U.S. in Recession

Registration lags for Grandma's Marathon

by Tim Nelson, Minnesota Public Radio

Duluth, Minn. — Officials with Grandma's Marathon in Duluth say the economy is hurting their race registration numbers.

Race officials say they expect to reach their limit of 9,500 runners, but they still have hundreds of openings for the June 20 marathon.

Executive director Scott Keenan says the main factor is the sluggish economy.

"Some people have lost their jobs, obviously, and income might be down a little bit in families, so I think people are slowing up a little bit on the registration process just to see if they can pay the bills there first. But we're hoping that we're going to get more coming in here in the next month," said Keenan.

Area hotels typically raise their rates for race weekend. Keenan says he's been working with the universities in the city on lower-cost accomodations. He says more than 2,000 runners typically stay in the nearby college dorms.

Two new Twin Cities metro marathons may also be affecting Grandma's registration numbers. They take place May 24 in Stillwater and May 31 in Minneapolis.