Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon

About an hour before the Grandma's Marathon, they started the Garry Bjorklunk Half Marathon at 6:30am last Saturday (6/18/05). The half marathon is run on the second half of the marathon course. I like how they do this. That means all the half marathon runners will be able to watch the full marathon winners cross the finish line.

This was the 29th Grandma's Marathon and the half has been going on since 1991. The half was listed as the 14th largest in the nation in 2003 according to runningusa.org (the marathon was 11th).

The Duluth News Tribune reports on planning that is already underway for next year's race which will be the race's 30th anniversary. Extra events are being planned to mark the occasion. One of the improvements they made this year was the addition of a 17-foot Jumbo Tron video screen near the finish line. If races want to increase the spectator turnout, this seems like a good way.

Half Marathon Stats

Below are the detailed half marathon statistics. Again this shows that half marathons are more popular with women. In the half women outnumber men by a ratio of 1.30. In the full marathon, men outnumbered the women with a ratio of 1.71.

Another consistent trend is with women in their 20s. They make up the largest age category with 38% of all the women. For the men, the largest age category is the 40s group with 29% of all the men.

Halfs seem to be much more popular with teens compared to full marathons. Perhaps it's closer to the distances they run in track or cross country. In this half both male and female teens made up 5% of the runners compared to only 2% for the full marathon. Also, the male and female teens were the fastest age group in the half. In the full marathon, the 30s age group was the fastest.

Finally, the half marathons don't usually attact the out-of-state folks like the full marathons. This was the case for the Bjorklunk. Only 17% of the half marathon runners were from outside Minnesota compared to 38% in the full marathon.

Below are the stats in table formats derived from the 2005 Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon results page.

Total Runners by Times

under 1:30	1:30 to 2:00	2:00 to 2:30	over 2:30
176 (4%)	1823 (38%)	2187 (45%)	641 (13%)

Male Runners by Times - Move mouse over cells to see median times. Top 3 times also shown in left columns.

Ages	under 1:30	1:30 to 2:00	2:00 to 2:30	over 2:30
preteens	0 (0%)	2 (50%)	0 (0%)	2 (50%)
teens	21 (21%)	52 (51%)	26 (26%)	2 (2%)
twenties	53 (13%)	189 (45%)	143 (34%)	37 (9%)
thirties	37 (6%)	351 (56%)	206 (33%)	34 (5%)
forties	34 (7%)	283 (55%)	170 (33%)	30 (6%)
fifties	9 (3%)	151 (47%)	125 (39%)	37 (11%)
sixties	1 (1%)	27 (30%)	49 (54%)	13 (14%)
seventies	0 (0%)	4 (27%)	7 (47%)	4 (27%)
Total	155 (7%)	1059 (50%)	726 (35%)	159 (8%)

Female Runners by Times - Move mouse over cells to see median times. Top 3 times also shown in left columns.

Ages	under 1:30	1:30 to 2:00	2:00 to 2:30	over 2:30
preteens	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	2 (100%)	0 (0%)
teens	1 (1%)	64 (45%)	59 (42%)	18 (13%)
twenties	9 (1%)	255 (28%)	485 (54%)	148 (16%)
thirties	7 (1%)	259 (31%)	463 (55%)	114 (14%)
forties	4 (1%)	154 (27%)	313 (54%)	108 (19%)
fifties	0 (0%)	30 (13%)	130 (54%)	80 (33%)
sixties	0 (0%)	2 (10%)	8 (38%)	11 (52%)
seventies	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (25%)	3 (75%)
Total	21 (1%)	764 (28%)	1461 (54%)	482 (18%)

Average/Best Times By Age Groups (Male and Female)

Ages	Number	Percent	Mean Time	Best Time
preteens	6	0%	2:12:26	1:41:52
teens	243	5%	1:58:47	1:14:24
twenties	1319	27%	2:06:13	1:06:38
thirties	1471	30%	2:04:07	1:09:47
forties	1096	23%	2:05:08	1:10:24
fifties	562	12%	2:11:01	1:21:47
sixties	111	2%	2:14:30	1:24:54
seventies	19	0%	2:24:18	1:50:12
Total	4827	100%	2:05:47	1:06:38
Fastest Ages (by average)
teens	243	5%	1:58:47	1:14:24

