Grandma’s Marathon & Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon Training Plans

Grandma’s 5K is run the day before the marathon and half marathon, making it an equally appealing option for new racers and those competing the next day. The 5K course is run almost entirely within the Canal Park area and passes the Great Lakes Aquarium, Sister Cities Park, and the War Memorials before finishing on the waterfront next to the S.S. William A. Irvin, docked in Superior Bay. If you’re racing for the first time or returning to the sport after an absence, following our Grandma’s 5K training program can help you build the endurance you need for this distance.

The starting gun for Grandma’s Marathon and Half Marathon goes off bright and early the next day. Both courses are point-to-point and follow a straight, largely flat route along the shore of Lake Superior. The half marathon course starts at the 13.1-mile marker of the full marathon and shares the same course all the way to the finish at Canal Park. The marathon course starts in Two Harbors and follows Old Highway 61 for almost 25 miles. Both courses are made up entirely of paved surfaces and feature a mixture of flat stretches and very light hills, making Grandma’s a popular place to shoot for a Boston Marathon qualifying time or a new PR. CTP’s 20-week Grandma’s Marathon training plans help you reach for your goals with customized workouts that are designed to increase your endurance and speed. For beginners, we also offer a 24-week couch-to-marathon Grandma’s Marathon training program. This option provides an additional four weeks of workouts designed to get your body ready to handle the demands of marathon training.

When you choose a CTP training plan, you get so much more than a generic mileage schedule. At Custom Training Plans, we take a comprehensive approach to training. In addition to mobility exercises and cross-training, our programs incorporate intervals, sprints, and hill work to keep your running workouts fresh as you build power. No matter what distance you’re preparing for, every one of our training plans is customized to provide you with workouts of just the right intensity. Get your race prep off on the right foot and pick up a customized Grandma’s Marathon training plan, Grandma’s Half Marathon training plan, or Grandma’s 5K training plan from Custom Training Plans.