Garry Bjorklund Half – Race Recap + Pros and Cons of Grandma’s Marathon

As we all know, running goes through ups and downs. I am in a down period of time right now, which is never fun, but I am trying to be patient with my body that it will eventually rebound.

Ever since Boston, I have had the hardest time recovering from the race. I’m not sure if it is the course and the challenging hilly terrain. Or maybe it was the fact I was sick before the race (If you remember, I randomly threw up on the flight out to Boston.), and I’m sure I did not recoup the lost calories or replace enough electrolytes. I felt great during the race but recovery since has not been good.

I’ve scaled way back on my training (volume + intensity), and I just had blood work done. All of my blood work came back normal with nothing out of whack. All of my levels were in align with optimal levels including my ferritin, iron levels, cholesterol, white and red blood cell levels, vitamin D, among other things. I was proud of my ferritin being 87, whereas years ago it was in the teens if I remember correctly. (Supplementing with Hema-Plex iron has been the key.) I did not have my thyroid tested, but that has never been off in the past. My only symptom right now is not feeling great when running: my energy levels are great throughout the day, sleep is optimal, and I feel great otherwise. I’ll keep plugging along and doing what I can while doing my best to be patient.

I write that all to say that going into the Garry Bjorklund Half (aka Grandma’s Half) I knew I would be running much slower than my PR and potential. I decided to still do the race since everything was already paid for, and we ended up making it a family trip, which was fun.

Race morning is always an early start with catching the bus at 4:15 a.m. to be transported to the start for the 6:00 a.m. gun time. I was in the semi-elite field for this race, which was the third time for me and something I am always grateful for. This year the elite field actually had their own separate corral and started two minutes in front of the rest of the field. This wasn’t as ideal for me because I ended up running faster than I had anticipated since I didn’t want to be trailing too far behind everyone. I was definitely one of the last elites of the pack, which felt a little humiliating.

I did my best to soak up the morning, the views, and the fact I was not injured and physically able to run a half marathon. I spent 90% of the race being passed by people since I started out ahead of so many people who eventually ran faster than I did. It was definitely a little deflating, but I tried to just focus on running my own race.

I knew Craig was going to have the boys out cheering for me around mile 11-11.5, so a couple of miles before that, I focused on getting to them. I have never stopped to hug or high-five the boys during a race before, but since this was a race where I wasn’t focused on my time, I decided I would stop and give them as hug as I ran by. I think they were really surprised when I did this because I never do something like that.

Overall, the race went about how I thought it would go. I didn’t have any major issues, felt about as good as I could have–just ran a lot slower than I usually do. (I think the last time I ran over a 90 minute half was when I was pregnant.) I also say this 100% realizing that I know my time/paces are something a lot of people only dream of!

I enjoy going to Duluth for Grandma’s Marathon weekend, but I will say there are pros and cons to the race. I’ve done the marathon three times now (2010, 2012, and 2016) and the half marathon three times as well (2024, 2025, 2026). During these trips, I’ve learned some of the ins and outs of this race which I have highlighted below.

Pros:

• Great small-town vibes
  The thing about the city of Duluth is that they genuinely love hosting the racers and everyone who comes to support the participants. The restaurant coffee shop workers know to expect an influx of people, streets are closed but people don’t seem to mind, and “everyone” comes out to support the racers. I think a lot of Duluthians live for this weekend.
  
• Beautiful scenery
  The North Shore is so pretty with Lake Superior and the bluffs overlooking the lake. The iconic lift bridge can be seen from the beginning of both races on a clear day and is there for picture-taking at the end of the race. On a sunny day the views are epic but even on a cloudy day the beauty shines through.
  
• Relatively easy race logistics
  Both the half and the full are point-to-point, which makes things a little trickier as far as getting back to where you are staying or taking transportation to the start, but transportation for this race has always been really seamless for me. The finish line area is condensed but you can find your family pretty quickly. As a spectator, are a couple points at the end of the race where you can see your friends/family racing as they make their way to the finish.
  
• Kid and family-friendly activities
  This year was the first year we watched the 5K race, participated in the kids race, and hung out around the park with free kids activities (rock climbing, bounce house/obstacle course). There was also a lot of live music throughout the weekend, food trucks, and a drone light show.
  
