Grandmas Marathon:

This is one of my favorite marathons. i ran it in 2002 and 2006. Both times my personal time was not the best. In 2002 I pulled my hamstring about mile 12 and limped to the finish line in a little over 5 hours. At mile 20 I had a few shots of beer which gave me a little energy. Overall the thing I love about Grandmas is the crowd support, the whole entire town comes out. It is also fun watching the college students from UMD tailgating and getting trashed while you are running. It is also great to look at Lake Superior as you run. The course is hillier than it appears. This year the weather was a little hot. In 2002 it was around 50 the whole time, but this year there was little cloud cover except for a couple scattered thunderstorms. It was hot, and I think that harmed my time. I also learned a little bit about the value of training. For NYC in 07 I was pushing 40 mile weeks and for grandmas I was pushing 20-30 mile weeks. Training is hard at the beginning of the summer.

One thing about Grandmas is that unlike NY were they give you a bag with an apple and a powerbar at the finish line, Grandmas ends at a beer tent and they even give you a ticket for a free beer. That is great. I really think creating the party atmosphere at the finish line is one of the highlights of grandmas.