Two Harbors to Canal Park: 116 feet net downhill, 462 feet of climbing, and one named hill, Lemon Drop Hill at mile 22. Here is the course mile by mile, and how I’d run each stretch.
A typical race morning: 59°F with a 53°F dew point at the 7:45am start, a combined score of 112. Every race morning since 2000, the forecast six days out and your goal pace adjusted for it are on the Grandma's Marathon weather page. For any other forecast, my heat pace calculator does the same math.
Over these 8 miles the course climbs 145 feet and drops 206, 61 feet net down.
Grandma’s opens with a gentle descent along Scenic 61, about 100 feet over the first six miles, and the only climb of note early on is a short one out of Knife River around mile 5. The grade is easy to miss and easy to overspend. I’d run the first 10K a few seconds slower than goal; the downhill makes it feel like goal anyway.
Over these 11 miles the course climbs 179 feet and drops 215, 37 feet net down.
The middle miles roll gently along the North Shore with Lake Superior on your left, few spectators and long stretches of trees. Any wind off the lake hits you here, so tuck in behind a group. This is the stretch to lock into a rhythm and fuel on schedule.
Over these 3.5 miles the course climbs 116 feet and drops 44, 73 feet net up. The climb: Lemon Drop Hill from mile 21.7 (+55 feet over 0.7 mi, 1.5%).
The crowds build as you cross the Lester River into Duluth around mile 19, and London Road leads to Lemon Drop Hill at mile 22, the course’s one named hill: about 45 feet over half a mile. It isn’t steep, but it comes when you’re tired. Shorten your stride and run it by effort; the long descent after it gives the time back.
Over these 3.7 miles the course climbs 21 feet and drops 112, 91 feet net down.
The last four miles run downhill into Duluth and along Superior Street through downtown, with the biggest crowds of the day, then over the 5th Avenue West bridge and down to the harbor and Canal Park. If you’ve been patient, this is the place to push.
This course runs one way, toward the southwest, so the wind is either in your face or at your back for most of it. At the Duluth International station at 7:45am on 26 race mornings since 2000, it was a headwind on 4, a tailwind on 8 and a crosswind on 12, and calm or shifting on 2. The strongest headwind was 2004: W at 14 mph. Into a headwind, tuck in behind other runners and give the goal pace some room; with a tailwind, bank nothing early anyway, because the hills still come at the same mile.
| Mile | Elevation at the marker | Climb | Drop | Street |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile 1 | 712 | +15 | −28 | Scenic Drive |
| Mile 2 | 684 | +20 | −47 | Scenic Drive |
| Mile 3 | 656 | +10 | −37 | Scenic Drive |
| Mile 4 | 663 | +15 | −8 | Scenic Drive |
| Mile 5 | 639 | +6 | −29 | Scenic Drive |
| Mile 6 | 632 | +31 | −39 | Scenic Drive |
| Mile 7 | 639 | +14 | −7 | North Shore Drive |
| Mile 8 | 662 | +35 | −12 | North Shore Drive |
| Mile 9 | 674 | +32 | −22 | North Shore Drive |
| Mile 10 | 618 | +2 | −57 | North Shore Drive |
| Mile 11 | 645 | +30 | −1 | North Shore Drive |
| Mile 12 | 640 | +23 | −29 | North Shore Drive |
| Mile 13 | 622 | +1 | −20 | North Shore Drive |
| Mile 14 | 629 | +12 | −5 | North Shore Drive |
| Mile 15 | 630 | +15 | −15 | Congdon Boulevard |
| Mile 16 | 625 | +16 | −19 | Congdon Boulevard |
| Mile 17 | 638 | +20 | −9 | Congdon Boulevard |
| Mile 18 | 647 | +16 | −8 | Congdon Boulevard |
| Mile 19 | 626 | +11 | −30 | Congdon Boulevard |
| Mile 20 | 652 | +26 | −0 | London Road |
| Mile 21 | 672 | +35 | −15 | London Road |
| Mile 22 | 652 | +11 | −28 | London Road |
| Mile 23 | 658 | +44 | −42 | London Road |
| Mile 24 | 652 | +8 | −14 | London Road |
| Mile 25 | 633 | +9 | −27 | East Superior Street |
| Mile 26 | 609 | +3 | −28 | South 5th Avenue West |
| To the finish | 608 | +0 | −1 | Canal Park Drive |
Race week, start to finish: how I’d run the three-week taper, what to take in during the race, how much to slow down in heat and humidity, and what the four weeks after should look like.
A course map tells you where the hills are. It doesn't know your training, how you handle a long climb, or what your legs look like at mile 20. I write every plan by hand and set race-day pacing with each athlete. It starts with a free 20-minute call.
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RunFitCoach is not affiliated with the Grandma's Marathon or its organizers. Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program (1 m bare earth), sampled every 50 m and smoothed over 250 m. Bare-earth elevation leaves bridges out, so bridge decks are rebuilt from their ends. Distances are scaled to the certified 42.195 km, so mile marks can sit a little off the course markers. The line is routed street by street through the 2026 course’s turns rather than surveyed, so here that can be up to a quarter mile.
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