26th Annual Dick Beardsley Races Return to Detroit lakes

DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – The 26th Annual Dick Beardsley Races returns to Detroit Lakes, Saturday.

This year’s races include a youth run, 5k, half marathon and the return of the 25k which was new in 2021 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event.

The half marathon and 25K racers will depart from Kent Freeman Arena at 8 a.m., the 10K run starts at 8:10 a.m., 5K participants at 8:20 a.m., while the youth run will begin at 11 a.m.

The Dick Beardsley Half Marathon was developed to honor former Detroit Lakes resident and marathon legend, Dick Beardsley, and as a tune-up for the Twin Cities Marathon.

Beardsley is most well-known for his race in the 1982 Boston Marathon dubbed the “Duel in the Sun” as he battled world recorder holder Alberto Salazar down to the finish line. Both broke the American record: Salazar won a record time of 2:08:51; Beardsley’s time was 2:08:53, finishing 1.6 seconds later, placing second.