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Gabe Grunewald’s husband wins his first 50-miler in her memory

Justin Grunewald won his first 50-miler on the weekend, raising $10,000 for the Brave Like Gabe Foundation

On the weekend, Justin Grunewald of Minnesota, husband of runner Gabe Grunewald, who died on June 11 after a long battle with cancer, won The North Face Wisconsin 50 Mile race in six hours, two minutes and 44 seconds. In the process he raised more than USD $10,000 for the Brave Like Gabe Foundation, which funds research into rare cancers. It was Grunewald’s first 50-miler.

https://twitter.com/mariofraioli/status/1172913706860048384

The couple’s friend, ultrarunner Ladia Albertson-Junkans, decided to honour Gabe’s memory by donating a dollar for every mile he ran, and another dollar for each minute that he went under 6:48, which they thought (though they were never able to confirm this) was the 50-mile course record. This resulted in multiple donations of $97.

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It wasn’t Grunewald’s first ultra–that was last year at Afton Alps, a 50K in Minnesota, which he also won, running 3:30:14.

In an Instagram post, Grunewald describes struggling in the last few miles of the race, much of which takes place on the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin’s scenic Kettle Moraine State Park: “At 46 miles I was really struggling,” he writes. “Had already vomited 3x and was ready to walk it in. Fortunately the female second placer in the 50K was there to pick me up. A stranger, she asked if I’m @gigrunewald’s husband. I immediately had to start moving again. As I moved out of sight she yelled “Brave Like Gabe!” and I felt I could go another 50 miles… I can only imagine Gabriele sent her.”

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The previous weekend, Grunewald had supported Albertson-Junkans in an FKT (supported female) on the 40-mile Timberline trail, which circles the base of Oregon’s Mount Hood. Together, they ran it in 7:02, the previous record of 7:15 having stood for more than 35 years.

“My coach, Mario Fraioli, wanted me to get in something longer. Two weeks ago I had done 40 miles with Ladia, to support the FKT for female time. I was thinking I’d lay low and skip the 50 miler, but Mario wanted me to get in a 50 miler… I’m running the TNF 50 miler in the (San Francisco) Bay Area in November and I registered for three to five different 50 milers to 100K races which ultimately just didn’t work out, due to health stuff and busy life and all that… so it was time to start getting stuff in,” Grunewald told us by phone today.

RELATED: Dr. Joe Vigil’s coaching gems of wisdom (as told to Mario Fraioli)

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Gabe Grunewald was initially diagnosed with a rare salivary-gland cancer in 2009, and experienced recurrences in 2016 and 2017. She had a very successful career on the track, graduating as an NCAA All-American in the 1,500m, and pursued a professional running career despite dealing with several surgeries and chemotherapy. In 2014, she won the US indoor national championship in the 3,000m. Grunewald was sponsored by Brooks.

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