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.

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 trail is named after a fictional region in Minnesota that appears in author and radio personality Garrison Keillor's stories. He has called the trail one of "ordinary beauty," a landscape of farms, woodland patches and small town-Americana.

History Two St. Cloud River Runners initially launched the event: Sartell teacher Joe Perske and St. Cloud lawyer Sharon Hobbs. They gained the support of local community members and mayors, and in the 2008 inaugural race, 80 runners finished. By 2010, the number of participants had grown to 200.

The course record for the marathon was set in 2025 by Jacob Vander Plaats, who ran it in 2:25:40. 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 died.

In May 2016, the 216-foot wooden-planked bridge at Schwinghammer Lake was set aflame by an arsonist, but a quick response by a bicyclist and fire fighters kept the bridge structurally sound, and the marathon did not have to be rerouted.

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 [participants'] health and safety first."

As the 2021 race approached, Minnesotans reached nearly 50 percent vaccination rate for adults. The race directors decided to run the race with a staggered start and a 250-participant cap, per the Minnesota Department of Health recommendations. It would be the first road marathon back in the state since the Mankato Marathon on Oct. 12, 2019. The week of the Lake Wobegon race, Governor Tim Walz issued new guidelines that stated wearing masks wasn't necessary while with groups of less than 500 people outdoors. The guidelines also dropped limits on the number of people allowed in outdoor gatherings. The race, which was labeled a Road Runners Club state championship, saw faster than average times, with the top three marking the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-all-time fastest runs on the course since its inception in 2008.

Marathon race results

Key:

