Eric Strand has been running what he calls the “Grandma’s Marathon Double” since 2012. The concept is simple: start at the marathon finish line, run to the starting line, then turn around and run the regular marathon. Strand’s crew in 2024 included Dusty Olson, who Strand refers to as “the OG Grandma’s Marathon Doubler.”
Grandma’s Marathon
Once again, Eric Strand and his crew run from the Grandma’s Marathon finish line to the start, then turn around and run the official marathon. They call it the “12th annual” though it’s technically the 11th, since the first was in 2012 and the run didn’t happen in 2020.
One year ago Eric Strand completed his 10th Grandma’s Marathon Double — starting at the finish line, running to the starting line, then running the official marathon. The 2022 video was finally released just before the 2023 marathon. Strand uses the 52.4-mile Grandma’s Marathon Double as a training run for the Leadville 100 Trail Run.
Strand has been running the Grandma’s Marathon since 2000 and has done the “double” since 2012, except for the pandemic year of 2020.
Eric Strand’s tradition of running a Grandma’s Marathon Double — starting at the finish line, running to the starting line, then running the official marathon — continued in 2021. The annual video package didn’t make it to YouTube until today — 11 days before the next Grandma’s Marathon — but hey, editing video is its own marathon, right?
Joining Strand on the 52.4-mile trek, which began at 2:30 a.m., are Andy, Andrew, John, Lance and another guy named Eric. All were impressed with the awe-inspiring sunrise over the porta potties at the half-marathon starting line.