Naslund Stays Alone in Marathon History at 50th Race
John Naslund is the only runner registered for the 50th Grandma’s Marathon who has finished every marathon since the race began. The 76-year-old from Bloomington has crossed the line each year since 1977, leaving him as the lone link to the event’s first field.
Naslund’s 1977 Finish
He placed fifth among the 116 runners who completed the inaugural 26.2-mile run. That first finish still frames the streak: one runner from the opening race remains in the field Saturday, and Naslund is it.
“It’s a 50-year habit, that’s for sure,” he said. “The years kind of stack up, but 50 is getting to be a big number.”
From Two Harbors to Bloomington
Naslund grew up in Two Harbors and later became a pole vaulter for the University of Minnesota Duluth’s track and field team. He said it has been “basically been nonstop marathon training since 1973,” a stretch that now covers more than five decades of racing and preparation.
He has also completed all 43 Twin Cities Marathons. His personal best came at the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon in 1981, where he ran 2 hours, 21 minutes.
What the streak left behind
The group of runners who had completed every Grandma’s Marathon has narrowed over time. The Iron Four lasted until 2004, when Rick Jackson signed up for Grandma’s Marathon but did not start. The Iron Three lasted until 2019, when Joe Johnson had a stroke early in the year and did not enter Grandma’s Marathon; Johnson died in December 2025.
In 2020, when the organized race was canceled because of COVID-19, Naslund and Jim Nowak ran routes along the shore on would-be marathon day. Nowak made it to the starting line again in 2025, but after being diagnosed with Lyme Disease less than two weeks before race day, he continued past the nine-mile mark and dropped out at about 15 miles.
Naslund’s 2025 finish times show how the streak has survived while the field around him changed: he ran 5:31:06 in the 2025 Grandma’s Marathon and 6:23:12 in the 2025 Twin Cities Marathon. Saturday’s 50th running gives him one more chance to extend the only original finishing run still active in the race.
