Grandma's Marathon Article

Published in the Poynette Press.

June 17th, 2006, Minnesota held the 30th anniversary of Grandma’s Marathon. The 26.2 miler starts in Two Harbors and finishes in Duluth. It’s one of the largest marathons in the country, last year ranking the 13th largest in number of finishers. This year, 91 percent humidity at the starting line and temperatures soaring to 77 degrees did not stop 6,909 runners from crossing the finish line. The weather forced 410 runners, more than double the usual amount, to the medical tents and 13 runners to the hospital. Among this year’s finishers was local runner Anna Heintz from Poynette who ran in a time of 4:12:50. This is Anna’s second marathon in the last two years, her first being the Madison Marathon in which she qualified for the Boston Marathon. The unfavorable conditions at Grandma’s will not discourage her from running another marathon in her future, though. She hopes to one day run a marathon in every state. Local runner Kevin Frehner (Poynette) was also among the finishers this year.