Depleted Wanderers Corps Produce Goods at Grandma's Marathon

Report by Megan

At one point, it had appeared that a Wanderer's presence at the 2007 Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota was doomed. Seven Wanderers registered and one by one were picked off by injury until only two remained, Megan Boyle and Susan Hurrey. Convinced that their plane would crash on the way to Minnesota, Susan and Megan readily welcomed the added juju when Monica Ranly miraculously recovered making the doomed duo a power trio. Luck, it would seem, would not be on Monica's side as she was bumped from the flight and traveled all over the Midwest before finally arriving in Duluth. Nonetheless, the group reunited in Superior, Wisconsin the night before the race to not discuss strategy and not look at the course map, which proved to not pay off.

In the wee hours of June 16, 2007, the Wanderers boarded a bus to the start of Grandma's Marathon. Described as "fast and flat," the group was ill prepared for the first 18+ miles of a tedious coniferous tree tunnel with the occasional peek at Lake Superior. The latter miles offered a marvelous tour through the downtown Duluth business district, which was unfortunately lost on the Wanderers who were delirious from the surprising Minnesota heat. Having neglected to study the course map, the finish line eluded Wanderers for what seemed like 1,000 miles. Deceived by the masses of errant balloons and spectators yelling "you're almost there," the Wanderers meandered through numerous twists and turns before finally seeing Valhalla. Fast Monica made it to the finish in 3:3135, followed by Susan's 40th birthday finish in 4:18:01. Megan brought up the rear ambling in at 4:18:51. Upon clearing the finish area, the Wanderer received medals, t-shirts, a boatload of food and a well-deserved and free beer.

Duluth hosted a huge post-race party that lasted well into the evening. The Wanderers, however, opted to return to their hotel to moan and complain and sooth their ails by stuffing their faces with pizza and beer. Another marathon complete, the Wanderers were appreciative of the super duper friendly people of the greater Duluth/Superior area. The whole town turned out and created a wonderfully well-organized and executed race.

Event Photos

The Great One cools off after race.

Monica and the Great One before the race. Their expression
tells the story....Grandma's Marathon. Bring it On!!

Wanderers await starting gun!

That's gross. Susan, put on your socks!

Monica bounced back from all sorts of injuries this spring to scorch the
Grandma's course in 3:30. She picked up a nasty sunburn in the process.

Wanderers still smiling afterwards, although just barely.

Monica and Megan are about to begin Phase II of their
trip to Duluth....the celebration of Susan's 40th birthday!

<- go to the last page  |  old news reports (pre 2008) »  |  current news »