Lynn Flatt's Staging Area

Never experienced a race as awful as this one. You run by a sewage treatment plant not once.. but twice!!! Double the fun on the run. We ran by the ocean for an extremely short amount of time. This was not traffic restricted, and while most motorists were respectful of the runners, I certainly encountered some that were not. Ran out of water cups toward the end of the race. I had to pay extra for a race shirt, breakfast burrito (soggy and gross)..I would not recommend this race.

This race is super challenging. Rolling hills, gravel/dirt road for several miles. The trade off is gorgeous scenery and a nice finisher medal. The post race party was non-existent. When I finished everything had been eaten and drank, not even a cup of coffee to be had. Fortunately my family accompanied me and brought money so I could get a hot drink at a coffee shop down the street. What a bummer. This was a one and done for me!

Get ready for amazing scenery, perfect weather, amazing race vibes and a fun after party! Duluth brings a heavy hitter with their famous Grandma’s Marathon. I ran the Garry Bjorklund half and it is a smooth operation. The porta potties stretch out at the start for a half mile plus. But they are still packed!!! This is the one flaw of the race. Make sure you get in line for one right away. The coolest thing is you can hear the waves crashing from Lake Superior as you use the potty. Which is a nice unadvertised feature.
The race has huge balloons at every mile marker, yellow for the full and green for the half. Little cheerleaders in the sky, cheering you on to the next balloon and eventually the finish.
I ran the great grandma’s challenge and ran the 5k the night before. It was smooth, beautiful and a fun race. We received a nice high quality jacket for doing the challenge. I also ate at the Michellina’s all you can eat past dinner at the race expo. It was good food and convenient! Make sure you go to the expo on Thursday if you like to buy any race gear. By Thursday evening the hats and other long sleeve branded merchandise was completely sold out.

I loved this race! The expo was quaint and friendly. One unique aspect is a hot printing press at the expo, to customize your purchased race gear! I have never seen that, through all of my travels. I bought a 1/2 zip, finisher muscle tank and a head band. The race itself started right on time, and parking was plentiful @ the Garmin Headquarters. The elevation aspect of the race could be challenging if you don’t train hills (900 feet total elevation gain- mostly on the back half of the marathon). The cheer stations were sparse at the end, but you’re running with your heart at that point. The finisher medals are top notch. There was also massage at the finish. One complaint is that by the time the marathoners finish, a lot of the post race amenities are gone. There were no pickles or margaritas. Next year, I will return to run the half marathon, and see what experience that is.

The race was a lovely change of weather, compared to the Polar Vortex of the north. The race has to change the route due to a golf championship that was occurring in the same area. My question is – as a race director, how do you not know that a huge event is happening that will affect your race? The course was moved to a soccer complex, and we ran 3 loops around this complex to come up with a half marathon distance. The course had some shade, but a lot of it was in direct sunlight- which makes it intense anywhere, but even more so in S Florida. As I crossed the finish line, my husband was waiting for me with the results. Mine were nowhere to be found. Apparently the chip on my bib was never activated. The good news is that they had the time I crossed the start and the time I crossed the finish due to some good video work, so they were able to get my time – but how disappointing to think after I ran a 6+ minute PR – that it wouldn’t even be recorded. The finish had nice medals (no date on them, which is frustrating- I really like the date on the medal). The finish Lin water had no ice and was hot, they had bagels with peanut butter (allergic) and bananas. I could have really used a beer😆 So we left. The finish chute was neat with music and a long line to come down and have your family cheer you on. Good, ample parking. Plenty of restrooms for this size of race at the start. The shirt selection was nice- I chose a tank top and wore it after the race. They also included a drawstring athletic backpack, and it has zippered compartments which I like too. Packet pickup was easy, and at a local running store. The running store had really good sales on their apparel and I stocked up! All in all a good experience – not great- but I was so happy to run in heat without snow, and to PR my half so early in the year!

The Garry Bjorklund Half was my first race in Minnesota. My husband flew me into Duluth, into the cleanest and smallest airport. We went directly to the race expo and I was pleasantly surprised! There were several vendors and booths set up, along with a humongous pasta party. My family and I ate there, and it was really good! I went to the expo on Friday, and sadly the majority of all race branded Lululemon gear was sold out. When I return in 2019 to run, we are going to get to the expo on opening day. Side note: we are going to use the race camping area and take our Winnebago, which should be exciting! The race itself was wayyyyy better than I could have imagined. The race temps dropped so low, I could see my breath during the last several miles. Perfect for a June race! There was so much crowd support!! I have such fond memories of running into the downtown once over and through the Lemon Drop Hill (which If you train hills, you won’t notice this speed bump😉). I loved the huge yellow balloons for the mile markers, there were so lovely hanging there in the sky, beckoning you to begin a new journey on this new and fresh mile you are entering. The finishers shirt was nice, a pretty bright sky blue with gender specific cuts. The medal was very high quality and actually featured the beautiful trees of Duluth. My medal had the paint chipping off of it- but when I reached out to the race after the fact, without hesitation they replaced it with a fresh medal with an intact logo and paint. It was extremely foggy and there was severe flooding the weekend I was there, so I can’t comment much on the view of the lake (as I did not ever get to fully see it!!). I will be back in 2019 to try this race again!

The volunteers seemed clueless. The course was ‘ok.’ It was so hot, Runners were vomiting mid stride and passing out.
I will say that the pre race tent was amazing and worth every penny.

I live along this course, and run these routes all of the time. That being said, it’s super hot, on blacktop with no tree cover. Aid stations were sparse. You will encounter a lot of headwinds. Start slow, you’re going to need the energy left in the tank. The course is long, the swag is next to none. You’re doing this race for the cause, because you’re local or for a good workout.