Grandma's Marathon of Duluth is widely known as one of the most innovative marathons in the country. Already billed as the most runner-friendly marathon, Grandma's has now added another exciting element to the local and regional running scene, the Grandma's Minnesota Mile Race Series.
The first of the two Minnesota Mile races was held last Wednesday in St. Paul and was impressive, to say the least, with hundreds of runners entered and a wild finish to the men's race.
Just four seconds separated the top four runners in the men's race as Brad Lowery of Bloomington, Minn., held off all challengers to win the event. Lowery, 24, edged Ryan Kleimenhagen of Minneapolis by one second to win the first place purse of $1,250. Lowery won with a time of 4:10.
Jenelle Deatherage, 29, was the winner of the women's division finishing in 4:46, which was three seconds faster than Katie McGregor. McGregor is formerly of the Duluth area.
The second race in the two-race series will take place in Duluth on Sunday, Sept. 9. The race will be run in downtown Duluth.
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The first 250 people who registered for the race in St. Paul received guaranteed entry into the 2008 Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon next June in Duluth and the same deal will take place in Duluth in September for the first 250 entrants registered.
Entry forms are available by going online at www.grandmasmarathon.com .
