If you've been running in the Northland this spring, especially last week, the weather has been superb. Cool, cool, cool.
Today it was hot, hot, hot, in preparation for today's first day of summer.
Two Duluth runners felt the effects in the 33rd Grandma's Marathon.
"I went out conservatively, and I'm glad I did because it was rougher than I thought it would be. It felt like a death march," said Eric Hartmark. "It's always tempting to drop out on a bad day, but I wanted to tough it out no matter how hard it was. I kept willing myself to push on, because I knew some people watching for me on the course.''
"I'm pretty sure I saw the Grim Reaper out there," said Katie Koski, who has exercised-induced asthma, especially noticeable on warm days. "At 16 miles I stopped and walked, and used my inhaler. My legs were cramping and I was worried I wouldn't finish."
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Koski, 36, has finished all 11 Grandma's Marathons in her career, this one in 3:01:25, well off a best 2:42:33, but the best by a woman in Northeastern Minnesota.
Hartmark, 31, got to Canal Park Drive in 2:32:21 and was the third Minnesota finisher. Two Harbors resident Sammy Malakwen, 31, of Kenya was 12th in 2:24:56.
Temperatures were already in the mid-60s by the 7:30 a.m. start, with 78 percent humidity, and climbed to 80 degrees by noon in downtown Duluth.
"I went to the medical tent after finishing and left, and then came back because of stomach cramps and got some intravenous fluid," said Koski, an English instructor at Hibbing Community College, who also teaches an online marathon training course for Lake Superior College.
Because of the heat, Hartmark said he didn't have a time goal, but did want to better his 19th place run in his first Grandma's Marathon in 2007. He did that by finishing 17th.
"My training had been going so well and I was hitting all sorts of bests during my workouts," said Hartmark, who manages rental properties and works in Web site maintenance. "On a good day I think I easily could've run a personal best."
He holds a marathon personal record of 2:21:56.
Two other Duluth women had decent races on a warm day. Leslie Smeler, 27, ran 3:06:25 and Rochelle Wirth, 47, finished in 3:16:48. The top Minnesotan was Jenna Boren, 32, of St. Paul, seventh in 2:47:49.
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"Midway through the race, the heat started to bug me, but I figured I just had to push through it," said Wirth, in her 12th Grandma's Marathon.
LUNDSTROM FACES HEAT
While temperatures have been a bit warmer in the Twin Cities, Chris Lundstrom of Minneapolis said he wasn't prepared for today's heat. He was 10th in the men's field in 2:24:11.
"It was hard from the very beginning. After two miles, you could just feel this wave of heat pouring over you," said Lundstrom, 33, a cross country, Nordic ski and track coach at St. Paul Como Park High School. "It was brutal."
Among former Duluth residents, Patrick Russell, 33, of Houghton, Mich, ran 2:35:56 and Tony Meyers, 31, of Hudson, Wis., 2:46:05. Tom Tisell, 41, of St. Paul, winner of last month's inaugural Minneapolis Marathon, was 27th in 2:42:28. Former Minnesota Duluth endurance athlete John Kallemeyn, 23, of Elk River, Minn., ran 2:46:00.
