Modest Beginnings For A Huge Event

This weekend’s 34^th running of Grandma’s Marathon and all the other races and events will draw thousands of runners and spectators to the Duluth area.  It provides a huge economic boost to the entire region and continues to be the biggest event of the year.  I can still recall the modest beginnings of the race, started by a group of running enthusiasts called the North Shore Striders in 1977.  That year there were 150 entrants in the marathon and 116 finished the race, a far cry from the 9,500 runners that participated in recent years.  That number has decreased a bit in 2010, but the associated races such as the William Irvin 5-k and the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon are more popular than ever and continue to reach their runner limits every year. By the way, the winner of that first Grandma’s Marathon in 1977 was Garry Bjorklund who won the race again in 1980.  Congratulations to all of the runners this weekend and to the thousands of volunteers who make Grandma’s one of the top marathons in the country.