(DULUTH, MINN.) — With more than 20,000 runners set to participate, all three races for the 2022 Grandma’s Marathon weekend are officially sold out, it was announced today.
It’s the first sellout since 2016 for the event, which returns this year to a full-scale race weekend after a cancellation in 2020 and half capacity restriction in 2021.
“This will be one of the biggest fields ever for Grandma’s Marathon,” Executive Director Shane Bauer said. “That’s a great thing coming out of a pandemic, especially considering our organization’s mission around health and wellness. The economic impact of our event on the region gets a lot of attention, and it should. Really, though, the immeasurable impacts on each individual involved – from both a physical and mental standpoint – we think should be talked about more.”
Each year, Grandma’s Marathon weekend creates a nearly $21 million economic boom for Duluth and the surrounding areas. This year’s event will be held June 16-18 and is presented by Toyota, Members Cooperative Credit Union, and ASICS.
ABOUT GRANDMA’S MARATHON
Grandma’s Marathon began in 1977 when a group of local runners planned a scenic road race from Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota. There were just 150 participants that year, but organizers knew they had discovered something special. Grandma’s Marathon weekend draws more than 20,000 participants for its three-race event each June.
The race got its name from the Duluth-based group of famous Grandma’s Restaurants, the first major sponsor of the marathon. Over time, the level of sponsorship with the restaurants changed, but the name stayed the same. Grandma’s Marathon-Duluth, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization with a 17-member Board of Directors and a nine-person, full-time staff.
