My marathons

Grandma's Marathon

07:457:45 AM Duluth
Aerial Lift Bridge
Aerial Lift Bridge. Photograph by Mfield, Matthew Field, http://www.photography.mattfield.com, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The marathon is a point-to-point course that starts north of Duluth near Two Harbors, runs along Scenic Highway 61 beside Lake Superior, then goes through downtown Duluth to finish in Canal Park.

The course in short 3 lines
  • From Two Harbors to Canal Park along the lakePoint to point: Two Harbors to Canal Park, mostly on Scenic Highway 61 by the lake.
  • A net downhill of about 40 metresStart about 226 m, finish about 186 m, by the organiser's own table.
  • A late rise between mile 19 and mile 21About 14 m of climbing from mile 19 to mile 21, then downhill to the finish.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GeometryFrom Two Harbors to Canal Park along the lakePoint to point: Two Harbors to Canal Park, mostly on Scenic Highway 61 by the lake.

The organiser describes a “picturesque, point-to-point 26.2-mile stretch along the beautiful shores of Lake Superior”, starting north of Duluth near Two Harbors and “hugging the shores of Lake Superior” on Scenic Highway 61. The road then takes runners through the heart of downtown Duluth to the finish in historic Canal Park.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2GradientA net downhill of about 40 metresStart about 226 m, finish about 186 m, by the organiser's own table.

The organiser calls the course “rolling hills and a net downhill elevation” and publishes an elevation for every mile marker, noting that the figures are approximate and relative to sea level. Mile by mile the road is not a straight slide: the biggest single-mile drop in that table is 57 feet (about 17 m) between mile 9 and mile 10, and there are short rises in between. The table totals the whole course at minus 130 feet.

Sourced

km 30.6 to 33.8GradientA late rise between mile 19 and mile 21About 14 m of climbing from mile 19 to mile 21, then downhill to the finish.

The table shows 625 feet at mile 19, 655 at mile 20 and 672 at mile 21, a rise of 47 feet (about 14 m) over those two miles. After mile 21 the table reads 651, 657, 645, 636 and 611 feet at the mile 26 marker, and 610 feet at the finish, so from mile 21 to the finish the road loses 62 feet (about 19 m) with one small rise in the middle.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Duluth, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
cut-off
7:00 h

Race week

Timetable

Saturday 19 June Race day

  1. Time not published

    Time limit The time limit is 7 hours, a minimum pace of about 16:00 per mile. A race vehicle drives the course at the 7-hour pace. 7:00 limit: 9:57/km for 42.195 km7:00 limit: 16:01/mi for 26.2 mi
Other races (3)

  1. 07:357:35 AM

    Wheelchair and adaptive start Start time as published on the organiser's 2027 race details.

  2. 07:407:40 AM

    Men's elite and semi-elite start Start time as published on the organiser's 2027 race details.

  3. 07:457:45 AM

    Women's elite and semi-elite start, and citizens start Citizen runners are assigned a start corral ahead of race day; the organiser will announce specific start times for the corrals after the assignments are made.

Times as published by the organiser, in Duluth time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Duluth time

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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