Yesterday, Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., announced another interesting partnership – the Great Lakes Marathon Series.
The Great Lakes Marathon Series is a collaboration of 25 marathons in the U.S. and Canada that take place along North America’s five Great Lakes.
The group has partnered with the Alliance for the Great Lakes – a four-star rated independent citizens organization devoted to the Great Lakes’ ecosystem and economies – to raise awareness of conservation and restoration efforts.
By partnering with the Alliance for the Great Lakes, the series’ goal is to invite the running world to enjoy the unique beauty of the individual races, while simultaneously raising awareness and funds needed to protect all five of the Great Lakes.
Participants will receive awards at various benchmarks throughout the series along with a grand prize after completion of all 25 races, regardless of how many years needed to complete the entire marathon tour. Registration for the Great Lakes Marathon Series itself is available at [above link] and is free to all those interested.
Runners will be required to pay each individual marathon entry fee in order to participate, and signing up for the Great Lakes Marathon Series does not guarantee entry into any race. Also, only participation in races in 2013 and future years will be recognized as part of the Great Lakes Marathon Series.
The first marathon in the series is the Medical Mutual Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio, on April 28, 2013. Registration is currently available for this race, and registrants who use the promotion code “water” and register before March 31 will receive a $10 discount. The last marathon in the series this year will take place on November 3, at the Hamilton Marathon in Ontario.
The one notable exception to the list of 25 participating marathons is the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon. I emailed Jon Mueller, the new MLM race director for 2013, to ask him about this. As of this posting, I had not yet heard back from him.
The Great Lakes Marathon Series is the second such announcement from Grandma's this year. In January they announced a collaboration with Twin Cities Marathon and the American Birkebeiner to create the Upper Midwest Endurance Challenge.
The Series concept is not entirely new to upper midwest runners. The Upper Midwest Trail Runners, for instance, host a Trail Series with races of varying distances.
Locally-owned Minnesota running store, TC Running Company, hosts the Endless Summer Trail Run Series, with four races at different Twin Cities parks. Race distances from 5K to 7 Miles.
The Minnesota Distance Running Association (MDRA) hosts a Grand Prix series every year for members. The Grand Prix schedule features races throughout the year including one indoor track meet, a cross country race and numerous road races. With race distances from 1 mile (indoor track and road race) to marathon (Grandma's and TCM), the Series is challenging and fun.
The United States Track & Field Association, Minnesota (USATF-MN) hosts a Team Circuit for its members (who also need to be part of USATF-MN registered teams) every year including road races from 1-mile to the marathon.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Long Run(ning Stories)
I'm a fan of long-form journalism. I've always enjoyed reading well-researched, in-depth articles on topics that matter to me. Recently, two such running-related articles caught my attention.
"After the Mile" in The New York Times
Tim Danielson was among an exclusive group of runners who had broken the elusive four-minute barrier. Now he is a runner shackled, charged with killing his ex-wife.
...
On June 11, 1966, competing at Balboa Stadium, where the San Diego Chargers and the Beatles had performed, Danielson became the second American high school athlete to run a mile under four minutes. It was an achievement so extraordinary that only three prep milers have done it since, running four laps around a track, averaging less than a minute per lap.
...
(Read the entire story at the link above.)
"Becoming the All-Terrain Human" in The New York Times Magazine
Kilian Jornet, who has won dozens of mountain footraces up to 100 miles in length and six world titles in Skyrunning.
Kilian Jornet Burgada is the most dominating endurance athlete of his generation. In just eight years, Jornet has won more than 80 races, claimed some 16 titles and set at least a dozen speed records, many of them in distances that would require the rest of us to purchase an airplane ticket. He has run across entire landmasses (Corsica) and mountain ranges (the Pyrenees), nearly without pause. He regularly runs all day eating only wild berries and drinking only from streams. ...
(Read the rest of the article at the link above.)
 |
| Tim Danielson NYTimes.com |
Tim Danielson was among an exclusive group of runners who had broken the elusive four-minute barrier. Now he is a runner shackled, charged with killing his ex-wife.
...
On June 11, 1966, competing at Balboa Stadium, where the San Diego Chargers and the Beatles had performed, Danielson became the second American high school athlete to run a mile under four minutes. It was an achievement so extraordinary that only three prep milers have done it since, running four laps around a track, averaging less than a minute per lap.
...
(Read the entire story at the link above.)
