Grandma’s Marathon News Summer/Fall Edition

 

Grandma’s Marathon is proud of its partnership with BP, one of the world's largest energy companies and a major sponsor of Grandma's Marathon. Since 1987, BP’s contributions help ensure that the 26.2-mile race continues to thrive and showcase the Duluth/Superior market area.

“Grandma's Marathon would not be the race that it is today without the support of BP and its employees. We truly appreciate their loyalty and dedication,” says Scott Keenan, executive director of Grandma's Marathon.

In addition to providing funding, BP has helped supply runners with the energy and fuel that is essential during the latter part of a marathon. Every year more than 125 BP employees volunteer their time at the 19-mile BP aid station on race day handing out water and energy drinks to thirsty runners.

 

Don’t delay – it’s time to get you and your family and friends registered for next month’s Grandma’s Minnesota Mile road races in downtown Duluth.

Delta is proud to be a major sponsor and the official airline of Grandma’s Marathon, the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and the William A. Irvin 5K!

Delta staffed a waterstop along the racecourse for the second year in a row and is excited and was proud to be able to support their many employees who participated in this year’s races. The first American male and female finishers of Grandma’s Marathon each won a pair of Delta tickets and with Delta’s Runway to the World contest, 100 randomly selected runners won a pair of Delta tickets!

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 347 destinations in 64 countries on six continents. Delta offers nine peak day departures from Duluth, with six flights to the Minneapolis/St. Paul hub and three to the Detroit hub.

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The closest finish in Grandma’s Marathon history highlighted the 35^th running of Grandma’s Marathon. A photo finish saw Kenya’s Chris Kipyego edged Ethiopian Teklu Deneke by two-tenths of a second to claim the title.

The 37-year-old Kipyego’s winning time of 2 hours, 12 minutes, 16.36 seconds was narrowly better than Deneke’s 2:12:16.56. Sammy Malakwen placed third in 2:12:39.

The previous closest finish was in 1999 when Kenya’s Andrew Musuva beat Tesfaye Bekele by four seconds.

Kipyego earned $10,000 for the victory plus a $1,500 bonus for finishing in under 2:13:00.

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In 1947, Mario Trinchero, an Italian immigrant living in New York City with his young family, was convinced by his brother John to move across the country to the rural and remote Napa Valley. The countryside reminded John Trinchero of the home in the Piedmont region of Italy where the Trincheros had been raised. John found a winery abandoned since Prohibition called Sutter Home, and believed that he and his brother could reopen the winery and live a quiet and prosperous country life. The brothers purchased the winery, and Mario moved his wife Mary and three young children Bob, Vera, and Roger to the Napa Valley.

The family worked hard to make a go of it but prosperity was far down the road. For many years, the family operated Sutter Home as a mom-and-pop winery, selling wine to neighbors and visitors who happened to drop by. Eventually, John Trinchero retired and winemaking duties were passed along to Mario’s oldest son, Bob. 

Bob Trinchero was a serious red winemaker in the late sixties, competing with other winemakers to create the biggest, boldest, best red zinfandel. Bob sourced his zinfandel grapes from the Amador County region of California, which was famed for old vine zinfandel planted by Italian gold miners in the previous century.

 

Thousands of Grandma's Marathon and Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon finishers have Upper Lakes Foods to thank for providing them with replenishing food at the finish line. From bananas to yogurt and much more in between, the finish area is stocked with food to provide post-race refreshments for each runner.

For the past 14 years, Upper Lakes Foods, the nation’s 30^th largest full-line, full service distributor and the largest full-line distributor in Minnesota, has been a proud sponsor of Grandma's Marathon. Each year, more than 50 employees and their families volunteer their time in the finish line area handing out assorted fruit, cookies and orange juice to racers.
 

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Wherley Moving Systems began as a local dray and delivery company based out of St. Cloud, Minn., in 1898. Since then, the company has evolved into a nationwide moving service and agent of United Van Lines, the largest moving company in the nation. Today, Wherley offers a number of services to their clients including household and commercial moving, storage facilities, tradeshow, portable storage containers, electronic equipment moving and online shipment tracking.  “Wherley’s primary goal is to provide first-class service and overall satisfaction by making the often stressful transition of moving the most positive experience possible,” Adam Landwehr said, general manager of Wherley Moving Systems.

The company’s staff of over 100 professionals not only carefully load the moving vans, but they also help pack belongings and set up furniture at the customer’s new location.  Their dedication to providing great service exceeds the industry standard which is evident by the many awards the company has earned for excellent performance and hard work.  

Each year, the Grandma’s Marathon organization recognizes a number of individuals and groups for their contributions and commitment. A huge thank you to the following award recipients for helping to make the races and events a success:

Hall of Fame

·      Chelly Townsend

·      G.B. Leighton

·      Dr. Steve Harrington

·      Ron Francisco

·      Ed Hermel