Above: Cook County residents took part in all of the Grandma’s Marathon events, from the full 26-mile marathon to the William A. Irvin 5K. Many family members ran together, such as this group— Shaunna Wood, her nephew Trent Spry, her mom Sharon Olson and her brother Darren Waha. Trent’s parents, Paul and Jenny Spry ran the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon together too. Left: Sasha Falk of Grand Marais (middle) had a great first-ever Grandma’s Half Marathon. She ran with her dad, Mark Falk. They got some encouragement from fellow half-marathoner and friend Beth Foster (left).
For runners, the 37th running of Grandma’s Marathon and the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon were nearly perfect. With temps in the high 40s, a light wind at their backs and some intermittent sprinkles, runners didn’t have to worry about overheating.
But for spectators and those helping, it was downright cold!
More than 30 Cook County residents participated with 6,627 runners in the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon. Of those, 2,723 men and 3,904 women finished. The average finishing time among all the runners was 2:08:32.
First across the line for Cook County was Jay Arrowsmith- Decoux, 30, in 1:21:09. Next, Sarrisa Falk ran with her high school coach, Chris Hegg, 61, for 10 miles then took off, finishing in 1:34:26 to Hegg’s excellent time of 1:35:20.
Brian Silence, 53, was in at 1:44:42 while Charlie Helbling, 51, a former St. Olaf college cross country captain, was very happy with his finishing time of 1:45:58.
Laurie Senty, 53, back from a long injury, and daughter Kelly Senty, 29, who at this time last year was getting ready to have a baby, held hands across the line in 1:48:28.
Karen Blackburn, 46, wasn’t far behind her sister-in-law and niece in 1:53:16, while Ben Seaton, 18, ran 1:55:51. Stephanie Radloff, 26 and Chad Goodale, 32, finished in 1:56:16 and 1:56:45.
Paul and Jennifer Spry of Grand Portage ran the half marathon together, finishing at 2:00:43 for Jenny and 2:00:44 for Paul. They crossed the finish line hand in hand.
Matea Acero, 15, and fellow track mate Morgan Weyrens- Welch, 15, finished together in 2:02:05. Rose Ingebrigsten, 18, was in the chute at 2:05:21 while hot on her heels was David Gilmore, 51, 2:06:28 and Jeanne Smith, 36, 2:06:42.
Lutsen runners Amity Goettl, 33, and Marie Nordahl, 22, had good races, finishing in 2:00:45 and 2:07:39 respectively. Hovland runner Jennifer Swanson, 27, finished in 2:13:43.
Carl Foster, 50, trotted across the line in 2:08:43 while Amy Lacina, 36, finished in 2:31:01 and Leah Carpenter, 48, who didn’t think she could run the whole way but did—finished in 2:31:59.
Suzie Geatz, 43, of Tofte, finished in 2:23:04. Danielle Hanson, 16, and Paul Hansen, 47, of Tofte finished in 2:33:15 and 2:33:56 respectively.
Cheyene Sorlie, 21, ran 2:42:46 and Beth Foster, 44, crossed the line in 2:50:02. Father and daughter Mark, 46, and Sasha Falk, 22, finished holding hands in 2:51:22.
“I was really proud of Sasha,” said Mark, noting his daughter had a long stretch of medical problems that stopped her from training. “As far as Sarissa, she had a great race. It was nice of Chris to pace her. He said she looked great when she took off.”
Grandma’s Marathon
If 13.1 miles is a long way to run, 26 miles 385 yards seems like it’s three times as far to go. With the fog and rain and cool temps, some runners did have to worry about becoming hypothermic, but most everybody looked good coming across the line.
Joe Stasney, 57, of Schroeder was the first Cook County finisher in the full marathon, crossing the finish line at 3:45:13.
Mark Abrahamson, 58, finished in an excellent time of 3:50:31, not too far off from qualifying for Boston.
Christopher Shannon Skidlum (Skid, for short) proved that he’s not only a great skateboarder but also an able marathoner, especially for someone as tall and broad as he is, by finishing in 4:24:26.
Brothers Derek Smith, 25, and Rusty Day, 15, weren’t far behind Skid with their great finishes in 4:25:01 and 4:25:09.
Ahna Schulte, 23, of Grand Marais finished the 26.2 miles in 4:10:27. Maybe the toughest runner of the bunch, or most determined, was Shelly Norman, 54, who ran with an injured (broken) ankle and finished in 6:18:14.
All in all 3,272 men and 2,343 women finished the 37th annual Grandma’s Marathon with an average time of 4:12:38.
William A. Irvin 5 K
The night before the half and full marathon, the William A. Irvin 5K race is held in and around Canal Park. This year 1,652 runners took part in the 5K.
Husband and wife Joe and Kris Buttweiler, 34, of Lutsen ran the 3.1-mile race in 25:46 for Joe and 34:32 for Kris.
Shaunna Wood, 40, of Grand Portage ran with her nephew Trent Spry, 11, and finished in 32:17. Her mom Sharon Olson, 57, finished in 34:03.
Former Cook County High School runner Darren Waha, 20, listing his new hometown as Duluth, finished with a nice time of 23:48.
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