[Rachel Blount from Startribune reports for mzungo.org.]As Christopher Raabe cruised into downtown Duluth Saturday morning, the thousands of spectators lining the Grandma’s Marathon course began chanting, "USA! USA!’’
In Canal Park, cowbells rang out near the finish line as the buzz spread among race fans: an American, and a Minnesota native, was on the cusp of winning the race. Despite the uproar, Raabe maintained his focus all the way to the line as he became the first American to win Grandma’s Marathon in 14 years.
Raabe, a native of Sauk Rapids who ran cross country at North Dakota State, finished in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 13 seconds. The last American man to win Grandma’s was Mark Curp in 1995, and the last Minnesota man to win was Rush City’s Dick Beardsley in 1981 and 1982.
Mary Akor won the women’s race for the third consecutive year, joining Lorraine Moller as the second person to win three Grandma’s in a row. Akor battled Russia’s Alina Ivanova and Kenya’s Janet Cherubon through most of the race before opening up a lead in downtown Duluth to win in 2:36:51. Akor is a naturalized American citizen, and her victory sealed the first American sweep of Grandma’s since 1994.
Raabe, 30, took the lead about 14 miles into the race and steadily stretched it to defeat second-place Charles Kanyao of Kenya and third-place David Tuwei, a Kenyan who trains a few months a year in Coon Rapids. A 26-second margin at the 17-mile mark became a one-minute lead at 19 miles. At Lemon Drop Hill, 22 miles in, Raabe kept charging and led by about two minutes. Kanyao finished in 2:18:36, more than three minutes behind Raabe, and Tuwei in 2:19:49. Akor, 32, clung to a narrow lead over Ivanova through the final stretch and beat her by six seconds.
African runners won both the men’s and women’s divisions of the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, run over the second half of the Grandma’s course. Ernest Kebenei of Kenya took the men’s gold in 1:05:17, and Belainesh Gebre of Ethiopia topped the women’s field in 1:11:57.
Kebenei led from start to finish and held a margin of 300 meters at one point. He finished nine seconds ahead of Ezkyas Sisay of Ethiopia, with American Fernando Cabada third in 1:05:30--just four seconds behind Sisay--and Minneapolis’ Matt Gabrielson fourth in 1:05:36.
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