Docherty Wins Third-Straight Park Point 5-Miler

First-Timer Chelsey Youngberg takes women's race

DULUTH, Minn.- Dan Docherty has secured his third-straight victory of the Park Point 5-Miler, finishing with a time of 24:40 in Thursday night’s race.

Docherty has become the second runner to collect four Park Point 5-Miler, with his first win coming back in 2017. 5-time champion Jeremy Polson is the only runner to have won the 5-Miler more than Docherty.

“My plan was to kind of make it two races,” says Docherty, who also ran in this year’s Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon. “Have three miles where you’re getting into a race and two miles where you really attack and that’s what I did, and it paid off with the win.”

Docherty says his next step will be to break the course record of 24:15, which was set by Steve Hoag in 1975. Docherty came the closest in 2023, finishing just four seconds away from tying the record. “I want to be in better shape, so I just gotta, you know, really put this (race) on the calendar and circle it.”

For the women’s race, Chelsey Youngberg of Duluth crossed the finish in line first with a time of 29:39. Youngberg, the 2023 Fitger’s 5K champion, had never run in the Park Point 5-Miler before Thursday.

“Today was fun,” says Youngberg, who is a former student-athlete for Duluth East and St. Scholastica. “It was hot, but there was a little bit of a breeze, I think it ended up being a side wind. (I) wanted to go out a little bit conservative and kick it in the last few miles, but (the) second female (Maddie Van Beek) kind of went in front of me for the first three (miles) and then I caught her and just tried to stay in front of her, so (I) went out a little bit hotter than I wanted to and was able to hold on.”

In total, 506 runners finished the 5-mile run while 96 competitors finished the 2-mile walk. Click here for a full list of this year’s results.