This was my 9th consecutive Grandma's. Of all those races, only the 2007 and 2006 races have been warm. The others were all in the 40s or 50s at the start, and 50s or 60s at the finish. So let's hope things get back to normal for next year.

What impressed me most about this year's race was how well prepared they were to deal with the heat. Ice and ice sponges were available much earlier in the race than usual, and I was given a plastic bag full of ice cubes as soon as I entered the finish area (this may have saved me from becoming a medical casualty).

As hard as I may try, I cannot think of a single negative thing to say about Grandma's!

This was my first marathon and I am very glad I chose Grandma's. I found the Ultima to work great for me: I prehydrated with it, and I used it with 6 shots of GU throughout the race. My strategy at water stops was: hit the GU before the station, dump the water on head, back and arms, stuff race bra with ice, drink the Ultima. I think those who didn't like the Ultima may not have also liked Gatorade in these conditions. I know I would have been puking if I'd had as much Gatorade as Ultima. My main marathon probablem was sunburn - my fault. Next day I still took Ultimate because feeling sick from sunburn. I am a slower runner so I was on course for a long time. They did run out of ice at a few stations. But people were very friendly and helpful and one boy ran back to get me ice when I asked him if he had any.

The course has some views of the the lake and is relatively flat. However, Ultima does not work like Gatorade, and in the kind of heat we were in, I think it is risky to serve Ultima instead of Gatorade. I ran Sunburst in June 2006; it was also hot at that race but they brought out the red flags and made sure all runners took water or sports drink at the aid stations. Also, they passed out cool wet towels at the finish line. I sure did not need the thermal blacket that Grandma's passed out since it was so hot.

While this was only my 4th marathon, I've also done 4 half marathons and attended a number of other marathons as a spectator. This was absolutely the best organized, best supported marathon I've run or seen. I swear the entire city volunteers in some capacity. Everywhere I turned there were volunteers who were also very knowledgeable. The hospitality was second to none. The post-race hospitality was incredible.

The course was good, but not as flat and fast as it was made out to be to me - especially with the hot weather. Very rolling with lots of long grades to wear you down.

Even in the "boonies" you encountered packs of very enthusiastic fans, even if they were not plentiful. Once you hit mile 19 they made you feel like an elite runner. Great folks. They get a 4 due to quantity. The quality is off the chart.

The Ultima? Yeah, it's bad. Not so bad when cold. When warm it was bloody awful.

While the organizers can't do anything about the weather, they could start earlier. I train in the heat and humidity of Houston and this race damn near killed me. Thank God for the great town folk who put out sprinklers.

Not a cheap marathon, but book early, stay at the dorms, and soak up the hospitality. It's second to none.

I chose Grandma's in 2007 because I am a teacher and have time to travel in the summer. This was the third marathon that I did in the frame of one month, and beings the #2 took more out of me than expected, I was in "survival" mode at Grandma's. When I arrived in Duluth, I was shocked by how excited the town was about the marathon! This was incredibly uplifting and made me really excited about the race.

As far as the race itself, I could tell that it wasn't really a PR-type of day when I was standing at the start and was hot already! The race began at 7:30 a.m., and given the fact that it's a summer race, it probably should have started at 6. However, this is my only qualm with Grandma's.

Runners considering Grandma's really do need to plan for the heat. I drank more water than usual at the water stops and dumped water on myself at every aid station in an attempt to keep cool. When you get into the latter half of the race, a bunch of people set out sprinklers to run through, which also helped quite a bit. The people in the marathon were less chatty and outgoing as a result of the heat, but I tried not to let it get me down. I ended up only 8 minutes off my PR and had the most fun I have ever had in a marathon.

This was an expensive race between gas money (it was a 15-hour drive for me) and the hotel prices, but it was worth every penny. I will be running Grandma's again next year.

I thought that the city of Duluth and surrounding communities did a great job of supporting this marathon. Very well organized. Very supportive. The course is a little more up and down than I was ready for. No real difficult inclines or declines, but never flat. My biggest concern is the price. The hotel price is pure robbery. I spent $600 for a 2-bedroom that was adequate at best. The city needs to address this because there are too many other races that are just as good or better and much cheaper. I will not return.

This was my very first marathon. After having my dad run a few and hearing good things about it, I knew Grandma's would be a good choice.

The positives:
~Smooth packet pick-up, spagetti dinner was well run and pretty good. The volunteers everywhere were AWESOME. Although the first part of the marathon was pretty quiet for spectators, they made up for it at the end. Even for someone running at the back of the pack, the spectators were still out cheering. Loved the plentiful water and ice at the stops. Finish line was well run with a lot of helpful people due to the heat.

Negatives:
~It was hot, but that's something that might happen in a June marathon. The Ultima... it's been said before, so I won't even go there.

All in all, it was a great experience that I'd recommend to anyone. I'll definitely be back for another.

I still can't believe how great this weekend was.

I went to pick up my packet at 9 p.m. after the expo ended (who cares about expos?) and had no problems - didn't even have to pay to park. Catching the bus was easy, the first-aid tent at the start was marvelous (free Advil!), and the pacers were very cool people. Aid stations were flawless; I got plenty of water and Ultima without having to slow down.

The heat was gross, but there were so many friendly people cheering and spraying hoses that I didn't even notice how sick I was. It felt that good to see smiling faces and finish my first race.

My only complaint: many of the 7,200+ starters had to wait in the parking lot and the chute for quite a while before the race started. And then, although there were plenty of toilets at the start line, there were only 2 toilets per mile throughout the race. As a result, there were men relieving themselves everywhere for the first 8-10 miles. It was a bit gross. I'm hoping to see a few more toilets in the first portion of the race.

As for alternate activities, I will say that Duluth has many tourist attractions besides the ones they have specifically for Grandma's. We were dragging a 3-year-old with us, so we ditched the post-race party altogether and went to the aquarium, the zoo, and Grandma's for dinner. It was wonderful.

There were ladies from the hospital handing out flowers at the finish. I think they were my favorite volunteers.

2007 was my second year running Grandma's Marathon.

The good:
-The marathon itself is very well organized.
-The specators were great.
-The course was pleasant running along Lake Superior and into Duluth.
-The aid stations were well-manned and the buses ran on-time.
-I especially appreciate the ice that they had at the aid stations.

The bad:
-Both years, I found the heat difficult to deal with (although I thought 2007 was cooler than 2006).
-Lodging is too pricey: even staying in the UMD dorms was expensive (minimum two night stay at $175).
-The expo was just Ok.
-The finish area was stocked with good post-race food options, but was difficult to navigate.

Overall a very good marathon, but they should consider changing the race start time (maybe 6 a.m.) or move it to May.

The course along lake Superior was really beautiful, but it does get a bit dull after 19 miles. There was very little course entertainment other than the residents that would pop up every mile or so and blast music from their car or stereo. I know it has been stated time and time again, but the Ultima has really got to go as well. It tasted like watered-down Tang.

I thought the race was very well organized. Duluth really knows how to treat its marathoners! I could have used a few more aid stations in the heat, but the volunteers were amazing and helpful, and the runners' finish area was great as well. I was expecting the finisher's food to be a few half bananas and some Ultima, and was pleasantly surprised to find ice cream, sandwiches, fruit, bagels, and basically anything you could think to eat after a marathon. It would have been nice to have some shade or grass at the finish, but everyone seemed to find a place to sit or relax and it really worked out fine.

I would definitely recommend this race to anyone who wants to run a beautiful course with great spectators and helpful volunteers, but I would caution anyone interested to make sure they are prepared for some harsh weather.