Duluth Weekend Getaway: Grandma's Marathon Edition

Our time in Duluth for our Grandma’s Marathon weekend getaway was a lot of fun. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, and I’m happy to report I’ve got lots to share. Since I’m still traveling and not fully prepared to write a full race recap yet, I’m going to show you some of the cool things we did on Friday while up in Duluth. I’m hoping (fingers crossed) to post my race recap on Wednesday for the Running Coaches’ Corner, so stay tuned.

On Friday I showed you some pictures that might make you want to move up north. Well, as it turns out, winter is quite an unpopular season for many of you so I guess I won’t have any blog-friends moving up north with me any time soon. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I have a spare room for guests when I move so y’all can come visit. 😉 (To be fair, I hate winter, too. So there’s that. On second thought, maybe I ought to just be a snowbird. Hmmm…)

Duluth Weekend Getaway: Grandma’s Marathon Edition

My husband and I rolled in to Duluth on Thursday evening fairly late. We arrived at our home away from home, the Lake Breeze Resort, and upon first inspection of our room we were both like, “whut?” As it turns out, I ended up really loving it and I can’t wait to go back there. We had dinner at the Clearwater Grille, which was very nearby, and it was delicious. Both places are on the Grandma’s course.

Duluth Weekend Getaway: Grandma's Marathon | Running on Happy

Yes, there was a VCR. And a tube TV.

On Friday we spent the day in downtown Duluth. We hit up the Grandma’s expo very briefly, asked the info center guy a whole bunch of questions about runner drop-off and transportation, and then headed to Fitger’s Brewhouse for lunch. My husband and I both got the Apricot Wheat beer and it was amazing. If we lived closer and could refrigerate it on the way home, we definitely would have gotten a growler. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend Fitger’s. The food was phenomenal as well, and they have vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free friendly options.

Fitger’s Brewhouse. I spy a BWCA sticker!

After lunch we stopped by a few shops I wanted to check out since it had been 20 years since I had been in the area. We drove by the Electric Fetus and then popped in to Ragstock for nostalgia’s sake. There we found a rounder of “90s Exercise Jackets” as well as a straw hat with pom-poms glued onto it. We got a nice laugh out of that one because our son loves playing with pom-poms and calls them “Fuzzy Wuzzies.” Naturally, we had to document both of these rare sightings.

Fuzzy wuzzy hat, and the running man in a 90s jacket.

We spent the most time at the Duluth Pack store. It’s not a cheap store, but it’s not cheap product either. I got a bag from there in 1996 and it’s still in perfect condition. Plus, they offer a lifetime warranty on all their bags and packs so if something happens to it, you ship it back and they’ll fix it for you.

I somehow persuaded my husband that I needed a new purse (which is actually true) and I chose this beauty. It’s a waxed canvas bag and you can just tell how great the craftsmanship really is. Again, if you’re ever in Duluth, you have to check out the Duluth Pack store.

After our downtown-Duluth shenanigans, we hit a grocery store to stock up on all the food I may be craving after the race the next day, and then we drove the route we would be taking in the morning. First off, 15 miles is far — especially when you’re in the car and you’re thinking, “I’m going to be running this tomorrow?” Second, if you have the opportunity to plot your race day arrival/parking/drop-off/what have you before the actual race, do it. It put both of our minds at ease to know where we were going and what to expect. Race morning was super simple.

We spent the rest of the evening doing a whole bunch of nothing. We walked around the resort property, sat on a swing to watch the lake, and played a game of putt-putt. It was the best pre-race evening I think I’ve ever had. No stress, just relaxing.