Aaron Pike has become somewhat used to being on top of the podium at Grandma’s Marathon, while it was a new feeling entirely for Jenna Fesemyer as those two were crowned men’s and women’s wheelchair champions on Saturday.
Pike won the race for the second straight year and for the fifth time since 2017, finishing with a time of 1:27:34 that was significantly off the event record pace of 1:20:02 he ran in Duluth a year ago.
Still, Pike was more than minute ahead of runner-up Fernando Sanchez Nava, who finished in 1:28:54 and third place finisher Luis Francisco Sanclemente, who finished in 1:29:30.
Fesemyer, meanwhile, got a taste of the podium last year as she finished second, but this year was much sweeter as she won for the first time in Duluth with a time of 1:47:20.
Also significantly off her 2022 pace was Fesemyer, who ran 1:33:50 here a year ago in finishing second to eventual champion Susannah Scaroni.
Michelle Wheeler finished as the runner-up with a time of 1:52:03, and she was closely followed by this year’s third place finisher and 2021 champion Ivonne Reyes Gomez.
In all, 25 wheelchair athletes (21 men, four women), finished the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon.
Full results of the 2023 Grandma’s Marathon wheelchair division can be viewed HERE.
