Rink and Run blog: Grandma's Marathon, 4 days to go

The Grandma's Marathon weekend is nearly here, headed by the 34th Grandma's Marathon and 20th Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon on Satuday. The 17th William A. Irvin 5K is Friday.

      The final entry numbers for 2010 are: Grandma's Marathon 7,387 (4,493 men, 2,894 women); Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon 6,876 (2,969 men, 3,907 women); and William A. Irvin 5K 1,653 (643 men, 1,010 women). The marathon total is down 1,000 from 2009, while the half-marathon and 5K totals are record numbers.

      Wednesday's News Tribune race story focused on volunteers and is here. A Tuesday story profiled half-marathoner Fernando Cabada is here. Monday's story looked at three runners who have milestone resumes of 100 marathons here. And Sunday we looked at how international professional athletes obtain visas to come to the United States to run here.

      Next to be profiled will be three-time defending Grandma's Marathon champion Mark Akor of Hawthorne, Calif., on Thursday, and defending men's champion and Minnesota native Christopher Raabe of Washington, D.C., on Friday.

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