Grandma's Marathon reopens registration after Minneapolis Marathon is canceled

Thunderstorms and the threat of lightning prompted the cancellation of Sunday’s Minneapolis Marathon.
“Due to concerns for public safety, the 2014 Minneapolis Marathon is canceled,” read a statement posted on the race’s Facebook page Sunday morning. “The current lightning strikes on the course and the predicted severe weather cell arriving before the finish of the half-marathon made this decision necessary. An experienced team of police and weather professionals made this very difficult call for the safety of the runners.”
The start of the race initially was delayed before officials later made a “difficult decision” to cancel the event.
“We learned a second storm was tracking towards the Twin Cities,” race officials reported on Facebook. “This storm had high probability of lightning strikes in multiple locations on the race course. Our crisis plan specifically addresses zero tolerance for lightning strikes on the course. Since, we could not guarantee the safety of our 6,000 runners, 500 volunteers and event staff with this weather coming even for the shorter distance of the half marathon, we chose to cancel.”
The Minneapolis Marathon, first run in 2009, is a different race than the Twin Cities Marathon, which is held in fall and was first run in 1982.
In the wake of the cancellation, officials with Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth reopened registration for this year’s race to accommodate runners who had been slated to run in Minneapolis.
Registration for Grandma’s Marathon, which initially closed May 31, will now remain open until 11:59 p.m. Central time today. Grandma’s Marathon will be held on June 21 on a course along the shore of Lake Superior from Two Harbors to Canal Park in Duluth.