Kenyan Elisha Barno won Grandma's Marathon for the second straight year and sixth time overall, crossing the finish line Saturday morning in front of thousands of cheering and cowbell-ringing fans at Duluth's Canal Park.
Wearing all orange may have been a way for him to stand out, but that wasn't necessary.
Barno stood out because his finishing time of 2:10:54 was well in front of the pack, breaking away from his closest competition over the final miles through downtown Duluth.
Olympian Volha Mazuronak, a two-time Olympian from Belarus set the women's course record with a time of 2:23:52.
Grandma's Marathon started on time after threats of stormy weather passed the region.
Race officials sent out a mass text at 3:00 a.m. Saturday, giving the all clear to participants in the 26.2 mile race.
Many runners stated that they benefitted by a strong tailwind, which was helpful when running up Lemon Drop Hill just outside the city's downtown.
There was about a half-hour delay to start the 1980 race, while the 2002 start was held up briefly.
"We've never had to cancel due to weather," said Grandma's Zach Schneider. "There's certainly precedent for it, we're prepared for it, if need be."
Schneider said the course for Grandma's was not affected by this week's flooding in the Duluth area, but construction near the Dululth Arena is preventing spectators from watching the runners at that point.
The full marathon began with a loud horn and train whistle sounding at 7:45 a.m. Saturday in Two Harbors and ends at Duluth's historic Canal Park.
Grandma's is run every year along Lake Superior's north shore at the same time as the Garry Bjorklund half-marathon, which starts near the Talmade River.
The William A-Irvin 5K race is Friday night.
Grandma's Marathon was first run in 1977 with 150 participants.
More than 20,000 are expected to run in all three races this weekend, with a record 9,993 in the marathon itself.
It was not run in 2020 because of the pandemic.
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