All cities in Minnesota unless indicated otherwise

Men Women YearPlace Name Age Hometown Time Year Place Name Age Hometown Time 2025 Jacob Vander Plaats 25 Sioux City 2:25:40 2025 Maggie Marx 37 South Haven 3:06:50 Ben Johnson 39 Minneapolis 2:39:42 Katie Zirbes 43 Rochester 3:07:37 Bailey Vande Griend 25 Sioux Falls 2:43:10 Amy Gunderson 44 Savage 3:08:26 2024 Josh Peterson 27 Cold Spring 2:34:55 2024 Heather Camp 44 Mankato 3:04:47 Ben Johnson 38 Minneapolis 2:38:04 Amy Gunderson 43 Savage 3:05:10 Brian Valentini 40 Minneapolis 2:41:32 Maggie Marx 36 New Haven 3:07:35 2023 Ben Johnson 37 Minneapolis 2:47:35 2023 Katie Zirbes 35 Le Sueur 3:15:30 Matthew Axelrod 31 Saint Paul 2:55:53 Margaret Irvin 40 Durham, North Carolina 3:19:13 Stephen Woods 32 Avon 2:57:13 Laura Parson 40 Fargo, North Dakota 3:27:35 2022 John Schreier 32 Minneapolis 2:50:28 2022 Kristen Giombi 36 Raleigh, North Carolina 3:15:37 David Armstrong 40 Richardson, Texas 3:00:17 Leah Knowles 24 Shakopee 3:16:39 Jerod Honrath 48 Dallas, Texas 3:06:24 Wanda Gau 59 Little Falls 3:18:27 2021 Brandon Reihm 26 Annandale 2:36:17 2021 Kacy Rodamaker 23 Minneapolis 3:13:23 Evan Richardson 34 Byron 2:37:23 Wanda Gau 58 Little Falls 3:14:06 Braden Richardson 35 Byron 2:38:05 Katie Zirbes 33 Hutchinson 3:17:162020 Race canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2020 Race canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2019 Dan Feda 44 Rochester 2:45:30 2019 Cathleen Gross 25 Eagan 3:03:02 Justin Wirth 38 Annandale 2:52:22 Wanda Gau 56 Little Falls 3:12:47 Christopher Frank 47 Winnipeg, Canada 2:53:29 Rachel Turi 23 St. Paul 3:19:10 2018 Braden Richardson 33 Byron 2:45:52 2018 Wanda Gau 55 Little Falls 3:05:43 William McGinnis 38 Madison, South Dakota 2:54:44 Rachel Rice 38 Durham, North Carolina 3:12:54 Bryan Larison 34 Minneapolis 2:55:06 Sarah Schmidt-Dannert 18 Shoreview 3:19:16 2017 Eric Giandelone 38 St. Paul 2:45:00 2017 Cheryl Jeseritz 38 Savage 3:07:07 Ethan Komoroski 25 Minneapolis 2:50:56 Elaina Schellhaass 30 St. Louis Park 3:11:13 Bob Fudurich 38 Mounds View 2:52:45 Brianna Rohne 33 St. Paul 3:11:45 2016 Steven Pekarek 35 Royalton 2:39:29 2016 Amy Feit 36 Luverne 2:58:13 Andrew Zachman 19 Holdingford 2:49:30 Amy Omann 37 Chanhassen 3:01:17 Matthew Fisher 37 Austin, Texas 2:53:11 Elaina Schellhaass 29 St. Louis Park 3:08:16 2015 Chad Lutz 29 Stow, Ohio 2:33:59 2015 Nancy Buselmeier 31 Buffalo 3:00:15 Reid Singer 29 Santa Fe, New Mexico 2:45:43 Brianna Rohne 31 St. Paul 3:03:27 Adam Nyseth 35 Plymouth 2:54:15 Wanda Gau 52 Little Falls 3:04:57 2014 Justin Gillette 31 Goshen, Indiana 2:42:59 2014 Brianna Rohne 30 St. Paul 3:04:27 Ben Bruce 30Waubun 2:50:07 Wanda Gau 51 Little Falls 3:07:39 Douglas Lange 44 Stillwater 2:50:51 Brooke Rasmussen 18 Big Lake 3:12:18 2013 Jordan Hanlon 29 Minneapolis 2:38:19 2013 Brittany Opatz 27 Waconia 3:02:59 Ben Bruce 29 Waubun 2:44:15 Brianna Rohne 29 St. Paul 3:15:25 Jesse Rueckert 33 St. Cloud 2:52:41 Jodi Nelson-Ryan 45 Sartell 3:24:26 2012 Jordan Hanlon 28 Minneapolis 2:35:23 2012 Paula Marozas 24 Little Falls 3:06:03 Gerad Mead 32 St. Paul 2:36:01 Marey Erickson 25 Waite Park 3:22:07 Nate Hoffman 29 Annandale 2:42:26 Wanda Gau 49 Little Falls 3:22:43 2011 Don Sullivan 37 Minneapolis 2:48:43 2011 Margaret Landberg 26 Minneapolis 3:05:46 David Sanderson 34 Rochester 2:52:27 Kathy Provenzano 36 Minneapolis 3:12:12 Andrew Hemenway 37 Rochester 2:54:45 Corrine Klebe 24 Rochester 3:26:08 2010 Brian Aurelio 26 Washington, D.C. 2:53:25 2010 Wanda Gau 47 Little Falls 3:17:22 John Maas 48 Sleepy Eye 2:54:14 Kalli Christen 40 St. Cloud 3:18:58 Michael Heinen 26 Willmar 2:55:36 Traci Amundson 35 Duluth 3:19:09 2009 Joe Buckentine 46 St. Cloud 2:50:19 2009 Kalli Christen 39 St. Cloud 3:17:52 Ryan Hammerberg 25 St. Cloud 2:52:23 Traci Amundson 34 Duluth 3:28:24 Paul Danger 38 Valparaiso, Indiana 2:55:13 Valerie Kelso 29 Rice 3:28:25 2008 Paul Danger 37 Valparaiso, Indiana 2:47:36 2008 Kalli Christen 38 St. Cloud 3:19:07 David Hartz 50 Cold Spring 3:04:01 Karen Wander 43 Becker 3:28:44 Stanley Hup 53 Northfield 3:17:32 Yvette Dockendorf 38 St. Louis Park 3:29:50

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