Popehn & Reichow Vye to Be First Person to Win Grandma’s Half & Full Marathon

The Grandma's Marathon officially begins at 5:50 AM on Saturday.

DULUTH, Minn.- By now, the elite runners are probably resting up for the big race that is the Grandma’s Marathon on Saturday.

But earlier Friday, they had a chance to take questions from the media and even some fans as the annual Elite Athlete Media conference took place at the DECC.

One of the runners taking part was Dakotah Popehn, who’s already had a stellar year.

She competed at the Paris Olympics in August and was also recently married.

Popehn is trying to be the first person to win the full and half Grandma’s Marathon.

“Yeah it’s not easy because it’s such a life changing moment and it’s something you work for for so long. I feel like I’m still processing it forsure and still learning from that race and the way it changed my life and my perspective of running. So it’s been really fun forsure,” said Popehn.

Interestingly enough there’s also a male this year trying to be the first to win the full and half marathon. It’s Joel Reichow, who won the half in 2023.

“I love the experience here so it’s always fun to be a part of. I think for a marathon it does play out well because there’s not too much around this. In Minnesota, it’s a great time for training. Starting to get the nice spring weather. No more snow once you get the hard workouts,” said Reichow.

The Grandma’s Marathon officially begins at 5:50 AM on Saturday.