Grandma's to Close Registration on June 1

Registration for the 35th running of Grandma's Marathon will close after Wednesday, June 1, race officials announced yesterday.

The country’s 17th largest marathon currently has more than 7900 runners in the field for the June 18 event. The tally is up from last year's 7387 entrants.

In 2009, 8377 runners registered for the race. In the 15 years prior to that, Grandma's Marathon reached its 9500 runner capacity before race-day.

Runners can sign up for the annual Two Harbors-to-Duluth race HERE. The entry fee is $100.

Volunteers Needed ... More than 500 volunteer positions remain for the June 16-18 Grandma’s Marathon weekend. Volunteer positions include areas such as traffic and spectator control, water station assistance, medical services, racecourse entertainment, race packet pick-up, and finish area activities, officials say.

Service organizations, large groups and individuals are all welcome and encouraged to participate. Each volunteer receives an official 2011 T-shirt, refreshment tickets and an invitation to the Grandma’s Marathon volunteer party on Sunday, June 26 at Grandma’s Sports Garden.

Along with the signature marathon, Grandma's weekend features the 21st annual Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon and the 18th annual William A. Irvin 5K. The Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon is Saturday, June 18 and the William A. Irvin 5K is Friday, June 17.

Registration for those two events is closed.

In all, about 17,000 runners from around the world will participate in Grandma's Marathon weekend. For more information on any of Grandma's Marathon’s races or events, visit the event web-site, HERE. To volunteer, please or call (218) 727-0947.