The 41st running of Grandma’s Marathon went off without a hitch, although with temps climbing into the low 70s and some humidity it could have been a bit cooler and less balmy for the 6,441 finishers.
The average finishing time was four hours 31 minutes and 42 seconds (4:31:42), with 3,509 men and 2,932 women completing the race.
Locally, Jan Horak, age 68, from Tofte, completed his marathon in a little bit over 6 hours. Horak, an iron man with true grit, race walks the event, and has completed more than 25 Grandma’s marathons.
“I was 30 minutes faster this year than last year. But last year I took my wife’s (Kathy) yoga class the day before the race and it almost killed me. I was so sore I could barely move. No yoga for me this year,” said Jan with a big smile as he tipped back a cool one and headed off to parts unknown.
Gavin Danfelt Martin, formerly from Hovand, placed 604 with a fine time of 3:21:5.
Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon
Half marathoners start earlier than the marathon runners, taking off at 6:15 a.m. but this year they also experienced some heat and humidity, which slowed many athletes as they made their way to the finish line. Nonetheless, many Cook County residents ran good times, and all seemed to be having a great time at the end of the race.
Emma Spoon, age 27, Grand Marais, finished 32nd in the women’s field with a time of 1:25. Emma actually ran faster at the Ham Lake Half, which is a much tougher, slower course.
Tyler Lange, Grand Marais, 28, placed 335 with a time of 1:34:28. Gregory Gulan, Tofte, 44, placed 485, in 1:38:17. Steve Hoaglund, 30, Tofte, placed 1,039 in 1:48:55. Trent Spry, 15, Grand Portage, placed 2,260 in 2:00:35. Jennifer Spry, 37, Grand Portage, placed 2,500 in 203:07. Scott Bergstrom, 60, Grand Marais, placed 3,015 in 2:08:01. Bill Simonowicz, Grand Marais placed 3,142 in 2:09:14. Hannah Hoaglund, 32, Tofte, placed 4,818 in 2:25:02. Bailey Wolding, 21, placed 4828 in 2:25:07. Cathleen Nevers, 60, Grand Marais, placed 4,991 in 2:26:52. Paul Spry, 42, Grand Portage, placed 6,328 in 2:47:17.
In a side note, Jim Joynes, owner of Joynes Ben Franklin and his children Madi and Ryan and his wife Shani, also completed the half marathon. Jim, 52, finished in 1:53:20; Ryan, 22, was across the line in 1:55:17, Shanie, 46, ran 1:57:54 and Maddie, 20, finished in 2:23:26
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