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Rain Soaks Spring Marathoners at Nisswa’s Run for the Lakes

Posted onAuthorJonathon Heide






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After two years of big changes for one of the smallest marathons in the state, runners showed up to face two challenges: running 26.2 miles and doing it in a Minnesota spring.

Rain, wind, and wet feet were everywhere on the roads in Nisswa for the 13th running of the Brainerd Jaycees Run for the Lakes Marathon on April 30. A smaller number of participants showed up in the punishing weather, but strong support turned out from the town and the surrounding community for the marathon and the three other races. And there was another noticeable change from the weekend: someone besides Brock Tesdahl or Casey Miller took home the first-place honors. 

St. Paul resident Andrew Escobedo, 35, outran the field of 55 in the marathon, coming into view at the finish line without another person in sight. He splashed his way toward the tape to scattered cheers of people underneath umbrellas, becoming only the fifth person to be the race’s overall winner. (Miller and Tesdahl have nine wins between the two of them.)

Escobedo’s time was 3:09:25, close to the winning time from another bad-weather year—2008, during a snowstorm.

His closest competitor in the two-loop course that featured red and white pines and three lakes was 35-year-old Matt Swanson from White Bear Lake, coming in at 3:14:59. Tom Lyscio, 32, of Duluth was third place, finishing with a time of 3:25:52.

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Seventh overall and first for the women was Maple Grove resident Kortney Haag. The 43-year-old triathlon veteran was one of only 18 women who finished the race. Her time was 3:34:26. Sara Sykes, 39, of Chanhassen, was second at 3:37:27. And Brainerd runner Julie Helsene, 37, soldiered through to third place in 3:49:24. 

Although the women’s winning time was the slowest since the inaugural race, the tough conditions formed a camaraderie among some of the runners along the blustery course as they encouraged each other to stay in the race and make it to the finish.

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The race weekend also featured a half marathon (run on the same course, but just one loop instead of two). After finishing in third place in 2017 and 2019, Ricky Aulie, the principal of Pine River-Backus Elementary School won the overall half marathon in 1:25:33. Aulie, 37, who lives in Breezy Point, persevered through the precipitation to edge out the others. In the inclimate weather, he was about six minutes slower than his 2019 time. Duluth resident John Curley, 29, finished second in 1:28:57 and Stefan Wolf, 31, of Osseo, finished third in 1:35:04.

Kaitlin Goforth, 29, of Albert Lea, won the women’s race in 1:35:37. Goforth has run several marathons and has helped coach the Albert Lea cross country team while working in orthopedics at the Mayo Clinic. She was followed by North Mankato’s Molly Host, 37, in 1:37:15, and Nisswa’s own Mata Agre, 28, in 1:39:51. 

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In the 10K, the overall winner was Amira Joseph. She hit a 6:13-per-minute-mile pace to outrun the field of 130 women and men, finishing in 38:32. The 29-year-old from Rochester works at the Mayo Clinic.

She was followed by the top male finisher, Andrew Olsen, 32, of Duluth (38:37), Kevin Ryan, 29, Little Canada (39:29) and John Kelsey, 31, also of Rochester (41:38). The other top two women were Rachel Rusk, 27, of Brainerd (47:03), and Veronica Olson, 32, of Duluth (49:00).

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The previous day, in better weather, 166 runners took on the shorter 5K distance. Jesse Prince, the course record holder for the half marathon (1:13:41), entered and won by four minutes with a time of 16:53. Prince, 41, of Bemidji, also set a course record for the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon during his 2019 win.

Marshall resident Matthew Hamersma, 27, took second in the 5K (20:54) followed two seconds later by 27-year-old Nathan McDonald of Brainerd. Lillie Pearo, 43, from nearby Crosslake took the tape for the women in 24:35. Pillager’s Britta Kolodziej, 36, followed in 25:28 and Sydney Wold, 27 of Fort Ripley was third in 25:31.


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Boston’s Spotlight Shines Bright on Minnesotan Women during Historic Anniversary

Posted onAuthorJonathon Heide2 Comments






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By: Jonathon Heide

Images: Mateo Fischer and Jonathon Heide

For the first time in two years, the Boston Marathon returned to the Patriot’s Day holiday as two Minnesota women runners were in the national spotlight. One is a pioneer in the sport; the other is building off the legacy of women runners and finished as the fourth place American on the 50th anniversary of the first official Boston Marathon women’s race.

