The Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon is a 26.2 mile foot race from Holdingford, Minnesota, to St. Joseph, Minnesota, on a paved trail called the Lake Wobegon Trail. The course is USATF-certified, making it a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon. The race is sponsored and organized by the St. Cloud River Runners, a running group active since 1983 with about 150 members.
Marathon Course
The flat, straight course is run on a blacktop trail converted from freight rail lines. After starting at the high school in Holdingford, the route quickly links to the Lake Wobegon Trail and goes southwest to the small town of Albany. On the outskirts of the town, the trail turns directly east and passes over the South Branch of Two Rivers, past two smaller lakes and a state-designated science and nature area. The path continues through farm land and then over the small gap of land between Middle Spunk Lake and Lower Spunk Lake on the east side of Avon. The course passes two more lakes before finishing in St. Joseph. The Lake Wobegon Trail is maintained by the Stearns County Parks, local trail groups, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the seven cities through which it passes.
The course record for the marathon was set in 2015 by Chad Lutz, who ran it in 2:33:59. The race was first run in 2008, when 80 people from 12 states and Canada registered. The first race was sponsored by the St. Cloud-based law firm Rinke-Noonan. More recently, the race has seen a steady registration in the 400 runner range. The race is capped at 450 runners, according to 2018 race director George Bienusa. A tragedy took place during the race in 2011, when a 35-year-old man from Byron, Minnesota, collapsed after finishing and suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical personnel attended to him, but he passed away. Seven runners have a streak of participating in the race every year. On April 2, 2020, more than a month before the May 9 race date, the race officials canceled the 12th running of the marathon due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press release, the marathon organizers said they would "join numerous other events in an attempt to protect runners, volunteers and emergency medical personnel by putting health and safety first."
