BEMIDJI — The gray skies and drizzling rain didn’t damper anyone’s excitement as folks piled into the Sanford Center to check in and mingle ahead of the 12th annual Blue Ox Marathon on Saturday.
As people waited for the race to begin, an anxious and eager atmosphere could be felt throughout the building. Whether stretching in silence or chatting with friends, one thing was clear — rain or shine, folks were putting their game faces on.
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“Everyone seemed very excited,” said event volunteer Alexa Christenson. “We all really love being in the community. There are so many people here from outside of Bemidji so I think it’s nice for them to come feel like part of our community, too.”
Members of the Bemidji State softball team had smiles on their faces as they handed out bibs, shirts and gift bags to the registered runners.
“It has definitely been fun getting involved in some volunteering that isn’t on campus,” Morgan Benedict said. “We volunteer in our community because they give us so much by coming to our sports games and donating to our school — this allows us to give back in a different way.”
Record-breaking attendance
The event featured two days of racing of varying distances. This year the Blue Ox Marathon reached a new record-breaking attendance with nearly 1,500 participants from over 30 states and three provinces.
“For every runner that comes, they bring two to four friends or family with them and of the 1,500 runners, something like 1,000 to 1,100 are from well outside of the Bemidji area,” Director Phil Knutson said. “All of the money that comes in is spent locally, we use small businesses and get everything but our medals here.”
Knutson added that the nonprofit organization works year-round preparing the event, making it great for the local community’s economy.
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“The conservative economic impact last year was $1.2 million to the community over the two days,” Knutson said. “We bring a lot of people here. They don’t come here just to enjoy the race, the people come and experience Bemidji.”
Assistant Race Director Angie Clark has been working alongside Knutson since the first race. Now celebrating their 12th anniversary of the event, Clark shared that their excitement still has yet to wear off.
“I always get really excited about the start,” Clark said. “I’m filled with exhilaration … and I’m inspired by the people who have trained for 16 weeks, or maybe even longer. It’s such an exciting race. I feel so inspired watching my friends and my community take on such a great endeavor.”
‘Truly a special place’
As the half-marathon runners continued to trickle in, suspense grew to see who would come in first place for the men’s full marathon race.
The crowd cheered and rang their cowbells as Minneapolis native Benjamin Drexler’s name was announced, securing the win with a time of 2:38:22.
“I ran a personal record today so I’m pretty content and happy about that,” Drexler said. “I was moving fast but my legs were locking up and seizing for about eight miles … I had to slow down a little bit to get them to stop cramping and then get back in the rhythm, reminding myself to take one mile at a time.”
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This was Drexler’s third year competing in the event. Last year he placed second place in the marathon and two years ago he scored first in Lake Loop with a course record.
“There's a reason why I came up here — it's a small-town race but (the event is) put on so well,” Drexler said. “Everything is organized great. The weather is normally amazing. The course is gorgeous. It's beautiful up here. The people are so nice. Everybody is so welcoming and it's just truly a special place.”
‘Channeling my inner beast’
Ellyssa Peterson, of Nashwauk, Minn., was cruising to the finish line and claimed first place for the women’s marathon event with a time of 2:54:31, marking a new personal record.
“As far as I know, I was in the front from the start, but I didn’t know how far back anybody was,” Peterson said. “I really like to compete with the guys, so I was trying to keep a good distance between them. I’m very competitive.”
This was Peterson’s fifth marathon and her first Blue Ox race. During the race Peterson was giving her all and channeled her inner blue ox to fight for the first-place medal.
“I really love to grind and I love channeling my inner beast, my inner blue ox,” Peterson said. “That’s what I was thinking about, but I didn’t expect to run that fast, to be honest.”
Peterson encouraged others to consider trying a marathon and shared why she loves the challenge of running.
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“Running builds a lot of adversity,” she said. “When I run, I feel like it’s very spiritual for me … it clears out my lungs and I feel really great. Only 1% of the population has done a marathon, so I would highly, highly recommend it to everyone.”
Full Marathon Results
Top 10 Men’s Finishers:
- Benjamin Drexler, 2:38:22, Minneapolis
- Carlos Batista De Olive, 2:41:10, Bloomington
- Sam Hodgson, 2:46:20, Mankato
- Dave Haglin, 2:58:49, Duluth
- Michael Mettler, 3:04:23, Dent, MN
- Chad Schwinghammer, 3:04:49, Bemidji
- Tyler Chliboyko, 3:08:29, Landmark, MB
- David Flynn, 3:11:34, Winnipeg, MB
- Reed Marohn, 3:14:02, Duluth
- Brian Kittleson, 3:19:11, Duluth
Top 10 Women’s Finishers:
- Ellyssa Peterson, 2:54:31, Nashwauk, MN
- Serena Sullivan, 3:04:03, Hibbing
- Madelyn Stone, 3:28:51, Bemidji
- Synnove Hunnes, 3:31:38, Billings, MT
- Laura Batista De Olive, 3:38:39, Bloomington
- Jennifer Lichtenwalter, 3:47:01, Bemidji
- Danni Herschbach, 3:47:23, Grand Rapids, MN
- Hannah Van Dyke, 3:49:40, Edgerton, MN
- Bailey Almich, 3:50:04, Hugo, MN
- Kayelynn Porter, 3:51:58, Atlanta, GA
For more results, visit
The Trust Project
