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DULUTH — Registration for the 2027 Grandma’s Marathon weekend opens at 7 p.m. Central time Thursday, Oct. 1, with organizers urging runners to prepare for another fast sellout after record demand for the event’s 50th anniversary races.
The Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and William A. Irvin 5K each sold out in just over 90 minutes when registration opened last fall. Grandma’s Marathon, which offered an expanded field for its 2026 race, filled in less than 12 hours.
“We honestly don’t know what to expect coming off last year,” said Zach Schneider, the marathon’s marketing and public relations director. “If the trend of the past three or four years continues, the race could be sold out by midnight.”
The 51st annual Grandma’s Marathon weekend is scheduled for June 17-19, 2027. Registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, and organizers caution that waiting until the following morning could mean missing out.
“You wouldn’t want to be late to the start line of the race, and you don’t want to be late to the start of registration either,” Schneider said. “This has literally become the race before the race. Wait until October 2, and you might be too late.”
The opening price tier will run Oct. 1-5, a shorter window this year. Starting entry prices, including all fees and surcharges, are $155 for Grandma’s Marathon, with a capacity of 8,000; $145 for the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, with a capacity of 7,500; and $55 for the William A. Irvin 5K, with a capacity of 1,750.
The Full Great Grandma’s Challenge will cost $240, and the Half Great Grandma’s Challenge will cost $230. Each challenge has a capacity of 500 participants.
All participants will receive a shirt, a finisher medal and a coupon redeemable for a free drink during race weekend. Challenge participants will receive a special challenge medal and their two individual event medals after finishing the marathon or half marathon Saturday.
A specially priced participant jacket also will be available for purchase during registration through the event’s continuing partnership with Minnesota-based apparel company Storm Creek.
“To think of all these people in their areas of the world, logging on at the same time just to be part of Grandma’s Marathon, it’s very humbling,” Schneider said. “Race day is certainly the biggest day of our year, but registration day has become a very close second in terms of excitement.”
Runners seeking a spot before general registration opens have two options, according to organizers: participating as a charity runner for the Young Athletes Foundation or joining the Grandma’s Marathon Training Group.
The charity runner option costs $500, including race entry, and is limited to the first 50 participants in each of the marathon and half marathon. Net proceeds benefit the foundation, which has contributed more than $1.8 million to local youth athletics and recreational activities since 1990.
Training group membership costs $125 before Oct. 1 and does not include the race entry fee. The program offers more than 65 group runs in the Twin Ports beginning in January, with training available for beginner, intermediate and advanced runners.
The first 200 people who join the training group before Oct. 1 will receive a guaranteed spot in either the marathon or half marathon. Organizers said those participants will receive race registration instructions later in October.
