Our travels through the upper Midwest continue and Steve keeps racking up the races. During the past two weeks he’s finished two more marathons in his 29th and 30th states, and they couldn’t have been different experiences.

First we rolled into Duluth, Minnesota to participate in the highly-acclaimed Grandma’s Marathon. This race is arguably one of the city’s biggest events with over 9,000 runners in the marathon, and we were in the middle of it all. We snagged a camping spot in the parking lot of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Arriving early allowed us park with electrical hookups right on the race course and within walking distance of all of the festivities. The parking lot was quite a party on race weekend! 

We were also within a short walk of packet pickup and the expo and just across the street from live music at the lake on Friday night and all day Saturday. Steve took a train from our doorstep right to the start line and finished the 26.2 mile race less than 1/2 mile from our camper’s door. And he finished with a smile on his face in just over four hours! All in all a great weekend.

While hanging out in Duluth we also made the drive up Minnesota’s North Shore. Along the shores of beautiful Lake Superior the drive goes all the way to the Canadian border in about 150 miles.

We just went about 50 miles north and were still able to enjoy some of the highlights including the freighter docks in Two Harbors, Split Rock Lighthouse, and Gooseberry Falls. Steve had seen these attractions when he was a boy and enjoyed comparing this experience to his boyhood memories. 

Duluth is a nice city with a beautiful waterfront that includes a lighthouse and the famed lift bridge. We spent several evenings out there watching the large ore freighters pass through the bridge and head out to other Great Lakes Ports. Even Bob and Mia enjoyed Duluth!

Race day was super fun. Lots of energy and Steve enjoyed the run along the coast of Lake Superior. There were a lot of people cheering and tons of energy along the way. Grandma’s Marathon lived up to its reputation.

We hit the road when the race was over and traveled almost 300 miles into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We made a cool stop in between races, which will be highlighted in its own blog post, but our primary target was Gladstone, Michigan for the MISH marathon.

Yes, Steve did two 26.2 races seven days apart! There wasn’t much to Gladstone except the nice city campground and a lovely concert in the park on Thursday evening. Our main focus was the race. He and about 96 other runners took off to a gorgeous sunrise over Lake Michigan and ran along some coastline before turning inland for 13.1 miles. He made it back to the start/finish line in just over four and a half hours. I also completed the 10K race and got third place in my age group! It was a small event without much of a crowd or bells and whistles, but it was still fun to meet other runners and enjoy the beautiful weather.

We’re both ready for a little R&R, which we are already doing. No more races this summer, but certainly more adventures ahead!