• Well-organized
  I’ve always felt like the race has been well organized. The volunteers are friendly, it’s clear where to go, and race logistics are as seamless as they can be.
  

I used these tattoo stars in my hair that were so fun, and I got a lot of compliments about them. They are made by the same brand as the tattoo freckle sparkles that everyone is wearing right now. They stayed in my hair really well and weren’t too hard to take out. I basically combed through my hair, washed my hair, and then combed the rest of the gold flakes out.

Now time for the cons that can make this race a little on the expensive side for some, and I challenge how fast the courses are.

Cons:

• Expensive housing
  Anyone who has tried to get a room or vacation rental in the Duluth area knows how limited spacing is, which drives up the price of everything. I paid more per night for my hotel room in Duluth than I did for my hotel room in Boston. One of my tips for getting a room each year is to book a room for the following year when I check out. I realize this only works if you think you’ll be returning the following year. My other tip is to download the Open Hotel Alert app. It alerts you of open rooms at your selected hotels. Also, I think most places require at least a two night minimum stay.
  
• Weather unpredictability
  The weather can vary quite a bit from one year to the next. One year the start was pushed back 30 minutes due to thunderstorms. In 2016, the temp was in the upper 70s and humidity also in the 70s. The flags on course were changed to black due to ‘extreme risk’ weather conditions for the marathon. And this year the weather was great for the half but got warm towards the end of the marathon. The weather for the marathon is often warm with temps rising quickly on a summer morning into the early afternoon for runners. There are shaded areas but also a lot of sun exposure, and it is not uncommon to just have a sunburn on the left side of your body. The weather for the half is often a little cooler, and then with not having to be out there as long helps as well. (One reason I prefer the half.)
  
• Course
  I feel like a lot of people talk about how fast Grandma’s is, but I’m not sure I would necessarily add it to my list of fast races. Overall, it isn’t bad, but it has its sneaky challenges that don’t make it super fast in my opinion. There are rolling hills throughout, which don’t feel that bad, but Lemondrop Hill with four miles to go is sizable. Plus there is a sneaky little hill with 2.5 miles to go and another one at the start of the last mile. (They’re short and steep but noticeable if you’re hurting.) I also don’t think the half is crazy-fast. It is definitely not bad by any means, but the elevation gain is about 275 feet, so there are hills. And the marathon has a little over 500 feet of gain, which is not super flat like some other races. The course profile coupled with the often-warm weather makes this only moderately-fast course in my opinion.
  
• Travel
  If you’re within driving distance of Duluth, travel to the city is not difficult. But if you have to fly in, there are some added obstacles. You can fly into the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, which will be cheaper than flying into Duluth, but you will have to rent a car for the weekend for the 2.5 hour drive to Duluth. This definitely adds to the cost of your trip: flight + car + expensive housing. Many of the other marathons I have traveled for (Houston, Boston, McKirdy in NY, and Indianapolis) have allowed me to fly into the main airport and take an Uber/Lyft to my hotel, which was close enough to the finish of each of the races.
  
• Quiet miles
  The start of the marathon and half marathon are pretty quiet. There are small pockets of people cheering where roads access the highway you are running on, but otherwise the miles are quiet until you get into the city of Duluth. More of this is a personal preference as to what experience you like to have when racing, but I do prefer more cheering than what the course has.
  

It’s crazy to think that 15 years ago when I first started going to this race, only Minnesotans seemed to know about the race. Now when you say you are running Grandma’s, everyone knows that you are referring to the marathon and not your grandma running a marathon. (Ha! Sorry, had to.)

Going to Grandma’s makes sense for me as it is basically a local race with a less than four hour trip for us, so our expenses are lower. I do still think Grandma’s is a great race, but there are things I caution people about that may or may not concern them.

I do think the weekend has a lot to offer, and it was fun to go to Des and Kara’s live show this year. I hope they’ll be back again.

The boys had a good time, I was able to see old friends and meet new ones, and even though the race didn’t go the way I hoped, I walked away from the weekend with my soul filled up.

(If there are other pros and/or cons you would like to highlight, leave a comment below!)