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Duluth News
Dan Kraker
Duluth

Marathon fever: As runners prep for Twin Cities race, 2027 Grandma's Marathon sells out

A drone shot of Grandma's Martathon starting line
Thousands of runners spread out near the starting line of Grandma's Marathon, which begins in Two Harbors and follows the North Shore of Lake Superior to the finish line in Duluth. It's the 10th largest marathon in the U.S.
Courtesy of Grandma's Marathon

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Minnesotans must have marathon fever, because as thousands of participants prepare hit the pavement this weekend to run in the Twin Cities Marathon and associated races, runners have already signed up in droves for next year’s Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth.

Registration opened up for Grandma's races on Thursday — and in less time than it takes most people to run a marathon, it completely sold out.

The half-marathon filled up in just under an hour, a new record. It took just under two hours for the 5K race to reach capacity.

“And then the big one was the marathon selling out in just under three hours,” said Grandma’s Marathon Marketing and PR Director Zach Schneider. “Which was far and away a new record for that race."

For this year’s 50th anniversary running of Grandma’s, the marathon sold out in 12 hours, a new record at the time. Two years ago, it took a month for the race to fill up.

Schneider says no one was expecting next year’s race to fill up so quickly. He attributes it partly to a successful anniversary weekend this summer, which saw a record 24,000 runners take part.

Black and white Grandma's Marathon
Garry Bjorklund won his second Grandma's Marathon in Duluth in 1980. The race grew from 160 participants the first year in 1977 to about 3,000 in 1980.
Courtesy of Grandma's Marathon

The shorter races have always been popular, Schneider added. But he said the interest in the full 26.2 mile distance, in which participants run (or jog) along the shore of Lake Superior between Two Harbors, Minn. and Duluth, is going up and up.

“To see the marathon at the level it is means that a lot of people are making that commitment to themselves to run the longer distance,” said Schneider.

People who still want to run next year’s marathon can still sign up for a charity bib. Participants run on behalf of one of 68 charities that have fundraising minimums between $250 and $1,000. Runners can pay it themselves or gather donations.

“We're excited about that because an early sellout means there is demand there,” said Schneider. “Hopefully this passes on to [benefit] our charity partners.”