The pioneer is Val Rogosheske, one of the eight women to run in 1972 at the first official women’s race. Prior to that year, the much ballyhooed Amateur Athletic Union held a firm line against women competing in the 26.2 mile run. Marathon directors agreed with them for years, but public opinion turned after women fought for equality in all areas of society, including sports. 

Some women ignored the rules during the 1960s and ran as “bandits,” without official entry. Bobbi Gibb did it in 1966, finishing and beating many men on the Massachusetts course. In 1967, a photographer from the Boston Herald captured race organizer Jock Semple attempting to pull Kathrine Switzer off the course. Switzer had registered as K. V. Switzer, so she had an official bib.

While Rogosheske was never pulled off a course, she grew up with society pushing her away from the idea of competing. She attended Edina High School until 1965 and studied physical education at St. Cloud University, graduating in 1969—all without the opportunity for organized women’s sports.  

But someone challenged her to time herself running a mile on the St. Cloud track, and that got her motivated. She and her husband, Phil, moved to the East Coast, and she set her sights on Boston. When the officials fired the gun, she was one of the eight women to run (though she wasn’t included in a pre-race photo with the other seven). People cheered her on as she journeyed to Boston on foot.

Throughout the week leading up to this year’s race, runners could see pictures and hear stories about the women who ran in 1972. Pictures and stories of Rogosheske and the seven other women were nearly everywhere runners looked—the official program, Copley Square, every media outlet in the city—people could even view the light blue Asics Onitsuka Tigers that Rogosheske wore during her groundbreaking first marathon. They were on display in museum style, encased behind glass at the Boston Marathon Expo’s history exhibit.

Rogosheske spoke on a panel before this year’s race. She joined the other women who blazed the trail in 1972 (Carrie Tollefson mediated). Rogosheske was also nominated to the Boston Marathon’s 2022 “Honorary Team” along with Verna Volker, the founder of Native Women Running.

Leading up to that historic 76th edition of the Boston Marathon, Rogosheske said her training was cut short due to illness, resulting in  her sixth-place finish. She continued her training and improved her times. A year later, when she showed up at the 11th running of the Minnesota’s Land of Lakes Marathon in 1973, Rogosheske was able to hold pace with several of the 80 men who started.

They took four laps around Bald Eagle Lake in White Bear Lake while nearby residents watched in amusement. Steve Hoag led the men and Rogosheske won first for the women, coming in at 3:21:57. It was the first “official” women’s marathon race in Minnesota. 

Half a century later, Rogosheske returned to Hopkinton, Massachusetts, at age 75—not just to remember the anniversary of the historic race—but to run it again. Her two daughters and her cousin stood by her side, running shoes ready, holding signs that celebrated half a century of women’s races.

As media crews and reporters followed her story, Rogosheske and her family members ran and walked down the hills, through the small towns, past the scenic views of trees and rock, and up the four Newton Hills to turn once again onto Boylston en route to the finish line. Together they passed under the overarching Boston Marathon finish line banner at 6:38:57.


Rogosheske was also the official starter for the elite women. She fired the starting pistol and sent the field of 42 women sprinting into the course’s downhill miles. The elite frontrunners included Dakotah Lindwurm, a runner with Minnesota Distance Elite based in the Twin Cities. Lindwurm ran with the lead women through the early miles and kept pushing through the hills from mile 17 through 21 while wearing her trademark smile.

As Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir outdueled Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh down the homestretch to win in 2:17:16, Lindwurm churned through the final miles and finished 14th overall in 2:29:55. 

Lindwurm was the fourth American woman finisher, and she was more than a minute faster than her 2021 Boston race (which took place in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Dakotah Lindwurm at the 2022 Boston Marathon

Ahead of Lindwurm this year, Des Linden of Boston finished 13th (2:28:47), Stephanie Rothstein-Bruce of Flagstaff, Arizona, finished 12th (2:28:02) and Nell Rojas of Boulder, Colorado, finished 10th (2:25:57) as the first American, winning $5,500. Rojas also has a Grandma’s Marathon connection—she won the 2019 race, which set the stage for her ninth place finish at the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon, her win at the 2021 USATF 10 Mile Championship and her sixth place finish (first American overall) in last year’s Boston Marathon.

