A big thank you to Eve Stein for providing numerous race pictures over the years.  Eve has continued her photographic streak this summer.  Here are a few pictures from the Voyageur and Mini Track Meets.

2011 Minnesota Voyageur Ultra Pics

More pics available here.

2011 Mini Track Meet Pics

More pics available here.

UPDATE: Pictures from today's Brule River Lions Run are also available.

2011 Brule River Lions Run Pics

More pics available here.

The words "change" and "Northland Runner" aren't exactly synonymous, but if Kris can write a blog entry, then we feel anything goes.  We've made a few changes around these here parts that we'd like to announce.

First of all, we have removed the Runner of the Month (ROTM) tab.  You may have noticed that we hadn't gotten around to writing a ROTM article, oh, since 2009.  Since we clearly haven't been able to dedicate the time to it, we have removed that tab for the time being.  You can still find the old ROTM posts here on the News page under the Archive section.  We do enjoy the ROTM feature and hope to add it back in at some point.  If anyone out there is interested in writing ROTM articles on a regular (or irregular) basis, you can e-mail us at info@northlandrunner.com.

Replacing the ROTM tab is the new Series tab.  The Series section lists all the series events in the Northland.  Additionally, if a race belongs to a series, you will see that noted in the upper-right corner of the race page now.

The final change is the addition of zip code functionality on our search page.  You can now enter a zip code and the number of miles in which to look.  The search feature will return all races that fall within that radius (and meet whatever other search criteria you enter).  We are also working on the ability to search by surface: paved road, trail, etc.  If you have other search criteria you'd like to see, feel free to let us know.

We'd also like to take this opportunity to announce the launch of our new website, Minnesota Runner.  Northland Runner has become a fairly successful regional site, and we saw a need for a similar site that covered the entire state.  Raceberry Jam and the MDRA cover the Cities pretty well, and there are several regional and specialty sites, but we didn't see a site that listed all the races in Minnesota.  Consequently, we spent over a year researching races all over the state and launched Minnesota Runner in May.  We have over 1100 races listed on the calendar and expect to post another 500 as we continue to find more events in small towns across Minnesota.

So, should you use Northland Runner or Minnesota Runner to find races?  Well, that depends.  The Northland Runner coverage area is centered on Duluth and extends west to Bemidji, south to Hinckley, east to Ironwood, and north to Thunder Bay.  There are exceptions, as we've included a few other races you might find interesting, such as the Twin Cities and Fargo Marathons.  If you are well within the Northland Runner coverage area, you may not have much cause to use Minnesota Runner unless you are planning a trip to a different part of the state.  If you are in the western or southern portion of our coverage area, however, you may find more races of interest to you on Minnesota Runner.

This concludes our public service announcement.  We now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming.

Submitted By:

Bob Gustafson

Public Relations Director

Grandma's Marathon

bob@grandmasmarathon.com

218-727-0947

Free Youth Races Presented By the Young Athletes Foundation

DULUTH, MN - The Young Athletes Foundation and Grandma's Marathon invite children 14 and under to lace up their shoes and take part in the 2011 Wednesday Night at the Races. This free race series begins Wednesday at Duluth Central High School and continues every Wednesday evening until August 31 (locations vary weekly, see schedule below). Registration is between 5:00 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. each race night, and the races begin at 6 p.m.

Race dates and locations for 2011 are as follows:

* Event includes wheelchair division

Age categories and distances for boys and girls: (may change due to weather conditions)
Wheelchair division – 1/4 mile
4 & under – 1/8 mile
5 & 6 – 1/8 mile
7 & 8 – 1/4 mile
9 & 10 – 1/4 mile
11 & 12 – 1/2 mile
13 & 14 – 1/2 mile

All finishers receive a race ribbon upon completion of their race. Prize drawings are held each week for all registered participants.

Wednesday Night at the Races is sponsored by 10fold Solutions, Anytime Fitness, B105, Charter Communications, City of Duluth, Duluth News Tribune, Duluth Running Company, Fitger’s, Great Clips, Great Harvest Bread, Holiday Stationstores, Integrity Health Network, maurices, Minnesota Power, MIX 108, Northland’s NewsCenter, Sam’s Club, St. Luke’s, The Shack Smokehouse and Grille, Texas Roadhouse and Unum.

For more information, visit GrandmasMarathon.com or YoungAthletesFoundation.com.

The Mini Meet Open Track & Cross-Country Series scheduled for tonight in Superior has been cancelled due to storms.  The series will continue next Tuesday at 6:30pm at the UWS track.

The Run the Range Series concluded last weekend with the Festival Ironwood Run, Walk & Roll in Ironwood, Michigan.  Congratulations to Leah Nikula and Alan Peterson for capturing the women's and men's titles, respectively.  In a close finish, Leah edged Enni Gregas by two points.  Complete point standings available below.  A big thank you to Mark Massoglia for tabulating the series results.  Look for his blog entry in a couple weeks recaping the Run the Range Series.

2011 Run the Range Series - Women's Final Point Standings

2011 Run the Range Series - Men's Final Point Standings