Olympic Medalists to Speak at Grandma's

Olympic marathon gold and silver medalist Frank Shorter and women's Olympic marathon bronze medalist Lorraine Moller headline the speakers appearing at this weekend's Grandma's Marathon in Duluth.

Shorter, who won the 1972 Olympic marathon in Munich and was runner-up in the event in Montreal in 1976, and Moller, who earned a bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games, will be joined by Grandma's Marathon course record-holder Dick Beardsley and Olympian Keith Brantly on the event's Friday afternoon speaker schedule.

Brantly speaks at 1:00 p.m. on Friday at the event's expo, Moeller follows at 2:00 p.m., Shorter speaks at 3:00 p.m., and Beardsley speaks at 4:00 p.m.

Brantly enjoyed success in national and international competitions in distances ranging from the mile to the marathon. His accomplishments include being a 1996 U.S. Olympic marathon team member and five-time U.S. Olympic Trials participant in various distances. Currently, alongside a career in medical equipment sales and management, Brantly conducts inspirational and motivational seminars for corporations and special interest groups on topics related to health and fitness.

Moller, a native of New Zealand, is a three-time Grandma's Marathon champion -- 1979, 1980 and 1981 -- and held the women’s course record of 2:29:36 for 18 years. Moller competed in four Olympics marathons for her country. Since retiring from competitive running in 1996, she has stayed active in the running community. Her first book, On the Wings of Mercury: The Lorraine Moller Story, was published in 2007 in New Zealand. Moller is a Special Contributor to Running Times and writes regular training features for the publication.

Shorter, a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, U.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame, and U.S. Distance Running Hall of Fame, is a past chairperson of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and is a current board member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthy Competition Foundation and Boulder Center for Sports Medicine.

Beardsley is one of the best-known marathon runners in U.S. history. Winner of Grandma’s Marathon in 1981 and 1982, Dick still holds the course record with the 2:09:37 he ran in 1981. His most famous race, however, took place at the 1982 Boston Marathon where he crossed the finish line in a personal-best 2:08:53, just two seconds behind Alberto Salazar. After a series of accidents, injuries and life-altering events, Dick remains a prominent figure in the running community and travels around the world to share his story.

Find more information about Grandma's Marathon HERE.