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☰
Fargo Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Fargo Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.4 
Organization 4.6 
Spectators 4.6
Number of comments: 388 [displaying comments 51 to 61]
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M. M. from Illinois
(5/12/2014)
 "Overall good race" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I had relatively low expectations for this race, but was pleasantly surprised. The course was nothing too exciting, but I think it was the best it could be for a small city. Spectators were outstanding!!! Water stations were plentiful and well-stocked. Port-a-potties were OK, but not as plentiful as advertised. One minor issue, I received a pre-race packet in the mail when I returned home, guessing it came 2 days before the race. It may have been for the best, as it suggested getting to the start area 1.5 hours before the race. I arrived 30 minutes before and it was plenty of time. But, from the time I got on the plane to Fargo until I left the airport, the people of Fargo were very warm and welcoming. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who is trying to run a race in North Dakota. | |
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J. W. from Kansas City, KS
(5/12/2014)
"Spectators/Race Support Make This Event!" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My only two (minor) criticisms would be the women's shirt (already gave mine away because of the design), and that I would have preferred if the marathon had started at least an hour earlier. Other than those this race is great. And, I care far more about a well run and supported race than I do a shirt or medal. If all communities were as supportive of their marathons as Fargo is the world would be a beautiful place. I can't really comment on the course (which IS very flat) because there were so many people along the way to distract me. There weren't thick crowds of people like Chicago or New York, but you never went more than a few blocks before there was someone cheering, playing music, setting up improvised aid, etc. What a spectacular community Fargo has. | |
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T. B. from Indiana
(5/10/2014)
 "Organization & Logistics ruined it for me" (about: 2014)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 3 If you run for the bling, you'll be greatly pleased: medal, Body Armour goodie bag, wind jacket at the end, and the tech shirt were all pretty impressive. That's about it for the positives. 10 year anniversary and 'return to the bridge' really created some problems. Getting to the packet pickup on Friday night THROUGH the pack assembling to start a rather monstrous 5K that blocked to road to the Civic Center was first headache. Expo-enter the civic center and the vendors have to send you back outside to get your bib in a tent. Back to the vendors who have to send you downstairs to get your shirt and bag. (Signs? Volunteers directing you through the Expo?) Then the hike back through all the cars leaving the 5K to get to my car and decide where to go to eat. 3rd headache-trying to figure out from the maps provided how the finish area parking matched up (for my spectator wife) with the parking for the marathon village at the Center Mall (which was a nice offering by the mall, by the way). Bottom line-my wife did not want to have to figure out how to drive around the blocked roads to get from the Marathon village at 5:30 AM, to a down town parking and walk to the finish area to wait till noon for me...so I left her at the motel. No late check out, so no shower option, and I did NOT want to try to fight back through the finishing traffic to get to the Civic center the showers that were only mentioned in the spectator guide we got the day of the race, so a sponge bath in a bathroom at the motel. 4th headache-after the finish. Finding your way around the finish party(?). The only obviously visible area was the UPS drop bag pickup. Had to ask other runners where the food was. Looked and looked for the shuttle bus back to my car and couldn't see them. Looked for information reps/volunteers to help direct us-none of them either. Finally used Google maps to look up the mall and walk back through town to find my car and drive back to my spit bath in the motel bathroom. I know I'm griping, but this was marathon/ultra #77 for me, and from that experience I felt this event was quite oversold for what my wife and I and others went through. To have all 50 states represented and several foreign countries, I felt you left out of towners on their own to struggle through getting around. Sounds like the new improved 'start and end in the Fargo-dome' route used in previous years is the preferred option. OHHHH-ALMOST FORGET THE GREATEST FRUSTRATION. Starting the marathon and the 10K on the same bridge and run together for 2.5-3 miles!!!! Dodging and weaving kids, walkers, strollers, for the first several miles. Unbelievable! At least start the 10K later, run it the same time as the 5K -something different. I will finally acknowledge that I was extremely impressed that the back of hour medal was engraved with scripture. I know it's surprising perhaps for me to state I wore my Team 4:13 shirt ('I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me') after being so negative, but I have never had a medal that included scripture on it. I applaud that part of the day as a closing comment. | |
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T. T. from St. Paul, MN
