Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon

The flat, straight course is run on a blacktop trail converted from freight rail lines. After starting at the high school in Holdingford, the route quickly links to the Lake Wobegon Trail and goes southwest to the small town of Albany. On the outskirts of the town, the trail turns directly east and passes over the South Branch of Two Rivers, past two smaller lakes and a state-designated science and nature area. The path continues through farm land and then over the small gap of land between Middle Spunk Lake and Lower Spunk Lake on the east side of Avon. The course passes two more lakes before finishing in St. Joseph.[3]

The Lake Wobegon Trail is maintained by the Stearns County Parks, local trail groups, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the seven cities through which it passes.[4]

The trail is named after a fictional region in Minnesota that appears in author and radio personality Garrison Keillor's stories. He has called the trail one of "ordinary beauty," a landscape of farms, woodland patches and small town-Americana.[5]

Two St. Cloud River Runners initially launched the event: Sartell teacher Joe Perske and St. Cloud lawyer Sharon Hobbs. They gained the support of local community members and mayors, and in the 2008 inaugural race, 80 runners finished. By 2010, the number of participants had grown to 200.[6][7]

The course record for the marathon was set in 2015 by Chad Lutz, who ran it in 2:33:59.[8] The race was first run in 2008, when 80 people from 12 states and Canada registered. The first race was sponsored by the St. Cloud-based law firm Rinke-Noonan.[9] More recently, the race has seen a steady registration in the 400 runner range. The race is capped at 450 runners, according to 2018 race director George Bienusa.[10][11]

A tragedy took place during the race in 2011, when a 35-year-old man from Byron, Minnesota, collapsed after finishing and suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical personnel attended to him, but he passed away.[12][13]

In May of 2016, the 216-foot wooden-planked bridge at Schwinghammer Lake was set aflame by an arsonist, but a quick response by a bicyclist and fire fighters kept the bridge structurally sound, and the marathon did not have to be rerouted.[14]

Seven runners have a streak of participating in the race every year (as of 2018). [15]

On April 2, 2020, more than a month before the May 9 race date, the race officials canceled the 12th running of the marathon due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press release, the marathon organizers said they would "join numerous other events in an attempt to protect runners, volunteers and emergency medical personnel by putting [participants'] health and safety first."[16]

As the 2021 race approached, Minnesotans reached nearly 50 percent vaccination rate for adults. The race directors decided to run the race with a staggered start and a 250-participant cap, per the Minnesota Department of Health recommendations. It would be the first road marathon back in the state since the Mankato Marathon on Oct. 12, 2019. The week of the Lake Wobegon race, Governor Tim Waltz issued new guidelines that stated wearing masks wasn't necessary while with groups of less than 500 people outdoors. The guidelines also dropped limits on the number of people allowed in outdoor gatherings.[17][18] The race, which was labeled a Road Runners Club state championship, saw faster than average times, with the top three marking the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-all-time fastest runs on the course since its inception in 2008.[19]

