Marathon Compass
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Grandma's Marathon

Duluth, MN · Sat, June 19, 2027 · 07:45

Marathon
BQ course
Pacers
open

Prime BQ course · forgiving course · some friction

Best forPrime BQ course9.1/10

Boston-qualifying course; see the BQ Finder for the effective application effect.

Course difficultyForgiving9.1/10

Flat, mild mornings.

Planning frictionSome friction7.8/10

Open registration · ~$1,150 all-in from South Florida.

Data confidenceVerified

Date verified at the official source; course and climate data on file.

Legacy Green Score 8.5/10 · method

Difficulty profile

Race-day climate (30-year normal)

At the start line and start hour · NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals

Temp
55°F
Dew point
48°F
Precip
Elev gain
85 m
Field
7,500

Can you qualify here?

Projected at race day for M 18-34, from your 4:00:00 marathon + training runway.

Training plans for this race

Cost & registration

Entry
$175
Travel cost (est.)
~$975
All-in
~$1150
Register →

Net -40ft. Lake Superior scenery. Cooler than most June races.

About the Grandma's Marathon

The Grandma's Marathon is a marathon held in Duluth, MN on June 19, 2027. With a Green Score of 8.5/10, it's one of the easier, more beginner-friendly US races. The course is flat (~11 ft of gain per mile). Typical race-day weather is a mild 55°F, dew point ~48°F (10-year normal). It is a Boston-qualifying course. Entry is around $175. Marathon Compass rates every race across terrain, climate, logistics, travel, and field size so you can find the one that fits you — and build a training plan tuned to your fitness.

Race-morning weather, quantified

Typical start-line conditions (30-year normal (NOAA 1991–2020)): 55°F with a dew point of 48°F. On the temperature-plus-dew-point scale used by our pace engine, that's 103 — a 0.5% pace penalty. Heat is a minor factor here in a typical year — a small early-pace cushion is enough.

100
130
150
103 — typical race morning at the Grandma's Marathon on the temp+dew scale (100 = no penalty · 130 = +2% · 150 = +4.5%)
Goal timeRealistic in typical conditionsHeat cost
3:303:31:03+1 min
4:004:01:12+1 min
4:304:31:21+1 min
5:005:01:30+2 min

Method: temp°F + dew°F lookup from the heat-adjustment chart our training plans use daily. Sign in to see this adjustment applied to your own projected finish.

What the Grandma's Marathon really costs

First marathons cost more than the entry fee — budget the whole weekend before you commit.

Entry fee
$175
Travel + 3 hotel nightsestimated from South Florida; your cost varies by home airport
~$975
All-in estimate
~$1150

Registration for the Grandma's Marathon

Boston qualification status

Penalty-free Boston qualifierPenalty-free

Net descent of ~131 ft is well under the BAA's 1,500 ft adjustment threshold. Your clock time is your application time.

Computed under the BAA's downhill rules for the 2027 qualifying window (announced Sept 2025; verified July 2026): net start-to-finish descent of 1,500–2,999 ft adds 5:00, 3,000–5,999 ft adds 10:00, and 6,000 ft or more is not accepted. Net descent here is derived from our course elevation data — the BAA's official course designation controls. Sign in to see your projected finish graded against your age-group standard and the realistic acceptance cutoff.

See how every BQ course ranks in the BQ Course Finder →

Entry strategy

Entry is open — register before it sells out and the decision is made.

  1. Race dayJune 19, 2027

Where to stay

Point-to-point course: stay near the finish, not the start — you'll be glad at mile 26, and shuttles run to the start. Book a refundable rate now and forget about it; inventory tightens in the final month. The links below are pre-filled for race weekend (June 17, 2027 June 20, 2027).

Plan the day itself

When to wake up, when the corral closes, and the exact clock time Grandma's Marathon spectators should be at each split for your goal pace — plus a link you can send to whoever's coming to watch.

Build your race-day timeline →

Compare head-to-head

Race and date verified against the official race source on 2026-07-17. Race-morning climate from Open-Meteo — 10-year history at the start line and start hour. Race fees, dates, and rules change often — report incorrect information.