Local News

Saturday 10th year of Grandad Half Marathon

Published

7 years ago

May 4, 2018

Brad Williams

One of La Crosse’s biggest athletic events marks a milestone this weekend.

Saturday marks the 10th year of the Grandad Half Marathon. The race starts atop the bluff and ends at Riverside Park.

Besides the main 13-mile race, which begins at 8 a.m., there are also shorter runs and bicycle events.

Around 1,600 are expected to take part.

An actual marathon was introduced in 2009, the first year of what was called the La Crosse Fitness Festival. It, however, ended after four years. The 26-mile run turned out to be too difficult in a town the size and shape of this one. The half marathon continued to this day.

Abby Heilman with the city parks department expects those Sunday bike races to draw large numbers.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.