"Becoming the All-Terrain Human" in The New York Times Magazine
Kilian Jornet, who has won dozens of mountain footraces up to 100 miles in length and six world titles in Skyrunning.
 |
| Kilian Jornet NYTimes.com |
Kilian Jornet Burgada is the most dominating endurance athlete of his generation. In just eight years, Jornet has won more than 80 races, claimed some 16 titles and set at least a dozen speed records, many of them in distances that would require the rest of us to purchase an airplane ticket. He has run across entire landmasses (Corsica) and mountain ranges (the Pyrenees), nearly without pause. He regularly runs all day eating only wild berries and drinking only from streams. ...
(Read the rest of the article at the link above.)
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Luck of the Irish Ladies' Night at TC Running Company
This popped up in my email yesterday. What a fun idea!
Running, shopping, door prizes, massages, food & drinks? What's NOT to like?
And for those of you who like to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day all weekend, this should make for a GREAT kick-off event!
Store Manager Kurt Decker says the prizes will include "Lots of cool stuff," including a Nike GPS watch, "many pairs of shoes," and some clothing items. They'll also be giving away free race entries.
For those not quite lucky enough to win shoes or clothing, there will be store discounts all evening!
Massages will be courtesy of Future Concepts Studio + Spa, a mall neighbor of TC Running Company.
For directions to the festivities, see TC Running Company's website.
Running, shopping, door prizes, massages, food & drinks? What's NOT to like?
And for those of you who like to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day all weekend, this should make for a GREAT kick-off event!
The run will be a fun run suitable for everyone.
Store Manager Kurt Decker says the prizes will include "Lots of cool stuff," including a Nike GPS watch, "many pairs of shoes," and some clothing items. They'll also be giving away free race entries.
For those not quite lucky enough to win shoes or clothing, there will be store discounts all evening!
Massages will be courtesy of Future Concepts Studio + Spa, a mall neighbor of TC Running Company.
For directions to the festivities, see TC Running Company's website.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Rocky Mountain High on the Prairie
Yesterday, the Colorado Running Hall of Fame announced the inductees to their 2013 class.
Three of the athletes have impressive running histories in Minnesota as well.
Jane Welzel was the National Marathon Champion (2:33:25) in 1990 (Grandma's Marathon, Duluth, Minnesota). She also won Grandma's in 1992 (2:33:01, a personal best). She has the distinction of being one of three women who are five-time U.S. Olympic Women's Marathon Trials qualifier (1984, '88, '92, '96, '00). The others are Julie Peterson and Minnesotan Janice Ettle. Only Minnesotan Bev Docherty completed the first six Trials (1984-2004).
Jay Johnson, who grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota, ran the 1977 Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Hurley, Wisconsin, when he was just a high school student. He ran a very impressive 2:28:45. Coincidentally, Minnesota-born Dick Beardsley ran his first marathon (2:47:14) at the 1977 Paavo Nurmi.
Doug Bell holds a number of Minnesota road racing records spanning more than a quarter century of racing.
Minnesota Age Group Records
Minnesota Single Age Records
Doug Bell's race records are courtesy of the Minnesota Data Running Center.
Three of the athletes have impressive running histories in Minnesota as well.
 |
| Jane Welzel |
 |
| Doug Bell (photo: Juan Leal) |
Jay Johnson, who grew up in Lakeville, Minnesota, ran the 1977 Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Hurley, Wisconsin, when he was just a high school student. He ran a very impressive 2:28:45. Coincidentally, Minnesota-born Dick Beardsley ran his first marathon (2:47:14) at the 1977 Paavo Nurmi.
Doug Bell holds a number of Minnesota road racing records spanning more than a quarter century of racing.