(5/10/2014)
"Perfect size race, very well done." (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Living in St. Paul, I have run Grandma's Marathon for my spring race the last 2 years. I decided to run this race because I didn't have a great experience in Duluth and the weather was not great. I was very impressed with the Fargo Marathon's organization, especially the pre-race staging. Having 3 separate athlete villages cut down on any traffic issues. My wife was able to see me very easily on the course and park (for free!) very near the finish line. Also, she was able to find me almost instantly after the race. As mentioned in previous years, the swag is excellent. The people both associated with the race and in the community are all very welcoming and helpful. The course is as flat as advertised with a few small overpasses. Most of it goes through treelined residential areas with many people hanging out on their lawns and handing out stuff (oranges, etc.) to the runners or just cheering us on. It does get a bit crowded when there is two way running and multiple races (half marathon, marathon, 10K) together, but for the most part it works pretty well. The weather was perfect, although a bit too perfect for me as I went out way too fast and paid for it at the end of the race. My only two (minor) criticisms are that 1. We had to line up an hour before the race and my legs stiffened up a bit in the cool morning and 2. There weren't enough bathrooms in the mall which made for ridiculously long lines. I will definitely be back again next year! | |
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S. T. from Kansas City, MO
(6/12/2013)
 "First half; it will be hard to top" (about: 2013)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I diligently searched for a 'flat and fast' half and Fargo seemed to fit the bill. I registered Jan 1 for the May 18 half; this became my LIFE for 5 months - conquering a missed goal from years ago. I can't say enough good about this. I LOVED it - all of it. It was never too hard. There were never pockets without awesome people cheering you on. It's truly a community event. My professional pictures show me beaming like I was walking across a stage to receive a crown, not on mile 12 of 13. The finish into the Fargodome with cheering fans lining the stands is awe-inspiring. I am a slow runnerabout 3 hours. I was treated like as much royalty as anyone else. I ran the whole way and the course was good. Almost all asphalt. And seriously FLAT. Unbelievable. I trained in Kansas City, which is NOT, so this was like coasting - which I wanted. You want your first to be good. It was. I don't regret a penny I spent or a day or training. Caveat: Traffic! Stay at a hotel close by and avoid the Red River Inn (I left a day early). Partly I chose Fargo because the course crossed the Red River into MN. Because of possible flooding, they changed it. It turned out NOT to flood but they kept the change. That was disappointing, but as you can tell it was still incredible. The hardest part (not sure if this is always or was the modified route) was the mile 11-12 area where we zig zagged around campus - the Fargodome was close and we had to run around campus. Psychologically, that was the hardest part. The campus is nice, though! The other problem was with MarathonFoto who does a lot of the big ones... their customer service stinks; they don't reply to emails so you have to meticulously go through all the thousands of unidentified pictures to find yours (that's where most of mine were, including my finish shots) before you order, if you are so inclined. I wanted Fargo to be my first full next year but they moved the date to the 10th and I am under contract in a teaching job across the country until the 14th. I was so bummed I don't have words. So I don't know if I will be back but the DATE is the ONLY reason. This race was one that will always be one of the most wonderful days of my life. | |
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B. W. from Manitoba, Canada
(6/9/2013)
 "Marathon start should be earlier" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 3 Fargo Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 OK course (I know that had to make adjustments due to the flood forecast and that made some things tighter and more repetitious than they would have liked), great spectators, wonderful volunteers. I know that they have the marathon start last to relieve congestion at the finish line, but the longest run, with the highest risk of runners being affected by heat, should not start last. I saw several runners getting medical help along the course over the last few miles. It got warmer than most of us were prepared for and things got tough. We should have started sooner. Great job otherwise. Nice touch having Canadians sing their national anthem. | |
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K. A. from Massachusetts
(6/3/2013)
"Worth the trip" (about: 2013)
50+ previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I'm late to add my two cents and I think the existing reviews below for 2013 have said it all. I'll restrict my comments to two points. If you are from Out of State I recommend staying at the NDSU dorms. They are so convenient to everything you need and actually fun. Also you do not need to rent a car. It is a 2 mile walk from the airport to the dorms. Make a friend and go out after the race into downtown Fargo. I had the greatest apres marathon party of my own making. It is a very welcoming city with fun people, and great restaurants and pubs. 50 States or not, this marathon is worth the trip. | |
