Record-Breaking Participation, Results Highlight 48th Annual Grandma’s Marathon

Over 7,500 unofficial marathon finishers

DULUTH, Minn.- Saturday’s rain failed to put a damper on the excitement surrounding the 48th annual Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth.

For a record sixth time in the history of Grandma’s Marathon, Elisha Barno of Kenya crossed the finish line a winner.

“I’m very happy, like I’ve done something very important in my life,” Barno said after the race. The 39-year-old has had success in other races like in Los Angeles and the Twin Cities, but for Barno, nothing compares to racing in Duluth.

“Grandma’s is my favorite,” he admitted. “When I come to Grandma’s, I am running very well, I am winning.”

In the women’s race, Volha “Olga” Mazuronak of Belarus won with over six minutes to spare. Not only is this her first time winning in Duluth; it was the first time she’s ever run Grandma’s Marathon.

“My friend Nina runs this marathon,” Mazuronak explained “(She told) me ‘Olga, Grandma’s Marathon is very nice.'”

Mazuronak’s time of 2:23:52 was 34 seconds faster than the previous record set by Kellyn Taylor in 2018. For Mazuronak, winning and breaking a record was a surprise, but a welcome one.

“This course is very nice for results. I see today, I watch today.” she chuckled.

In the wheelchair division, Luis Francisco Sanclemente of Colombia faced stiff competition, winning by 17 seconds with a time of 1:22:07. 25 minutes later, Mexico’s Ivonne Reyes Gomez won the women’s wheelchair race at 51 years old, claiming her second Grandma’s Marathon title in four years.

In the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, even more records were broken, starting with Tebello Ramakongoana of Lesotho crossing the finish line at 1:00:17, which took down Meb Keflezighi’s 11-year record by over a minute.

“I think it’s my training that helped me to break the course record and also to set my personal best,” Ramakongoana explained. All despite running in weather not quite to his liking. “I didn’t like the conditions because I hate coldness. When it’s cold my body, it didn’t respond well.”

On the women’s side, Annie Frisbie of River Falls came in at 1:07:33, breaking the previous course record by almost two minutes. Dakota Lindwurm wasn’t far behind, claiming the second fastest women’s time in the race’s history.

“I could tell Dakotah was like 20 meters behind me so I was actually running with a little bit of fear, especially in the middle of the race,” said Frisbie. “I was like, Dakotah’s gonna get me in these middle miles. So, I was happy to come out of that sort of fear racing mindset and come back around and feel the confidence again towards the end of the race.”

“We did not have a plan on who was going to take the win here,” Lindwurm laughed. “I did tell her on the start line I thought there was a 99 percent chance that she’d beat me.”

Lindwurm — who will run the marathon for team USA in the Summer Olympics — trains with Frisbie as part of Minnesota Distance Elite.  For them, it didn’t matter who was going to win, as long as they both finished in the top two.

“We push each other a lot in training and in races,” Frisbie said. “I think on race day we both know that we’re ready and it could be anyone’s day.”

“I knew in order for me to win, it was really going to come down to if Annie had a rough day, but she always hits it out of the park,” said Lindwurm. “When you’re teammates and you’re friends, a win for her feels like a win for me.”

This year’s marathon had an unofficial 7,525 finishers, breaking 2016’s record of 7,518 finishers. In total, over 17,500 runners took part in Grandma’s Marathon, which is also a record.

Click this link for the full results of Saturday’s marathon.