Unfortunately, I am writing my recap for Fargo months after running the marathon, so the details of this race have become somewhat fuzzy. However, I can say with confidence that The Fargo Marathon is a great race and one that I would definitely recommend. (Which is good, as there are only six marathons in the state of North Dakota.)
Getting to Fargo from Saint Louis was a bit of a hassle, as there are no direct flights. Sadder still, Southwest doesn’t fly into the city. After a longish travel day, I was only scheduled to spend one night in North Dakota—because, North Dakota. I’m sure that there are plenty of interesting excursions out of Fargo and also nice things to do in town. I, however, spent most of my free time at the movie theatre. (It was a good excuse to catch up on some summer films that I wanted to see.) Although I didn’t experience much of the city, I thought that Fargo was a nice, midsize town with friendly residents and plenty of amenities.
The weekend’s races all started and ended inside of the Fargodome. The stadium provides plenty of free parking and was very easy to get to from my hotel. It was a little chilly on race morning, so the indoor start also gave us the benefit of a warm, dry place to prepare. And apparently Fargo is so far north that they sing both the American and Canadian national anthems before the opening gun. (That was a first!)
Again, I don’t remember many specifics from this course, but I thought that it was a nice tour of the city and had the benefit of being fairly flat and fast. It gets windy in North Dakota, and I was told that we’d have some significant headwinds during the last six miles of the run, but they really weren’t that terrible. I had an enjoyable marathon and loved running back into the Fargodome for the finish. There is always something a little extra special about ending a race in a unique place.
If the opportunity ever arises, I would happily run this marathon again. Perhaps this time I’d plan to stay for a couple of days so that I could appreciate more of the state. (And remember more of the marathon!)
** Race Highlights: I met some very friendly people on the course.
** The Downside: There was a noticeable headwind during the last few miles of the race.
Finish Time: 3:28:57
Sub 4:00 State #28, BQ State #27, Sub 3:30 State #11
Favorite Race Day Song: This is Me
Overall Place Within My Gender: 34/ 654
Total Training Miles: 6,021.2
Shoe Total: 18
Sadie's Fifty 