(DULUTH, MINN.) — Aaron Pike and Susannah Scaroni both already owned event records before the 2022 Grandma’s Marathon wheelchair race began, but both now have strengthened their hold on that claim to fame after outstanding performances on Saturday morning.
Pike outlasted defending champion JohnBoy Smith to win his fourth career Grandma’s Marathon title, finishing just three seconds ahead in a time of 1:20:02. That time is nearly a minute faster than Pike’s old event record of 1:20:59, which he set in 2019.
Pike also breaks a three-way tie with Josh George and Krige Schabort for career championships, and he now sits behind only Paul van Winkel (8) and Saul Mendoza (7) with four.
Even as a runner-up, Smith set a new personal record and actually a new record for British wheelchair racers, beating the old mark by more than five minutes.
Scaroni, meanwhile, posted a blistering time of 1:27:31 that obliterated by more than three minutes her old event record of 1:30:42, set in 2019. The time is actually a new world best, beating Manuela Schar’s time of 1:28:17 in the 2017 Boston Marathon, but won’t be certified as a new world record because the Grandma’s Marathon course is point-to-point with an elevation drop above the allowed standard.
Scaroni beat out runner-up Jenna Fesemyer, who finished second in a time of 1:33:50.
Full results of the 2022 Grandma’s Marathon wheelchair division can be found HERE.