Average/Best Times By Male Age Groups

Ages	Number	Percent	Mean Time	Best Time
preteens	4	0%	2:12:12	1:41:52
teens	101	5%	1:49:06	1:14:24
twenties	422	20%	1:56:50	1:06:38
thirties	628	30%	1:56:17	1:09:47
forties	517	25%	1:56:58	1:10:24
fifties	322	15%	2:03:31	1:21:47
sixties	90	4%	2:11:14	1:24:54
seventies	15	1%	2:19:46	1:50:12
Total	2099	100%	1:58:10	1:06:38
Fastest Ages (by average)
teens	101	5%	1:49:06	1:14:24

Average/Best Times By Female Age Groups

Ages	Number	Percent	Mean Time	Best Time
preteens	2	0%	2:12:55	2:05:29
teens	142	5%	2:05:41	1:28:20
twenties	897	33%	2:10:37	1:17:42
thirties	843	31%	2:09:58	1:21:24
forties	579	21%	2:12:26	1:24:16
fifties	240	9%	2:21:05	1:30:32
sixties	21	1%	2:28:31	1:48:04
seventies	4	0%	2:41:18	2:04:56
Total	2728	100%	2:11:39	1:17:42
Fastest Ages (by average)
teens	142	5%	2:05:41	1:28:20

Average/Best Times By Cities (cutoff=50)

City	Number	Percent	Mean Time	Best Time
Cloquet, MN	75	2%	2:06:37	1:15:37
Duluth, MN	958	20%	2:07:06	1:08:53
Eagan, MN	55	1%	2:04:49	1:32:06
Edina, MN	54	1%	1:59:58	1:27:56
Grand Rapids, MN	61	1%	2:00:05	1:11:58
Hermantown, MN	60	1%	2:05:51	1:28:01
Minneapolis, MN	439	9%	2:03:58	1:09:47
Plymouth, MN	77	2%	2:05:56	1:21:07
St Louis Park, MN	98	2%	2:05:41	1:11:31
St Paul, MN	236	5%	2:05:31	1:15:44
Superior, WI	94	2%	2:10:26	1:22:46
Below Cutoff	2620	54%	2:05:43	1:06:38
Total	4827	100%	2:05:47	1:06:38
Fastest City (by average)
Edina, MN	54	1%	1:59:58	1:27:56

Average/Best Times By State (cutoff=10)

State	Number	Percent	Mean Time	Best Time
CA	12	0%	2:17:14	1:41:21
CO	18	0%	2:03:09	1:29:47
FL	13	0%	2:05:56	1:34:23
IA	46	1%	1:59:16	1:14:14
IL	42	1%	2:06:22	1:16:42
MI	22	0%	2:04:17	1:10:04
MN	4027	83%	2:05:46	1:08:53
ND	24	0%	2:11:54	1:10:16
SD	21	0%	2:05:58	1:09:26
WI	433	9%	2:04:51	1:06:38
other	57	1%	2:08:41	1:21:48
Below Cutoff	112	2%	2:09:19	1:12:08
Total	4827	100%	2:05:47	1:06:38
Fastest State (by average)
IA	46	1%	1:59:16	1:14:14

Average/Best Times By Nation (cutoff=1)

Nation	Number	Percent	Mean Time	Best Time
China	1	0%	1:21:48	1:21:48
Canada	44	1%	2:12:11	1:31:44
St Thomas Virgin I	1	0%	1:45:36	1:45:36
Sweden	1	0%	2:15:04	2:15:04
USA	4780	99%	2:05:44	1:06:38
Total	4827	100%	2:05:47	1:06:38
Fastest Nation (by average)
China	1	0%	1:21:48	1:21:48