Cook County News Herald

Locals challenge themselves in Grandma’s Marathon and Half Marathon





A hearty group of runners participated in the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in Duluth on Saturday, June 16 in honor of County Attorney Tim Scannell’s triumphant recovery after the courthouse shooting in December. The team was conceived and organized by Assistant County Attorney Molly Hicken. Back row, L-R: Kerrie Fabius, Molly Hicken, Mary Hicken, Liza Hicken, Jeff Hicken, Dave Gilmore, Kyle Oberg. Front row, L-R: Theresa Oberg, Amy Lacina, Jeanne Smith, Jamie Block. Also on the team were Hilja Iverson, Kaja Yirkovsky, Aimee Venne, Brian Silence, Chris Hegg, Alex Hegg, Tony Hegg, Mark Falk, Kieran Scannell, Lynn Swanson, Monica Schnobrich and Tim Scannell. Their support team consisted of Ann Hegg, CeCe Schnobrich, and Lars Scannell.

A hearty group of runners participated in the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in Duluth on Saturday, June 16 in honor of County Attorney Tim Scannell’s triumphant recovery after the courthouse shooting in December. The team was conceived and organized by Assistant County Attorney Molly Hicken. Back row, L-R: Kerrie Fabius, Molly Hicken, Mary Hicken, Liza Hicken, Jeff Hicken, Dave Gilmore, Kyle Oberg. Front row, L-R: Theresa Oberg, Amy Lacina, Jeanne Smith, Jamie Block. Also on the team were Hilja Iverson, Kaja Yirkovsky, Aimee Venne, Brian Silence, Chris Hegg, Alex Hegg, Tony Hegg, Mark Falk, Kieran Scannell, Lynn Swanson, Monica Schnobrich and Tim Scannell. Their support team consisted of Ann Hegg, CeCe Schnobrich, and Lars Scannell.

Twenty-three Cook County residents competed in the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon held Saturday, June 16 in Duluth, while eight Cook County residents completed the longer Grandma’s Marathon race.

The day was perfect for running with temperatures in the low 60s and a slight breeze at the runner’s backs.

Lucas Will, 31, Grand Marais, was the fastest local finisher in the 26 mile 385 yard marathon with a time of 3:50:58.

Not far behind Lucas was Mark Falk, 45, in 4:15.49. Ben Larson, 25, finished in 4:34:07 while Joey Pederson was across the line in 4:54:49. It was the first marathon for Larson and Pederson, both of Grand Marais.

Jodi Tervo, 32, was done in 5:08:53 with Mark Abrahamson, 57, close behind in 5:11.11. John Manwell, 70, ran a great time of 5:26 while Shelly Norman, 52, completed her third marathon in the last few months in 5:59:33. Jan Horak of Tofte once again completed the marathon, finishing in 6:31:26.

In the half marathon Kieran Scannell, 18, ran the first few miles with his dad, Tim, before taking off and finishing in 1:28:37. Kieran placed 8th in his age group but could have finished much higher had he gone out faster.

Having the best run of any local runner was Chris Hegg, 60, who placed 4th in his age group with a fine time of 1:34:32.

Kerrie Fabius, 33, a great cross country ski racer, proved she doesn’t need skis to cover ground quickly finishing in 1:41:42.

Brian Silence, 52, met his goal by running 1:45:59. Husband and wife Theresa and Kyle Oberg, both 32, finished together in 1:52:27. Ahna Schulte, 22, was just ahead of them in 1:52:13 and not far behind was Julie Collman, 44, in with a fine time of 1:57:40.

Marie Nordahl, Lutsen, 21, broke the vaunted two-hour mark with a time of 1:59:19 with

Cheyenne Sorlie, 20, right behind her in 2:00:37.

Lynn Swanson, 46, finished in 2:02:32, about two and one half minutes faster then she thought she could run. Not too far behind his wife, Lynn, was Tim Scannell, 46, who finished in a very respectable 2:11:46. Monica Schnobrich, 44, ran a fine time of 2:13:07 while Amy Lacina, 35, completed the race in 2:23:18.

Finishing very close together were Jeanne Smith, 35, 2:25:00; Pat Eliasen, 44, 2:25:05; David Gilmore, 50, Paul Spry, 37, and Jessica Berg-Collman, 15, who tied at 2:26:55. Right behind them, Hilja Iverson, 31, finished in 2:31:06 while Molly Hicken, 33, finished in 2:43:10. Ginny Storlie of Lutsen, 71, was in with a great time of 3:08:45.

All told 5,787 runners completed Grandma’s Marathon. There were 3,424 men finishers while 2,363 women completed the race. The average finishing time was 4:21:28.

The Garry Bjorklund half-marathon had 6,483 finishers.

More women than men ran the half, with 3,757 women finishers compared to 2,726 men’s finishers. The average time to complete the 13.1-mile race was 2 hours, 9 minutes and 54 seconds.

Mark Falk said, “I didn’t finish where I wanted to, but it was a great day, just a great event. I had to walk some the last 8 miles because of soreness in my left calf, but I didn’t have any soreness the next day. The volunteers on the course were great. Maybe next time I can run faster. Someday I would like to qualify for Boston, at least before I turn 50.”

Overcoming the biggest odds just to get to the starting line was Tim Scannell, Cook County attorney who was wounded six months ago in a shooting at the courthouse. Scannell has been on the mend ever since and trained hard with a group of supporters for this race.

“I am just glad, considering where I started, that I was able to get in shape and finish the race. I couldn’t have done it without the help and support of so many people, starting with Molly (Hicken), (Attorney) John Lillie and (Bailiff) Gary Radloff, and on to the deputies and first responders and EMTs and ambulance crew and emergency room docs and nurses in both Grand Marais and Duluth—and of course my family and friends and community. Six months, and all because of their love and care and support. …. The race was a good marker of that time. A positive step into the future.”


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