Key:   Course record

All cities in Minnesota unless indicated otherwise

	Men						Women
Year	Place	Name	Age	Hometown	Time		Year	Place	Name	Age	Hometown	Time
2021		Brandon Reihm	26	Annandale	2:36:17		2021		Kacy Rodamaker	23	Minneapolis	3:13:23
		Evan Richardson	34	Byron	2:37:23				Wanda Gau	58	Little Falls	3:14:06
		Braden Richardson	35	Byron	2:38:05				Katie Zirbes	33	Hutchinson	3:17:16
2020[20]		Race canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic					2020		Race canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019		Dan Feda	44	Rochester	2:45:30		2019		Cathleen Gross	25	Eagan	3:03:02
		Justin Wirth	38	Annandale	2:52:22				Wanda Gau	56	Little Falls	3:12:47
		Christopher Frank	47	Winnipeg, Canada	2:53:29				Rachel Turi	23	St. Paul	3:19:10
2018		Braden Richardson	33	Byron	2:45:52		2018		Wanda Gau	55	Little Falls	3:05:43
		William McGinnis	38	Madison, South Dakota	2:54:44				Rachel Rice	38	Durham, North Carolina	3:12:54
		Bryan Larison	34	Minneapolis	2:55:06				Sarah Schmidt-Dannert	18	Shoreview	3:19:16
2017		Eric Giandelone	38	St. Paul	2:45:00		2017		Cheryl Jeseritz	38	Savage	3:07:07
		Ethan Komoroski	25	Minneapolis	2:50:56				Elaina Schellhaass	30	St. Louis Park	3:11:13
		Bob Fudurich	38	Mounds View	2:52:45				Brianna Rohne	33	St. Paul	3:11:45
2016[21]		Steven Pekarek	35	Royalton	2:39:29		2016		Amy Feit	36	Luverne	2:58:13
		Andrew Zachman	19	Holdingford	2:49:30				Amy Omann	37	Chanhassen	3:01:17
		Matthew Fisher	37	Austin, Texas	2:53:11				Elaina Schellhaass	29	St. Louis Park	3:08:16
2015[22]		Chad Lutz	29	Stow, Ohio	2:33:59		2015		Nancy Buselmeier	31	Buffalo	3:00:15
		Reid Singer	29	Santa Fe, New Mexico	2:45:43				Brianna Rohne	31	St. Paul	3:03:27
		Adam Nyseth	35	Plymouth	2:54:15				Wanda Gau	52	Little Falls	3:04:57
2014		Justin Gillette	31	Goshen, Indiana	2:42:59		2014		Brianna Rohne	30	St. Paul	3:04:27
		Ben Bruce	30	Waubun	2:50:07				Wanda Gau	51	Little Falls	3:07:39
		Douglas Lange	44	Stillwater	2:50:51				Brooke Rasmussen	18	Big Lake	3:12:18
2013[23]		Jordan Hanlon	29	Minneapolis	2:38:19		2013		Brittany Opatz	27	Waconia	3:02:59
		Ben Bruce	29	Waubun	2:44:15				Brianna Rohne	29	St. Paul	3:15:25
		Jesse Rueckert	33	St. Cloud	2:52:41				Jodi Nelson-Ryan	45	Sartell	3:24:26
2012[24]		Jordan Hanlon	28	Minneapolis	2:35:23		2012		Paula Marozas	24	Little Falls	3:06:03
		Gerad Mead	32	St. Paul	2:36:01				Marey Erickson	25	Waite Park	3:22:07
		Nate Hoffman	29	Annandale	2:42:26				Wanda Gau	49	Little Falls	3:22:43
2011[25]		Don Sullivan	37	Minneapolis	2:48:43		2011		Margaret Landberg	26	Minneapolis	3:05:46
		David Sanderson	34	Rochester	2:52:27				Kathy Provenzano	36	Minneapolis	3:12:12
		Andrew Hemenway	37	Rochester	2:54:45				Corrine Klebe	24	Rochester	3:26:08
2010[26]		Brian Aurelio	26	Washington, D.C.	2:53:25		2010		Wanda Gau	47	Little Falls	3:17:22
		John Maas	48	Sleepy Eye	2:54:14				Kalli Christen	40	St. Cloud	3:18:58
		Michael Heinen	26	Willmar	2:55:36				Traci Amundson	35	Duluth	3:19:09
2009[27]		Joe Buckentine	46	St. Cloud	2:50:19		2009		Kalli Christen	39	St. Cloud	3:17:52
		Ryan Hammerberg	25	St. Cloud	2:52:23				Traci Amundson	34	Duluth	3:28:24
		Paul Danger	38	Valparaiso, Indiana	2:55:13				Valerie Kelso	29	Rice	3:28:25
2008[28]		Paul Danger	37	Valparaiso, Indiana	2:47:36		2008[29]		Kalli Christen	38	St. Cloud	3:19:07
		David Hartz	50	Cold Spring	3:04:01				Karen Wander	43	Becker	3:28:44
		Stanley Hup	53	Northfield	3:17:32				Yvette Dockendorf	38	St. Louis Park	3:29:50

• Official website
• Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon Facebook Group