Minnesotan Joel Reichow wins Grandma’s Marathon title in Duluth

DULUTH – Joel Reichow knows his Minnesota running history.

There’s a poster from the 1981 Grandma’s Marathon on a wall at the Minnesota Fleet Feet running store, where Reichow, of St. Paul, has been a sales member for seven years. Garry Bjorklund is pictured pushing Dick Beardsley to a course-record victory that year, with both Minnesotans sporting mustaches.

Reichow grew a mustache in 2025 and set his sights on being a champion along the North Shore. Mission accomplished.

In Saturday’s 49th Grandma’s Marathon, Reichow became the fifth Minnesota man to win a title in the state’s oldest and largest 26.2-mile race, finishing in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 58 seconds. He was the first Minnesota winner since Chris Raabe of Sauk Rapids in 2009, and he joins Beardsley of Wayzata (1981, ’82), Bjorklund of Twig (1977, ’80) and Barney Klecker of Long Prairie (1978).

“Dream big. I thought I would have a chance to win. That was the goal I wanted to chase,” said the 6-foot, 125-pound Reichow, and a member of the Minnesota Distance Elite team, who won $11,500 for his victory, including a $1,500 bonus for finishing faster than 2:12. “It was a muggy day and I just wanted to stay as steady as possible.”

First-time entrant Lilian Chebii, 31, of Iten, Kenya, led the women’s field in 2:25:14, the fourth-best women’s time in race history. She won $15,000, including $5,000 for finishing below 2:27.

Chebii finished two minutes ahead of Aubrey Frentheway, 25, a former Brigham Young runner from Cheyenne, Wyo., who finished in 2:27:14, also a personal record. Paige Wood, 29, of Flagstaff, Ariz., was third in 2:30:24.

By 24 miles, Reichow had the lead.

“I kept my eyes on him and wanted to reel him in. I knew it would hurt to keep pushing, but you can’t race scared,” said Reichow, a former South Dakota State biology major who grew up in White Bear Lake. “After I got ahead, I just wanted to keep the pressure on.”

Rotich placed second in 2:12:44 for $8,500, and Amanuel Mesel, 34, of Eritrea, was third in 2:13:00, for $5,900.

An early-morning deluge, from about 3 to 4:30 a.m., required race organizers to delay the start by 30 minutes. Cloud cover remained over the course from Two Harbors to Duluth’s Canal Park, the temperature remained steady at 60 to 62 degrees and there was light wind, if any. However, humidity was 100% for a record field of 10,114, and there was a runner caution issued by 2:25 p.m.

The King of Grandma’s Marathon, Kenya’s Elisha Barno, a six-time champion and Hall of Fame member, had hip and groin issues and dropped out of the race at 15 miles. He had won the previous two races in Duluth.

His training partner and Grandma’s course record holder, Dominic Ondoro, inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, also did not finish.

Reichow broke a streak of 14 consecutive victories by East African men, including the previous 10 by Kenyans.

Athlete manager Silvester Mokamba of Transworld International Sports in Grand Prairie, Texas, introduced Grandma’s Marathon to Barno and Ondoro. This year, he took Chebii to Duluth for the first time for only her third career race in the United States.

“I didn’t know this course, but I was prepared. I was ready for the task,” said Chebii, translated by Mokamba. “I thought I could run 2:26 and found it was a faster course.”

The lead women’s pack wasn’t going fast enough for Chebii, and at 6.2 miles she took off on her own — she was gone.

Five of the previous six Grandma’s Marathon women’s winners were from the United States.

Eli Blascyk, 22, of Duluth was first in the nonbinary division in 3:07:53.