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The story of Grandma's Marathon has always lived in pieces scattered across the Northland — in shoeboxes filled with fading race bibs, newspaper clippings tucked into basements, volunteer jackets hanging in closets and family photo albums showing exhausted runners wrapped in foil blankets near the finish line in Canal Park.
Starting this month, much of that history will finally live in one public place.
Grandma’s Marathon officials will formally open a new historical museum exhibit Monday evening inside the historic St. Louis County Depot, offering a five-decade look at one of Minnesota’s most recognizable sporting events ahead of the marathon’s 50th annual race weekend in June.
A ceremonial ribbon-cutting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., with remarks planned from Executive Director Shane Bauer and Board of Directors Chairperson Kristi Schmidt.
The exhibit will be free and open to the public beginning Monday, May 11, and continue through race day on June 20. Hours will run daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the Depot’s regular operating schedule.
For an event that began in 1977 with little more than local ambition and a scenic stretch of Highway 61, the museum represents both a celebration and a reminder of how dramatically Grandma’s Marathon has reshaped Duluth’s identity.
What started as a relatively modest regional race with fewer than 200 participants has evolved into one of the largest and most respected marathons in the United States, annually drawing tens of thousands of runners, volunteers and spectators to the Twin Ports.
Today, marathon weekend functions as both an international sporting event and an unofficial civic holiday in Duluth.
Hotel rooms disappear months in advance. Restaurants fill. Sidewalks in Canal Park become packed shoulder-to-shoulder with spectators ringing cowbells before sunrise. Families mark the weekend on calendars the way other communities circle state fairs or major holidays.
The course itself became part of the legend long ago.
Runners begin north of Duluth near Two Harbors before following the shoreline of Lake Superior south along Scenic Highway 61 into Duluth. The route passes rocky shoreline, dense forest and some of the region’s most recognizable landmarks before finishing beneath the roar of crowds near Canal Park and the Aerial Lift Bridge.
The cool June temperatures and relatively flat terrain eventually helped establish Grandma’s Marathon as a destination race for elite runners chasing fast times and Olympic qualifying standards. At the same time, the event maintained an identity far different from the massive corporate marathons in larger metropolitan areas.
Organizers have long leaned into the phrase “world-class event, small-town charm,” a description that remains central to the race’s branding and reputation.
Over the decades, the event expanded far beyond a single marathon.
The Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon debuted in 1991 and quickly exploded in popularity, eventually rivaling — and in some years surpassing — the full marathon in participation. Additional races, including the William A. Irvin 5K and youth events, transformed the weekend into a multi-day festival tied closely to Duluth tourism and the start of summer along the lakefront.
The museum exhibit aims to document that transformation.
According to organizers, the display will feature photographs, memorabilia, archived materials and storytelling elements chronicling the race’s rise from local curiosity to international event. The exhibit also highlights many of the volunteers, civic leaders, sponsors and community partners who helped sustain the race across generations.
That volunteer backbone remains central to the event’s identity.
Thousands of Northlanders work race weekend every year — staffing aid stations, transporting runners, directing traffic, handing out medals and supporting logistics that now resemble a major professional sporting event operation more than a small community road race.
The economic impact on Duluth has also become enormous.
Marathon weekend routinely floods the city with visitors from across the country and around the world, filling hotels from Canal Park to the Iron Range while creating one of the region’s busiest tourism stretches of the year. Restaurants, bars and retail businesses frequently describe Grandma’s Marathon weekend as one of the strongest revenue periods of the summer season.
The race also survived moments that threatened its continuity.
In 2020, Grandma’s Marathon was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the first interruption in the event’s history. Organizers later rebuilt participation quickly, and interest surged again entering the milestone 50th anniversary celebration.
The 2026 race weekend is scheduled for June 18-20, highlighted by the 50th annual Grandma’s Marathon on Saturday, June 20. The Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon also will be held June 20, while the William A. Irvin 5K is scheduled for June 19.
Organizers have already reported extraordinary demand surrounding the anniversary year.
The 2026 marathon sold out after registration opened, continuing a trend of rapid sellouts that has become increasingly common for Grandma’s Marathon weekend events. Race officials previously announced expectations for heightened national interest tied to the 50th annual running.
For longtime Duluth residents, however, the history attached to Grandma’s Marathon often extends beyond finish times and elite runners.
It lives in memories of high school kids volunteering at water stations. Families gathering near Lemon Drop Hill. First marathons. Final marathons. Warm afternoons in Canal Park when strangers embraced near the finish chute.
And now, for the first time, much of that shared history will sit behind museum glass inside the Depot — preserved as part of Duluth’s civic story rather than simply another annual event on the calendar.
