Men’s, Women’s Event Records Fall in 34th Annual Running
(DULUTH, MINN.) — The Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon record books will need an update after Saturday morning, thanks to the fast feet of Tebello Ramakongoana and Annie Frisbie conquering the cool and rainy streets of downtown Duluth.
Ramakongoana, a native of Lesotho, broke the longest-standing event record still on the books for Grandma’s Marathon weekend – he ran a personal record time of 1:00:17 to break, by more than a minute, the event record time of 1:01:22 set by 2004 Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi.
Already qualified for the Olympics and fresh off a new personal best and national record time last year, Ramakongoana was making his debut in Duluth and using the race as a tune-up for Paris.
“He elevates our entire team,” coach James McKirdy said. “This was a huge personal best, and now our sights turn to something even bigger.”
Frisbie, meanwhile, finished with a new event record time of 1:07:33 and had to outduel 2024 US Olympian and Minnesota Distance Elite teammate Dakotah Lindwurm, who also broke the existing event record with her time of 1:08:03.
“I could definitely tell at certain points that [Dakotah] wasn’t far behind me,” Frisbie said. “I decided to be a bit more aggressive, and it ended up paying off.”
The duo both broke the existing mark of 1:09:26, which was set just last year by Maggie Montoya. Despite finishing as the runner-up, Lindwurm said her performance was a big confidence boost as she prepares for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games.
“There’s no better weekend in Duluth,” she said. “We got some bad weather today, but the fans were out cheering in full force. I love to be here.”
Aaryn Edge was the non-binary champion of this year’s Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, finishing in a time of 1:18:42 that was less than six minutes off the event record set last year by Jonah Grant.
This year’s Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon was the second largest in history, with 7,787 total finishers on Saturday morning (3,112 men, 4,651 women, 20 non-binary). The only larger half marathon in Duluth came in 2016 when 7,917 participants crossed the finish line.
ABOUT GRANDMA’S MARATHON
Grandma’s Marathon began in 1977 when a group of local runners planned a scenic road race from Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota. After seeing just 150 participants that year, the race weekend has now grown into one of the largest in the United States and welcomes more than 20,000 participants for its three-race event each June.
The race got its name from the Duluth-based group of famous Grandma’s Restaurants, the first major sponsor of the marathon. In addition to the 26.2-mile race, the organization has now added the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and William A. Irvin 5K to its weekend offerings.
As the popularity of Grandma’s Marathon has grown, our mission has stayed the same – to organize, promote, and deliver annual events and programs that cultivate running, educational, social, and charitable opportunities to our communities.
Grandma’s Marathon-Duluth, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization with a nine-person, full-time staff and a 17-member Board of Directors.
