Athletes, spectators and volunteers are enjoyed sunshine and an easy breeze at this year’s Fitger’s 5k. Runners are sprinting through the several races as we get closer to Grandma’s Marathon. There were 946 total finishers this Saturday morning, including participants in both the 5K run and walk divisions.

The first racer to cross the finish line was Scott Behling. He’s no stranger to this spring race. In fact, he finished in 15:25, which was the second-best time of his seven career titles.

“It’s kind of a tough race to get prepared for with the spring weather around Duluth. But it definitely wasn’t spring today in Duluth. It was probably one of the warmest days. Obviously, it’s a lot shorter than Grandma’s Full Marathon. But it’s a nice tune up,” Behling said. “It definitely helps to get speed in. For a lot of longer races, the pace feels easier. Even Park Point’s usually not even this warm to race in, so it was nice.”

As these runners are sprinting through this 5K, they got to experience a brand new racecourse throughout Downtown Duluth. Calla Gilbertson has been running the Fitger’s 5K for ten years. This race is special to her, because she was first to cross the finish line.

“I don’t know, I just really pushed myself. There was actually a lady. I was probably two miles in, and she’s like, ‘First place female! First place female!’, and I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ So it was kind of like my push to the finish. I was dying. But we did it,” Gilbertson said. “My husband. He’s my biggest cheerleader, my biggest fan. So that’s always great to have him here. I know he’s always ready with this camera to catch me crossing the finish line.”

Gilbertson, is part of her work’s running group, and she earned her first career win with a time of 21:10. Armella Lane was the lone participant in the non-binary division and won the race with a time of 42:15. If you aren’t already lacing up your running shoes, there’ll be plenty of more races this summer, including Grandma’s Marathon.