Scherber, Tollefson Finish First in William A. Irvin 5K

Friday's race gave Carrie Tollefson her third straight William A. Irvin 5K win.

DULUTH, Minn. -A record 2,410 runners participated in the 26th annual William A Irvin 5K on Friday afternoon.

The male winner was Matthew Scherber from St. Paul, with a time of 15:24, who participated in the weekend with his track club. This was Scherber’s first time competing in the 5K but he did run the half marathon last year.

“I loved the backstretch, that’s so much fun to just let loose and kind of go as fast as you can down the hills, no worries. The wind was tough back there. Getting on the harbor though, seeing the lake, getting that breeze, cools you off a little bit, that’s also a really fun part,” Scherber said of the 5K course.

The female winner was Carrie Tollefson from st. Paul who finished with a time of 18:11 to give her three straight Irvin 5K wins. Tollefson has a long history of running in Minnesota, winning 13 high school state championships and three national championships as a member of Team USA Minnesota.

Tollfeson will be commentating for the women’s marathon’s Saturday, so she was excited to get the chance to run Friday night.

“Everywhere I travel, all over the world, people know about Grandma’s marathon and I’m just so proud of it. They keep it that small town feel like Duluth can kind of feel and the Minnesota feel and people just love coming here. It’s pretty special. I don’t think I will miss this weekend for many, many years to come,” Tollefson said of Grandma’s weekend.