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S. H. from Wisconsin
(5/26/2013)
 "Love the crowd, but could use some changes" (about: 2013)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I agree with others who have said how great the spectators/residents of Fargo are - there was always crowd support, and I was very appreciative of the many residents who provided sprinklers, hoses and ice for the runners as the humidity and temperatures took a toll this year. I realize the course was changed at last minute due to flooding potential, and that likely accounts for the things I didn't care for about the course - lots of twists and turns and a very crowded out-and-back stretch between Mile 11 and Mile 14. I would love to see the race start earlier - maybe at the same time as the half, but with corrals/waves. The late 8:15 start puts the full marathoners at risk for a much warmer race by the time they finish. Shirts and medals were great, and the indoor area (real bathrooms!!!) to hang out before and after the race is also great for years like this when it is raining before the race. | |
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Ed Robins from Philadelphia, PA
(5/23/2013)
"Fun, flat marathon" (about: 2013)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This is a fun well run marathon. It is very flat so if you want (or need) to avoid hills this is a course for you. They use the Fargodome as the hub for the race and it works very well. The expo is held there so you have plenty of room for this good sized expo. You can warm-up pre-race inside and use real bathrooms. The finish line is actually inside the arena and makes the finish push feel special. The course as already stated is super flat. With cool weather (we did not get that in 2013) a PR could be set here. There are numerous turns and a crowded out and back section on a paved bike path (miles 10-13) that may slow you down but still its a fast course. The course isn't scentic but its pleasant as runners run through neighborhoods and parks. There is a nice, short section (run twice) where we run through the Fargo downtown area. Traffic for this race can be an issue. If you're from out of town (that's me) and arrive on Friday afternoon getting to the Fargodome for packet pick-up can be tough. There's a big 5K (7500) run on Friday so that caused some traffic and parking issues. Also expect traffic on race day. I tried to arrive 5:45 (2.5 hours before the marathon start) and still hit traffic. There's a 10 K (1600 runners) that begins 7:00 and the Half (5500 runners) begins 7:30. So if you're running the full even an early arrival means traffic. They offer a shuttle service on race morning and if I run this race again I will take advantage of that. I'm sure there's a good logistical reason for starting the longest race last but I wasn't fond of this. It was humid and fairly warm this year and an earlier start would've helped with that. Also as a race that markets itself as a destination race the late start time makes it harder arranging flights back home (and my hotel did not offer late check out). The staggered start times did eliminate any race crowding. I had settled into a steady pace by the half mile mark. There were abundant aid stops and more later in the race when runners really need them. Unfortunately they were all set up differently. Sometimes water first, sometimes sportsdrink (poweraid this year), some stations had cups that said poweraid but usually they all said coke. They did have signs at each stop that really helped but I find it so helpful when every stop is set up the same every time. Fargo did something that I've never seen before that seemed to work very well. Instead of grouping 2-5 port-a-potties at every water stop they spread single ones out all along the course. Early on it seemed like 3-5 every mile. I never saw any lines. I used one just 1.5 miles into the race and had no wait. Usually early in a race you lose several minutes answering a call of nature. Race directors for other races should look into this innovative approach! One of the best things about this race is how the city seems to embrace the event. Everywhere you go businesses, resturants, etc all knew the race was going on and if they could they made special arrangements for the runners. Too often when I travel for a race I mention I'm running the marathon and clerks look at me with a blank face. Not in Fargo! The fan support on the course was thin but constant. There was a ton of music on the course and not just rock bands and the obligatory Elvis impersonator but also marching bands, a blues bands, a group of bagpippers and yes an accordian band! Finally the swag is excellent. You get an excellent gear bag and medal and the best shirt ever! | |
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Teresa Reller from Madison, WI
(5/21/2013)
"Excellent race" (about: 2013)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race is flat, fast, well organized and the spectators are the gems of this race. Overall, no complains other than the full was started 45 minutes after the half(not until 8:15). It was a hot day and although the lovely spectators made the race doable by suppling ice and water hose baths. If the full was started at 7 am most of the runners would have had a much more pleasant finish. Yes, including me. That said I highly recommend this race |
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