Minnesota Age Group Records
| Age Group |
Distance
|
Rank
|
Time
|
Age
|
Date
|
Race
|
| 40-44 |
5K
|
#1
|
14:36
|
41
|
10-3-92
|
TCM 5K
|
13.1 Mile
|
#2
|
1:08:43
|
41
|
9-13-92
|
City of Lakes 25K
(split)
|
|
| 50-54 |
5K
|
#1
|
15:51
|
51
|
8-4-02
|
Hennepin Lake Classic
|
55-59
|
5K
|
#1
|
16:18
|
56
|
8-5-07
|
Hennepin Lake Classic
|
Minnesota Single Age Records
Age
|
Time
|
Date
|
Race
|
|
| 5K |
39
|
14:43
|
10-13-90
|
TCM 5K
|
41
|
14:36
|
10-3-92
|
TCM 5K
| |
47
|
15:42
|
7-19-98
|
Race for Action
| |
51
|
15:51
|
8-4-02
|
Hennepin Lake Classic
| |
56
|
16:18
|
8-5-07
|
Hennepin Lake Classic
|
|
| 8K |
36
|
23:42
|
3-15-87
|
Saint Patrick's Day 5 Mile
|
| 10 Mile |
48
|
54:50
|
10-3-99
|
TC-10 Mile
|
| 13.1 Mile |
41
|
1:08:43
|
9-13-92
|
City of Lakes 25K (split)
|
| 25K |
41
|
1:21:24
|
9-13-92
|
City of Lakes 25K
|
Doug Bell's race records are courtesy of the Minnesota Data Running Center.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Like Mother, Like Daughter: Beth Heiden Reid & Joanne Reid
When Colorado Bulldog Senior Joanne Reid won the women's 15-kilometer freestyle mass start at the 2013 NCAA Skiing Championships yesterday, it was even more momentous than handily claiming a national title.
Almost exactly 30 years earlier, Reid's mother, Beth Heiden Reid, earned the first-ever NCAA nordic skiing championship crown for women (individual 7.5K freestyle cross country.) Joanne's victory yesterday was at Rikert Nordic Center (the home course for Middlebury College in Vermont.)
As I was growing up in the Milwaukee area in the 1970s to mid 1980s, I couldn't help but follow speedskating. According to the Pettit National Ice Center website: "Starting in 1967 with the outdoor Olympic Ice Rink at Wisconsin State Fair Park, Milwaukee has served as the center of U.S. speedskating. The old outdoor Oval not only gave birth to U.S. Speedskating, but also paved the way for the state of the art Pettit National Ice Center which opened in 1992."
Eric Heiden was a big star of the sport at that time. But his sister Beth was an amazing athlete in her own right. An Olympian (speedskating), World Champion (road bicycling) and NCAA Champion (nordic skiing) she excelled at every sport in which she competed. Cross Country Skiing became an NCAA "co-ed" sport in 1983 – and the always-competitive Beth Heiden promptly took home the first title.
Yesterday, the Colorado Bulldogs also took home the National Team Title. In a somewhat ironic twist, the third place team, Vermont, had led after the first three days of competition but fell to the number three position by the end of the final day.Vermont is Beth Heiden Reid's alma mater.
For more on Beth Heiden Reid:
Beth Heiden's procyclingwomen.com profile
Beth Heiden's wisconsinhistory.org profile
Beth Heiden's University of Vermont Athletics Hall of Fame induction
 |
| Joanne Reid (photo courtesy: Colorado Buffaloes - cubuffs.com) |
Almost exactly 30 years earlier, Reid's mother, Beth Heiden Reid, earned the first-ever NCAA nordic skiing championship crown for women (individual 7.5K freestyle cross country.) Joanne's victory yesterday was at Rikert Nordic Center (the home course for Middlebury College in Vermont.)
As I was growing up in the Milwaukee area in the 1970s to mid 1980s, I couldn't help but follow speedskating. According to the Pettit National Ice Center website: "Starting in 1967 with the outdoor Olympic Ice Rink at Wisconsin State Fair Park, Milwaukee has served as the center of U.S. speedskating. The old outdoor Oval not only gave birth to U.S. Speedskating, but also paved the way for the state of the art Pettit National Ice Center which opened in 1992."
Eric Heiden was a big star of the sport at that time. But his sister Beth was an amazing athlete in her own right. An Olympian (speedskating), World Champion (road bicycling) and NCAA Champion (nordic skiing) she excelled at every sport in which she competed. Cross Country Skiing became an NCAA "co-ed" sport in 1983 – and the always-competitive Beth Heiden promptly took home the first title.
 |
| Beth Heiden (photo courtesy: WisconsinHistory.org) |
Yesterday, the Colorado Bulldogs also took home the National Team Title. In a somewhat ironic twist, the third place team, Vermont, had led after the first three days of competition but fell to the number three position by the end of the final day.Vermont is Beth Heiden Reid's alma mater.
For more on Beth Heiden Reid:
Beth Heiden's procyclingwomen.com profile
Beth Heiden's wisconsinhistory.org profile
Beth Heiden's University of Vermont Athletics Hall of Fame induction
 |
| Beth Heiden (photo courtesy: NationalSpeedSkatingMuseum.org)
|
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