and having pre-race meetings and predictions in our apartment at UMD. No matter who joins our “running club”, our traditions are always a highlight of the weekend,
This year, we had 11 total runners: six in the William A Irvin 5K (five of which also ran the half or full on Saturday), four in the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, and six in the Grandma’s Marathon. Every year, we try to introduce new people to how special Grandma’s Marathon is and they are never disappointed.
Race Morning
After our traditions on Friday night we all settled in for the night to prepare for our races on Saturday. When we woke up to the 30 minute delay and looked at the weather forecast, I got very nervous. During my own training, the only time my long runs didn’t go well was when the heat and humidity started going up. We often hear that marathoning is a mental game, and my mental game was not going great that morning. My dad had to talk me off the ledge as I was freaking out looking at the forecast.
Eventually, we made our way to the buses and on the long drive up to Two Harbors. The bus ride and starting line are always so motivating as you listen to other runner’s stories, their training habits, and their predictions for the race. It’s always amazing to me to look around at all the people nervously waiting in Porta Potty lines and realize that we all are about to embark on the same 26.2 journey back to Duluth, no matter how quickly or how long it takes all of us to get there.
We found a grassy spot to set up camp and waited for the race to start. I was still filled with nervousness due to the weather, but was excited to see what my hardwork in training could do. Eventually, the starting gun went off and we were on our way.
The Race
Here comes the part of the weekend that I was least looking forward to recapping- the race. My dad and I adjusted our goals and decided that we would try to stay with the 6 hour pacer for as long as we could and see where the race took us from there. It was clear very early on in the race that this was not going to be possible. The pacer’s run was too fast for me and walk seemed too slow. So we decided to settle into my own pace, which subsequently put us in the back of the “back of the pack” yet again. Being back there is not new to me, but it was new to my dad. It is not easy to see the pacer you were planning on staying with getting further and further away from you, or seeing the runners around you start to thin out, or get to water stops as they are cleaning up from the thousands of runners in front of you. But I knew that in order to finish this race, I had to be comfortable running my race and my pace and just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Around mile 4 I was getting extremely overheated. I was pouring water over my head, running through every sprinkler (THANK YOU to those that put those out in front of their houses), putting ice under my hat, using the sponges at the water stations to try to cool me off. Nothing was working and my pace was suffering because of it. I was having flashbacks to Grandma’s 2016 (the hottest year that I remember). I finished the marathon that year, but it took me a very long time and I have told myself that I would never put my body through that again. It was not a very safe decision to finish that race under those conditions.
Around mile 10, but dad asked how I was doing and I said, “honestly? I am going to reevaluate at mile 13. I might have to drop out of this race. If I can’t cool myself off, I don’t want to get myself or you in an unsafe position out here on the roads”. My dad said something I’ll never forget. He said, “that is a veteran marathoner’s mindset and I respect that. You have nothing to prove, this isn’t your first marathon. If you decide to drop out, I will respect that. But if you decide to keep going, I will stick with you no matter how long it takes. I am out here for you and out here for the long haul”.
We got to the dropout tent at mile 13 and watched as a few more of the runners around us decided to be done with the race. I decided that I did not want to be done, I wanted to finish this race, so we trekked slowly on. The second half of the race was not easy. My mental strength was not there, my body was hot, my legs were sore. But being out there with my dad made the miles go by quickly.
We eventually made our way to Fitgers, where my mom has watched the race for many MANY years and were greeted with cheers and Powerade, despite how long it was taking me. We kept going and ran into The Olympican, Dakotah Popehn (who had finished her race MANY hours before), and this gave me an extra boost to finish the last mile and a half. We kept putting one foot in front of the other and eventually made our way to the finish line.
The Finish Line
My dad and I crossed the finish line side by side. We crossed the line with a high five and a hug before meeting up with the rest of our runners. My race went nowhere near as planned. A goal to set a massive PR, ended up becoming one of my slowest marathons to date. I was sad, disappointed, embarrassed, and defeated. But at the end of the day, I finished a race that I was very close to dropping out of. I have still finished every race that I have started, no matter how long it took me. And, I got to do it with my dad, which is an experience that I will cherish forever.
The rest of our runners had great days- my mom ran the 5K the year after having both of her knees replaced (and faster than in the years before her surgeries), my sister-in-law set a half marathon PR, my husband was seconds away from a half-marathon PR (despite very little training), another one of our runners set a full marathon PR, my dad crossed the Grandma’s Marathon finish line for the 25th time, and when all was said and done every single runner in our group that crossed the starting line also crossed the finish line (despite four of us coming the closest to dropping out we have ever been).
We all got to celebrate in Bayfront after the race, have our traditional BBQ at UMD in the evening, talk about our goals for Grandma’s 2026, go back down to Bayfront to celebrate at night, go to church together the next morning, and get brunch together to further celebrate our accomplishments. I am always so proud of the group of runners that come to Grandma’s Marathon and I look forward to everyone getting back together next year.
What’s Next?
Do I wish my race would have gone better and my dad and I would have finished a couple hours quicker? ABSOLUTELY! The disappointment from that race is already fueling my prep for next year. But at the end of the day, I am grateful to have trained and run the race with my dad. I am proud that I finished marathon #8. I am excited to keep trying to get faster and keep trying to hit my goals. I will keep fighting for this and am hoping for a redemption race soon.
Grandma’s 2026, the 50th anniversary, is something I am already looking forward to. I hope our own “running club” will be bigger than ever and I hope to be ready to chase my goals yet again. We will see you in June!
Rachel Barger
Follow Her on: Instagram, Tiktok
Favorite Grandma’s Marathon Memory: Grandma’s Marathon has been a tradition in my family since the 80s. After thirteen of my own Grandma’s Marathon weekends, it is so hard to choose just one favorite memory! So just to name a few: Finishing my first ever race in Duluth (the William A Irvin 5K) in 2011, crossing the finish line of my first full marathon in 2014, sharing the full marathon course with seven of my family members in 2016 when we revived our family running club from the 80s, crossing the finish line of the half marathon with my now husband during his first ever race in 2018, and experiencing the joy in Duluth in 2021 during the first race after the pandemic hit. Every year brings new favorite memories and I always look forward to adding to my “favorite Grandma’s memories” list.
Song that must be on your running playlist: “Big Dreams” -The Score
Favorite pre-race meal: The night before, ALWAYS the Michelina’s Spaghetti Dinner! The morning of, a banana, half a peanut butter sandwich, and a powerade.
Running superstition: I always say the same prayer as I cross the starting line and I always run on the far left of any race course (a superstition that stemmed from Grandma’s Marathon so I could be closer to Lake Superior throughout the race).
2025 running goal: I am SO excited to announce my 2025 Grandma’s Marathon goal- I am training to run the full marathon with my dad! This will be his 25th Grandma’s Marathon. I have run seven full marathons, six of which were when I was either in nursing school or nurse practitioner school. Due to this, I have not had the time to properly train and I have always crossed the finish line after my dad. This year, now that I am done with school and in a better place to train, I look forward to pushing myself harder than I ever have in the past in order to achieve this goal. Along with running the race with my dad, the goal that we made together would give me almost an hour PR in the marathon. I haven’t been this excited about a goal since my first marathon over 10 years ago! I can’t wait to share this journey!