Go Fargo Race Report and Video

Here is Holly's Fargo Marathon Report:

In the quest for 50 states you are going to have to go to some strange ones. I never thought I would ever end up in Fargo, ND. I was pleasantly surprised. This was going to be a fun one. We had Michael, Eddie and Rich all coming to Fargo to run this one. Eddie and I were beat up from Big Sur, 2 weeks earlier,and tired. I knew there would be some whining from me and shockingly there was even some whining from Eddie.

Dave and I got in Friday night and the boys arrived Friday afternoon. They all did the 5k that night - wearimg their Marathon race shirts. Seems like bad luck to me but they survived. Dave and I went to dinner while they were running and then met up with them after for a beer.

It was nice to sleep in a bit, but I still don’t prefer an 8am start. I would much rather start earlier as I don’t eat much before the race and a late start equals a hungry Holly later in the race. We met down in the lobby at 7:00. I was very calm and even let Michael run back up to the room to change socks. We didn’t get to the corrals until about 7:45. It was a short walk from the hotel to line up on the bridge.

Michael was very unhappy that I was throwing away my throw away sweatshirt and decided to carry it until we saw Dave at Mile 1. Ridiculous!! This was a flat course, which was very welcomed after Georgia and Big Sur. The crowd support was spectacular and the course was great. We went through tons of residential neighborhoods and while there weren’t any landmarks, there were plenty of nice Fargoans out and about cheering. There were tons of kids to high five and lots of DJs and bands blasting the music.

Dave did a spectacular job of race chasing. It was great to see him, because like I said I was hungry and he kept me supplied in orange slices and bananas, and of course cookies and diet cokes for the boys.

We tried a new interval for the first half, which resulted in going out too fast. This caused me to be very tired during the back half. We ended up with a 1:1 interval at the end and that was getting difficult. Another positive split race for me, but I still had a blast. Michael was doing the typical Tweeting and Facebooking, Eddie was running ahead for pictures and Rich was always politely listening to my whining. We really had a great day and the highlight was a wonderful woman running into her house and getting us each a beer. I ran a half of a mile with it, right by a nice Fargo policeman. This was mile 23 and I was worried I would be thrown in jail, but he just cheered, as did everyone we encountered. The finish was great and we finished hand in hand right by the famous Fargo theater. A delicious piece of pizza and chocolate milk was waiting for us. The only negative I have was that they ran out of beer by the time we finished, 5:51. But I guess I got mine on the course.

I would highly recommend this race to anyone, not just someone who is looking for North Dakota. It was well organized, had great communication, fun course, awesome race swag and THE nicest people I have ever met. Thanks Fargo, you ROCK!!

Dave's Comments: At Mile 1-ish I was situated by a DJ stand and keg. The family next to me struck up a conversation and we discussed spectating strategies to see their family members in the 10k and half. I worked my way to the keg and asked if I could grab a beer. Of course I could. This is Fargo. Nice people willing to have a conversation, or give a stranger a beer. 8:15 with my first (and only) beer on the course.....

I wasn't even considering too many spectating spots. The volunteer at the airport told me there's no landmarks but the Fargo sign at the end. So I didn't bother. By the half I saw the crew seven times, many because of a snack request at mile 10. At the end of the day it turned out to be 15.

While I waited in a bar at the finish line the family from mile one was there too and invited me over to join them. Once again, really nice people in Fargo. In the afternoon, we hit several local establishments, including Fargo Brewing. We were approached by another local, whom figured out we were not locals. She came over to talk to us and find out why we would cone to Fargo. She gave us great dining tips.

Downtown Fargo is about 3x3 blocks of decent dining and drinking establishments. People are so nice and willing to help a stranger. If I had a reason to go back to Fargo I would look forward to that trip.

Here's our race video, followed by Eddie's

2014 Fargo Marathon from Eddie McCoy on Vimeo.