Amanuel Mesel wins Grandma's Marathon in 2:11:21 and Dakotah Popehn takes her third title
The Eritrean beat Elisha Barno by 89 seconds in Duluth; Popehn, from Hopkins, Minnesota, ran 2:28:51 to win the women's race by 45 seconds.
Photograph: Dakotah Popehn finishing the 2025 Boston Marathon, by Margot Murphy, Massachusetts Governor's Press Office, public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsAmanuel Mesel of Eritrea won Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, on Saturday in 2:11:21. Kenya's Elisha Barno was second in 2:12:50, Ethiopia's Getinet Gedamu third in 2:13:03 and Sammy Rotich fourth a second later. Will Norris was the first American, fifth in 2:13:08.
Dakotah Popehn won the women's race in 2:28:51. She is from Hopkins, Minnesota, and this was her third Grandma's title. Bashanke Bilo of Ethiopia was second in 2:29:36, Jane Bareikis third in 2:30:23 and Mary van Laarhoven of Maple Grove, Minnesota, fourth in 2:32:40. Hannah Branch was fifth.
The course records stayed where they were: Dominic Ondoro's 2:09:06 from 2014 and Volha Mazuronak's 2:23:52 from 2024. Zoey Viavattine won the non-binary division in 2:38:09, a course record. In the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon the same morning, Acer Iverson won in 1:01:15 and Kasandra Parker in 1:10:16. Mason Shea and Mackenzie Myran won Friday's 5K in 14:58 and 18:06. Luis Sanclemente and Michelle Wheeler took the wheelchair races.
Grandma's has become the June marathon Americans go to for a fast time, which is why a women's field this deep producing a local winner is worth noting.
Popehn has now won her home-state marathon three times. Some runners chase courses; some own one.
Sources: Grandma's Marathon; Northern News Now; Wikipedia.
