Local athletes run in Grandma’s race

Five local runners took part in the 25th-annual Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth and posted some strong results.
Bob Tkachuk, Pierre Mikhail, Cameron Moorhouse, Connee Badiuk, and Kerri Tolen made the trip for Saturday’s marathon, where the 26.2-mile route from Two Harbours to the harbourfront of the city was attended by close to 9,100 runners.
This was the first Grandma’s for Badiuk, Mikhail, and Moorhouse.
“The wind and heat affected everybody,” noted Tkachuk, who added none of the five locals had raced in more than three marathons prior to last weekend.
“But it was a great experience,” he enthused.
Mikhail led the contigent with an unofficial time of 3:08:57, followed by Moorhouse (3:48:50), Badiuk (4:14:47), Tolen (4:19:04), and Tkachuk, the self-professed “turtle,” at 4:53.50.
Doris Barton of Fort Frances also was scheduled to compete but fell ill.
The marathon showcased runners from all over the world, and is one of the recognized qualifiers for the Olympics and Boston Marathon.
Winner Benjamin Matolo of Kenya finished with a time of 2:14:25–five minutes short of the course record. The top female runner was Russia’s Lyubov Denisova (2:35:13).
In interviews, the 30-year-old champ had said he runs 150 miles a week in preparing for these events. To put things in perspective, Tkachuk said when healthy, he would have run a total of 300 miles from last December leading up to the race.
“The top runners are really unbelievable,” he noted.
The group is planning to attend a team marathon event in Walker, Mn. in September.
In related news, Ben and Anthony Andrusco competed in the Manitoba Marathon last weekend, with Ben finishing the 13.1-mile race with a time of 1:52 while the latter ran a 1:49.
Local Ted Brockie also participated and finished the race in 2:28.