Grandma’s Marathon runners head to DECC for packet pickup expo
Runners had until 8 p.m. Friday to pick up bibs at the DECC, where the Essentia Health Fitness Expo packed in 100-plus vendors and drew crowds downtown.
Runners headed to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center on Friday for the last big logistics stop before Grandma’s Marathon weekend hits full stride: packet pickup and the Essentia Health Fitness Expo.
The race weekend in Duluth ran June 18-20, 2026, and registered participants were scheduled to pick up their race packets at the DECC on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The packet includes the official race bib, a must-have item before runners reach the start line.
Inside the convention center, the fitness expo ran Friday from noon to 7:30 p.m. and featured more than 100 vendors, along with exhibits and guest speakers. Grandma’s Marathon describes the expo as one of the largest in the nation, turning the DECC into the weekend’s main gathering point for athletes, families and race volunteers.
That concentration of activity is part of what makes marathon weekend so important to downtown Duluth. The traffic flows through the DECC and spills into the surrounding business district, including Canal Park and nearby hotels, restaurants and shops that depend on the annual surge of visitors. Visit Duluth calls the weekend the unofficial kickoff to summer, and the crowds make that feel less like promotion than economic reality.
Grandma’s Marathon says the event now welcomes more than 20,000 participants each June and brings close to $40 million in economic impact to the region. A 2025 economic impact study put the direct economic impact at $25.4 million and said nearly 18,000 people reached the start line for the marathon, half marathon or 5K last year, the largest race weekend on record.
Those numbers also show how far the event reaches beyond St. Louis County. The study said participants came from 74 countries and all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. On average, each participant traveled with 2.7 other people, stayed 2.5 nights in the region and spent $176.70 per day.
Behind the scenes, the weekend is held together by a large volunteer and sponsor network. Grandma’s Marathon says close to 3,500 volunteers work more than 40,000 hours each year, and the race is supported by more than 85 sponsors. The event dates back to 1977, giving this year’s packet pickup and expo another turn in a tradition that has grown into a major civic and commercial engine for Duluth.
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