# Ely Marathon

The Ely Marathon is a race in Ely, Minnesota, first run in 2015. After successfully adding a sanctioned canoe portager category in the half marathon, the category was added to the marathon in 2018. In the canoe portage, runners can compete with the others who carry a canoe over their heads, deeming the race "the 8,390 rod portage". It is the only marathon portage in the world, so the first finisher in 2018 set a world record. The record was broken in 2019 by more than 23 minutes, then broken again in 2021 by more than 36 minutes. In 2016, Daniel Drehmel ran the marathon with his partner, Abby Dare, and the two of them took turns carrying the canoe in order to raise awareness about the potential threats to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
The race is run in September, and 97 runners finished in 2018. The course begins deep in the woods at Camp Du Nord, the north side of Burntside Lake, and finishes in Ely. Racers must be shuttled there, as there is not enough room for parking and camping near the starting line.
In March and April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellations of all the major marathons around the world, the Ely Marathon staff hoped the marathon would go on as planned. They worked on ways to run the races while protecting the health of the runners and held the September start date.
On July 10, they cancelled all races for 2020, and announced that all registrations could roll into the 2021 races. Only the 5K would have a virtual race. A press release said that state officials "set the maximum participants in outdoor races to 25 people. That includes all racers, staff, volunteers and spectators."

## Winners

Key:  Course record  World record
Year :
| Category | Men | Men | Men | Women | Women | Women |
| 2023 Results Sept. 23, 2023 |||||||
| Open | Hudson Kingston | 40 | 2:55:51 | Crystal Culhane | 44 | 3:26:51 |
| Masters | Hudson Kingston | 40 | 2:55:51 | Crystal Culhane | 44 | 3:26:51 |
| Portage | Jacob Bendel | 32 | 4:36:42 | | |
| 2022 Results Sept. 24, 2022 |||||||
| Open | Robert Henderson | 38 | 2:57:06 | Sorcha Ash | 22 | 3:35:07 |
| Masters | Andy MacNamara | 41 | 3:15:15 | Linda Belanger | 55 | 4:01:29 |
| Portage | Sunshine Gardner | 28 | 4:45:45 | | |
| 2021 Results Sept. 25, 2021 |||||||
| Open | Andrew MacNamara | 40 | 3:09:02 | Lisa Smith | 39 | 3:10:46 |
| Masters | Andrew MacNamara | 40 | 3:09:02 | Sarah Anderson | 44 | 3:49:14 |
| Portage | Anthony Peter | 41 | 4:23:20 | | |
| 2020 Results Sept. 27, 2020 |||||||
| Race cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |||||||
| 2019 Results Sept. 21, 2019 |||||||
| Open | Andrew MacNamara | 38 | 2:52:13 | Stacy Torkelson | 37 | 3:44:30 |
| Masters | Jeff Curtin | 55 | 3:20:58 | Jess Sedivy Gunderson | 41 | 3:56:31 |
| Portage | Anthony Peter | 39 | 5:00:01 | Auralee Strege | 30 | 6:49:29 |
| 2018 Results Sept. 22, 2018 |||||||
| Open | Russell Groebner | 49 | 3:13:49 | Shaelin Lekatz | 21 | 3:43:37 |
| Masters | Russell Groebner | 49 | 3:13:49 | Kristin Hettich | 45 | 3:51:00 |
| Portage | Daniel Drehmel | 31 | 5:23:48 | | | |
| 2017 Results Sept. 23, 2017 |||||||
| Open | Hudson Kingston | 34 | 2:59:01 | Kathy Provenzano | 43 | 3:33:36 |
| Masters | Kelly Ecklund | 53 | 3:13:49 | Kathy Provenzano | 43 | 3:33:36 |
| 2016 Results Sept. 24, 2016 |||||||
| Open | Nathaniel Langlie | 18 | 2:47:25 | Auralee Strege | 27 | 3:00:41 |
| Masters | Chad Shilson | 45 | 3:13:49 | Debra Hultman | 55 | 3:24:35 |
| 2015 Results Sept. 26, 2015 |||||||
| Open | Declan Curley | 48 | 2:56:55 | Rebecca Peterson | 43 | 3:35:47 |
| Masters | Declan Curley | 48 | 2:56:55 | Rebecca Peterson | 43 | 3:35:47 |