Lindwurm, 26, became a statewide Minnesota hero when she won the women’s race at the 2021 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth with a time of 2:29:04, becoming the first champ from the North Star State since Janice Ettle won in 1991. Lindwurm had trained with her Minnesota Distance Elite coach through the winter and claimed the sixth fastest winning time at the race, vaulting her into the national running scene.

All of a sudden, people wanted to know more about the former high school hockey goalie from the north Metro. And while reporters did uncover her national level DII college running at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, few detailed her three first place finishes at the ridiculously challenging Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon (2014, 2015 and 2016). 

Lindwurm followed up her Grandma’s win with a great performance at the 2021 Boston, where she was in the front of the lead pack, grinning through the miles. She finished 13th in 2:31:04. Then in December 2021, she ran a scorching half at the USATF Half Marathon Championship, clocking a 1:09:40 for third place. (Elena Hayday, a 22 year-old Minneapolis resident, came in 26th in the race in 1:16:10, just about a minute behind former St. Paulite Gwen Jorgensen).

Sponsors noticed. In 2022, Puma added Lindwurm to their list of sponsored runners. Annie Frisbee, another Minnesota Distance Elite runner, was also added. Frisbee, 25, had surprised many by running 2:26:18 at the 2021 New York City Marathon, placing as the seventh overall woman (third American).

Also in Boston this year, Frisbee ran the 5K on Saturday morning. She finished 12th, breaking 16 minutes by three seconds in a race that was more of a tune up for her upcoming racing season (Ethiopian Senbere Tefere won the race in 14:49).

While Rogosheske planted the seeds for women’s professional racing half a century ago, Lindwurm has reaped the benefits. Rogosheske’s run on that day 50 years ago finished in 4:29:32. 

Her legacy will much longer.


Top boston Finishers from Minnesota

WOMEN (of 10,568)

14. Dakotah Lindwurm, 26, St. Francis, 2:29:55

106. Alyssa Kaplan, 29, Minneapolis, 2:54:03

144. Cheryl Jeseritz, 43, Savage, 2:56:29

164.Olivia Anger, 24, Apple Valley, 2:57:11

265. Brianna Hickey, 28, Minneapolis, 3:01:46

 

MEN (of 14,258)

84. Tyler Morey, 33, Plymouth, 2:28:30

114. Louis Hughes, 32, Minneapolis, 2:30:12

173. Matthew Boumeester, 35, St. Paul, 2:32:15

352. Christian Hall, 30, Minneapolis, 2:38:09

522. Nick Thomas, 25, Duluth, 2:41:07




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Run for the Lakes Marathon Back in the Running

Posted onAuthorJonathon Heide


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Smallest marathon in the state kickstarts season

For two years, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down a race that was becoming a signal of spring in central Minnesota. 

But this year, the marathon in the Brainerd Lakes area is returning for a full race weekend with support from the local community. The volunteers at the Brainerd Jaycees non-profit who operate the race weekend are bringing back the in-person races for the first time since 2019. 

“People are very excited to be back racing in person,” said the Jaycees race director for this year, Lizzie Aydt. “They’ve been training, and they are ready to do this.” 

The 13th Run for the Lakes marathon is set to run April 30, and race organizers hope that many return to the scenic double-loop route in Nisswa. While the storied Get In Gear 10K welcomes thousands of runners the same weekend in the Twin Cities, this smaller 26.2-mile race usually draws 100 to 150 people. However, around 1,500 runners typically compete during the two-day race weekend: some in the half marathon, some in the marathon relay, some in the 5K, or 10K, or the kid-friendly 1 kilometer dash.

“The race is a great way to bring people to the Brainerd Lakes area,” Aydt said, noting most runners come from within the state. “It’s a great way for local businesses to get support, especially from the people who come up from the Metro area.”

