Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon

Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon
2021 Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon logo
Date May 6, 2023
Location Holdingford, Minnesota to St. Joseph, Minnesota
Distance 26.2 miles
Primary sponsor Centracare Clinic
Established 2008
Course records Men: 2:33:59 (2015)
Chad Lutz
Women: 2:58:13 (2016)
Amy Feit
Official site lakewobegontrailmarathon.org
Participants 300+

The Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon is a 26.2 mile foot race from Holdingford, Minnesota, to St. Joseph, Minnesota, on a paved trail called the Lake Wobegon Trail. The course is USATF-certified, making it a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon. The race is sponsored and organized by the St. Cloud River Runners, a running group active since 1983 with about 150 members.

Course

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.

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.

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.

Records and history

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.

The course record for the marathon was set in 2015 by Chad Lutz, who ran it in 2:33:59. 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. 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.

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.

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.

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

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."

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. 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.

Marathon race results

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 1st place, gold medalist(s) Brandon Reihm 26 Annandale 2:36:17 2021 1st place, gold medalist(s) Kacy Rodamaker 23 Minneapolis 3:13:23
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Evan Richardson 34 Byron 2:37:23 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Wanda Gau 58 Little Falls 3:14:06
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Braden Richardson 35 Byron 2:38:05 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Katie Zirbes 33 Hutchinson 3:17:16
2020 Race canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2020 Race canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019 1st place, gold medalist(s) Dan Feda 44 Rochester 2:45:30 2019 1st place, gold medalist(s) Cathleen Gross 25 Eagan 3:03:02
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Justin Wirth 38 Annandale 2:52:22 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Wanda Gau 56 Little Falls 3:12:47
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Christopher Frank 47 Winnipeg, Canada 2:53:29 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Rachel Turi 23 St. Paul 3:19:10
2018 1st place, gold medalist(s) Braden Richardson 33 Byron 2:45:52 2018 1st place, gold medalist(s) Wanda Gau 55 Little Falls 3:05:43
2nd place, silver medalist(s) William McGinnis 38 Madison, South Dakota 2:54:44 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Rachel Rice 38 Durham, North Carolina 3:12:54
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bryan Larison 34 Minneapolis 2:55:06 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Sarah Schmidt-Dannert 18 Shoreview 3:19:16
2017 1st place, gold medalist(s) Eric Giandelone 38 St. Paul 2:45:00 2017 1st place, gold medalist(s) Cheryl Jeseritz 38 Savage 3:07:07
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ethan Komoroski 25 Minneapolis 2:50:56 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Elaina Schellhaass 30 St. Louis Park 3:11:13
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bob Fudurich 38 Mounds View 2:52:45 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Brianna Rohne 33 St. Paul 3:11:45
2016 1st place, gold medalist(s) Steven Pekarek 35 Royalton 2:39:29 2016 1st place, gold medalist(s) Amy Feit 36 Luverne 2:58:13
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Andrew Zachman 19 Holdingford 2:49:30 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Amy Omann 37 Chanhassen 3:01:17
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Matthew Fisher 37 Austin, Texas 2:53:11 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Elaina Schellhaass 29 St. Louis Park 3:08:16
2015 1st place, gold medalist(s) Chad Lutz 29 Stow, Ohio 2:33:59 2015 1st place, gold medalist(s) Nancy Buselmeier 31 Buffalo 3:00:15
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Reid Singer 29 Santa Fe, New Mexico 2:45:43 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Brianna Rohne 31 St. Paul 3:03:27
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Adam Nyseth 35 Plymouth 2:54:15 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Wanda Gau 52 Little Falls 3:04:57
2014 1st place, gold medalist(s) Justin Gillette 31 Goshen, Indiana 2:42:59 2014 1st place, gold medalist(s) Brianna Rohne 30 St. Paul 3:04:27
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ben Bruce 30 Waubun 2:50:07 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Wanda Gau 51 Little Falls 3:07:39
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Douglas Lange 44 Stillwater 2:50:51 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Brooke Rasmussen 18 Big Lake 3:12:18
2013 1st place, gold medalist(s) Jordan Hanlon 29 Minneapolis 2:38:19 2013 1st place, gold medalist(s) Brittany Opatz 27 Waconia 3:02:59
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ben Bruce 29 Waubun 2:44:15 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Brianna Rohne 29 St. Paul 3:15:25
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Jesse Rueckert 33 St. Cloud 2:52:41 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Jodi Nelson-Ryan 45 Sartell 3:24:26
2012 1st place, gold medalist(s) Jordan Hanlon 28 Minneapolis 2:35:23 2012 1st place, gold medalist(s) Paula Marozas 24 Little Falls 3:06:03
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Gerad Mead 32 St. Paul 2:36:01 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Marey Erickson 25 Waite Park 3:22:07
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Nate Hoffman 29 Annandale 2:42:26 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Wanda Gau 49 Little Falls 3:22:43
2011 1st place, gold medalist(s) Don Sullivan 37 Minneapolis 2:48:43 2011 1st place, gold medalist(s) Margaret Landberg 26 Minneapolis 3:05:46
2nd place, silver medalist(s) David Sanderson 34 Rochester 2:52:27 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Kathy Provenzano 36 Minneapolis 3:12:12
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Andrew Hemenway 37 Rochester 2:54:45 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Corrine Klebe 24 Rochester 3:26:08
2010 1st place, gold medalist(s) Brian Aurelio 26 Washington, D.C. 2:53:25 2010 1st place, gold medalist(s) Wanda Gau 47 Little Falls 3:17:22
2nd place, silver medalist(s) John Maas 48 Sleepy Eye 2:54:14 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Kalli Christen 40 St. Cloud 3:18:58
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Michael Heinen 26 Willmar 2:55:36 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Traci Amundson 35 Duluth 3:19:09
2009 1st place, gold medalist(s) Joe Buckentine 46 St. Cloud 2:50:19 2009 1st place, gold medalist(s) Kalli Christen 39 St. Cloud 3:17:52
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Ryan Hammerberg 25 St. Cloud 2:52:23 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Traci Amundson 34 Duluth 3:28:24
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Paul Danger 38 Valparaiso, Indiana 2:55:13 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Valerie Kelso 29 Rice 3:28:25
2008 1st place, gold medalist(s) Paul Danger 37 Valparaiso, Indiana 2:47:36 2008 1st place, gold medalist(s) Kalli Christen 38 St. Cloud 3:19:07
2nd place, silver medalist(s) David Hartz 50 Cold Spring 3:04:01 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Karen Wander 43 Becker 3:28:44
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Stanley Hup 53 Northfield 3:17:32 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Yvette Dockendorf 38 St. Louis Park 3:29:50