St. Paul Race Eliminated from 2009 Schedule
(Duluth, Minn.) Grandma's Marathon, Duluth-Inc. has announced plans to
create numerous enhancements for the 3rd annual Grandma's Minnesota Mile
Duluth on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009. In order to make the enhancements a
reality, the nonprofit organization will discontinue the Minnesota Mile St.
Paul, which was held the past two summers at the Minnesota State
Fairgrounds.
"It simply makes much more sense logistically for our organization as a
whole to focus its efforts on creating a single premier one-mile event as
opposed to two good local events. Organizing races in our own backyard is
what we do best and we are extremely excited to raise the bar for this
Duluth event," said Scott Keenan, executive director of Grandma's Marathon.
Keenan adds that part of the plan to bring the Minnesota Mile Duluth to the
next level is to utilize some of the resources previously directed to the
St. Paul event. "We believe we are on the verge of making the Minnesota Mile
Duluth something very special. One-mile races are becoming more popular in
the running world, and we envision an opportunity to make this a true
national-caliber event."
While exact details are still being finalized by the staff and board of
directors, Keenan says that prize money and travel expenditure increases are
two viable enhancement options on the list that will help attract a stronger
elite field. The 2008 Minnesota Mile Duluth event run earlier this month
featured a $5,700 prize purse in its elite division, and attracted runners
from as far away as California, Colorado and North Carolina.
One unique aspect of the 2008 race was an opportunity for runners to receive
a guaranteed entry to the 2009 Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon. Among all
finishers, 250 were randomly selected to receive entries into next June's
half marathon. Keenan says he expects this opportunity to continue for
future Minnesota Mile Duluth races.
Registration for the 3rd annual Minnesota Mile Duluth is expected to open in
June 2009.
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