Star-Studded Fields at 2022 Grandma's Marathon Weekend!

Zach Schneider

 (DULUTH, MINN.) --- Familiar names and world class competition will highlight the 2022 Grandma’s Marathon weekend, with plenty of past champions, event record holders, and Olympic Trials hopefuls among the elite fields across the three races.

Returning champions will highlight both Grandma’s Marathon men’s and women’s fields, as 2021 champions Milton Rotich and Dakotah Lindwurm are each returning to defend their titles. The men’s field will also include 2019 champion Boniface Kongin and Elisha Barno, the only four-time champion in the event’s history with four straight wins from 2015-18.

Both event record holders in the Grandma’s Marathon wheelchair division, meanwhile, are also back this year, with Aaron Pike and Susannah Scaroni each chasing what would be a fourth title in Duluth. 2021 champions JohnBoy Smith and Ivonne Reyes also return this year, helping make up what could be the most exciting wheelchair field in the event’s history.

After the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon did not have an official elite field in 2021, that race returns with a bevy of world-class talent on the roster. The men’s race boasts Kiya Dandena and Joe Moore while the women’s race features Kelsey Bruce and Grace Kahura, all of whom have previous top 5 finishes in this race.

Grandma’s Marathon and the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon are both scheduled to be run on Saturday, June 18, with the individual start times of the races listed below:

• 6:00 a.m. – Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon
• 7:35 a.m. – Grandma’s Marathon Wheelchair
• 7:40 a.m. – Grandma’s Marathon Men’s Elite & Sub-Elite
• 7:45 a.m. – Grandma’s Marathon Women’s Elite & Sub-Elite
• 7:45 a.m. – Grandma’s Marathon Citizen

For any interview requests, please contact Marketing & Public Relations Director Zach Schneider via phone at (218) 343-9874 or via email at zach@grandmasmarathon.com.

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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.