(DULUTH, MINN.) — It was familiar faces doing familiar things at the 2022 Grandma’s Marathon, as Dominic Ondoro and Dakotah Lindwurm once again left with the men’s and women’s championships, respectively.
For Ondoro, who broke Dick Beardsley’s longstanding event record in 2014 for his first win in Duluth, it was his first competitive race since 2019. After saying before the race that he was unsure about his fitness, Ondoro ran a time of 2:09:34 that is now second-best all-time among men at Grandma’s Marathon behind only his record performance of 2:09:06 in 2014.
Kenyans took each of the top four spots on Saturday morning, with Ondoro followed by Sammy Rotich, James Ngandu, Elisha Barno. The win for Ondoro also extends the winning streak of Kenyan men at Grandma’s Marathon to eight, dating back to his first victory in 2014.
Lindwurm, meanwhile, smiled her way to second straight Grandma’s Marathon victory and nearly set a course record in the process. Already the first Minnesotan to win since Janice Ettle in 1991, Lindwurm now is the first woman to win back-to-back Grandma’s Marathon championships since Mary Akor won three in a row from 2007-09.
Asked if she’ll be back to try for a third title, Lindwurm said after the race she’ll not only be back, she’ll be back to go after the course record. Her time of 2:25:01 on Saturday was just 33 seconds off the pace set by Kellyn Taylor in 2018.
In total, there were 5,952 finishers of the 2022 Grandma’s Marathon. Full results from the race can be found HERE.