The race’s location in the region and on the calendar promises many runners cooler temps. But it is also susceptible to the late-season snowstorm. Runners in the inaugural race of 2008 (won by George Bienusa and Amber Bowman) were hit with gusty winds and a foot of fresh-fallen snow. 

This year though, runners might need good rain gear. Temps are projected to hover in the 40s during a rainfall with 15 mile-per-hour winds.

The 5K and kid’s race happen on Friday. The marathon and half marathon start together at the Nisswa Community Center at 8 a.m. The 10K racers start 30 minutes later. 

The marathon course travels twice around a large loop, passing through white pine and red pine groves as it circles Clark Lake, Lake Hubert, and smaller Bass Lake. Runners cover about three miles on the flat, paved Paul Bunyan State Trail. The rest of the course is on the shoulder of lightly traveled roads. The route is not closed to traffic and has a total elevation gain of about 550 feet (according to Strava, which is never completely accurate).

“You’re running around the lakes area, which is beautiful in general,” said Aydt.

Running with an all-volunteer staff

Along with putting on the marathon (and the massive Ice Fishing Extravaganza), the non-profit Brainerd Jaycees seeks to promote leadership for young professionals in the area. Each year, the Jaycees create a committee to put on the marathon, and they elect one member to be the new race director. 

Aydt graduated from Brainerd High School in 2017 and then studied public relations at Minnesota State, Moorhead. When not planning the big race weekend, she is with her family or working full-time as a marketing assistant for a local learning center. She said the other members of the committee help pass the race director baton from one year to the next. 

The committee “is the backbone of the event,” she said. “We all have different roles, and we all bring great skills to all of those roles.”

More than 100 volunteers work to put the race weekend together. Aydt said the marathon committee ensures the entrance fees and sponsorship funds covers the bills incurred—and that all the extra gets donated to a worthy cause.  

This year the cause is Pohl Children’s Scholarship Foundation, which is developing a hospice and palliative care center for children in the central Minnesota region. 

The biggest sponsors in the race are Essential Health and C & L Distributing.

“I think that the race weekend adds to the community,” said Aydt. “A lot of these organizations look forward to volunteering in this event; they look forward to getting their name out and telling people what they are all about.”

Residents record repeat wins

Depending on how the weather develops, it may be challenging to break the course record, set by St. Paul’s Patrick Russell in 2012 when he ran a 2:35:45. 

Russell’s win broke a streak of wins by a local resident who has become the best-known runner of the race. Baxter resident Casey Miller had won three straight from 2009 to 2011, and he returned again to win in 2013, 2014 and 2017. 

Brock Tesdahl is another repeat winner. The Crosby-Ironton high school graduate and former Bemidji State basketball player took first place in 2016, 2018 and 2019. His last win came in the second-fastest time ever recorded on the course: 2:36:26. 

In the women’s race, 2019 was a record-breaking year. Sonya Lucatero of Reno, Nevada, came to Minnesota on her quest to run a marathon in all 50 states. She won and set a course record of 3:05:12. 

Years before, Melissa Jansen of St. Cloud was a three-time winner (2012, 2013 and 2015) and placed second in 2008 and 2014, where she ran her personal best time on the course (3:11:58), six minutes behind that year’s winner, East Gull Lake resident Michelle Andres. 

Jill Kroc of Mankato also took home more than one title, winning in 2010 and 2011 (at ages 38 and 39) and placing third in 2012.

Pandemic snapped consecutive events

The record book couldn’t record any official finishes for the past two years. Back in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down society as we knew it. On March 21, 2020, following the lead of NCAA and professional sports, the Brainerd Jaycees announced the cancellation of all the races taking place over the marathon weekend. 

By the next year, vaccines were available, but the Minnesota Department of Health continued to issue warnings about large gatherings. Once again, the race was canceled (a decision announced Jan. 26, 2021, on the Run for the Lakes Facebook page).

“We had a lot of community support behind going virtual,” Aydt said of the previous race director’s decision to cut the race and ask people to register and run the distance on their own. Seventeen submitted times for the marathon (on the honor system).

Aydt said the planning of this year’s in-person race has been a marathon in itself. But after two years of cancellations, she’s just excited to see the runners hit the road once again.

“We’ve done great through the years,” Aydt said. “It can only go up from here.”

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