Grandma's Marathon Reaches Capacity

It took longer than it used to, but for the 14th consecutive year, Grandma's Marathon has filled to capacity. The 9,700 runner event scheduled for June 21 announced yesterday that it is now closed to registration.

This year marked the first year that race organizers used an on-line registration system for the 32nd annual event and its ancillary races. The marathon, which opened registration in January, had filled in a matter of weeks in the recent past, but has taken until April to reach capacity the last two years.

Race fields filled quickly for both the 18th annual Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and the 15th annual William A. Irvin 5K.

Scott Keenan's Comments ... Shortly after we posted the news item above, we heard from Grandma's Marathon executive director Scott Keenan. We'd asked him for his take on the slowed filling of Grandma's Marathon and the unique challenges of his event. Here's what he had to say ...

"To be honest with you, it really doesn’t matter to us in any way if the marathon fills up in two days or two months. In fact, the marathon filling at a little slower pace has allowed runners who were not chosen in the half-marathon lottery to have an option to sign up for the full marathon.

"It is challenging to host a major marathon in a smaller market as we have limited lodging, very few direct flights and a smaller population from which to recruit sponsors and volunteers. But, we wouldn’t exchange our situation with anyone. I learned many years ago to focus on our strengths and just make Grandma’s Marathon the best event we possible can. We believe our tag line speaks for what we are — a world-class event with small town charm."