Registration for Grandma’s Marathon, which runs from near Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota, closed almost as soon as it opened. The 2027 marathon sold out in 174 minutes, and the half marathon in under an hour. The race is on Saturday, June 19, 2027.
| Race | Places | Price | Sold out in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon | 8,000 | $155 | 174 minutes |
| Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon | 7,500 | $145 | 58 minutes |
| William A. Irvin 5K | 1,750 | n/a | 118 minutes |
| Full Great Grandma’s Challenge | 500 | n/a | 170 minutes |
| Half Great Grandma’s Challenge | 500 | n/a | 64 minutes |
Faster than last year
The acceleration is steep. In 2026, the marathon offered 9,500 places and took just under 12 hours to sell out, and the half marathon’s 7,000 places took 75 minutes.
This year the organizers cut the marathon field by 1,500 places and added 500 to the half. Both sold out faster anyway.
What it adds up to
The two headline races alone represent about $2.3 million in entry fees collected in less than three hours (Hopone calculation: 8,000 × $155 + 7,500 × $145, before fees and comped entries).
As Marathon Handbook notes, registration “has shifted these past years to a conversation around weeks and months to mere minutes and hours.” For mid-sized US races, demand now exceeds supply, which leaves organizers room to raise prices.
Sources
- Marathon Handbook: Grandma's Marathon 2027 Sold Out In A Record 174 Minutes
- Star Tribune: Grandma’s Marathon 2027 sells out faster than most runners finish the race
This article was written with AI by the Hopone Newsroom, from the sources it cites. Figures marked “Hopone calculation” are our own arithmetic from those sources. Nothing here is investment advice.