My Town Monday: Walker North Country Marathon and Autumn Hues

Our little town, population 1000, hosts one of only 3 marathons in the state of Minnesota. The race isn't huge, but it is well known across the country for being one of the most difficult races in the US (probably in the top 10 of tough races), and we just celebrated our 26th Annual Races.

With a race like this, you'd think the participants would be hardcore runners who have an affinity for pain, but surprisingly it's not. There are those runners who are quite serious and give it their all to break the course record, but most of the runners are in it for the challenge and the beauty. I might be a bit biased (did I mention that I am the race director?), but I think we are also in the top for the most beautiful races in the country.


This year was a special year for the Walker North Country Marathon because the prestigious Anheuser Busch 180 Energy Team participated in our race. This is an internationally known team of runners ranging from Olympic level athletes to runners who do it purely for the joy and don't care about their time. When they show up at huge races across the country, it's a big deal, so to have them show up in the little town of Walker was quite an event.

Walker draws many tourists, and runners, every fall because of the spectacular colors, the quaint town, the beautiful lake, and the fresh air that makes a person want to get out of the city and roll in the fresh leaves. The marathon is scheduled at the peak of "leaf season" and the runners cover nearly all of their 26.2 miles by running through the Chippewa National Forest.

September and October are my favorite months in Northern Minnesota. The colors are vibrant, the crisp smell of the leaves is energizing, and the cool air chases away the summer sluggishness. I love the crunch of leaves underfoot, the sweatshirt weather, and the fact that for a couple months we don't have to worry about the bugs. Both my heavy-coated dog and I come alive unlike any other time of the year. It's so nice out, I'm even willing to happily share it with the tourists.

We don't have the fabulous monuments, buildings, and history of places like Chicago, but we do have nature, beauty, and resourceful people that have lived here for a few hundred years. Our history isn't as visible as many other places, it's felt and heard. The people that come back generation after generation to visit the lake, run in the races, stay at the old resorts, attend our festivals, they are the monuments of our history. The people who have lived here, opened businesses, volunteered for events that take place every year for decades, and passed their way of life from one generation to the next, they, too, are the monuments of our history.


The lasting thread throughout the history of our area is the trees and the lakes, and my guess is that they look much the same now as they did hundreds of years ago. And I have no doubt that the people "way back when" loved the autumn colors, the cool air, and the break from the bugs as much as we do today.