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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: 391 [displaying comments 131 to 141]
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B. O. from Voorhies, IA
(5/22/2011)
"Awesome experience from start to finish!" (about: 2011)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was my first marathon and now I think I will be forever disappointed in any future marathons when I compare them to this one. My experience in Fargo was amazing from start to finish! First of all, it was so neat to the city of Fargo really go all in for this event. It seemed like everyone was so excited for the marathon. We were repeatedly thanked for coming to Fargo by people all over town. The expo was easy to get to/park at and was a neat set up in the Dome. Race morning still had lots of parking and the pre-race environment was very exciting. The course was great, my favorite parts being Concordia, downtown (twice!), and the finish!! I cramped at about 18 and to walk a few, but the crowd was still extremely supportive, yelling out my name and offering encouragement. The bands were all great and very entertaining! After the race there is TONS of food and lots of space to hang out. Having showers right there in the Dome was very convenient for those of us that had to hit the road after the run. All in all, this was a fantastic event. I would encourage anyone from a first timer to a veteran to run this race. It was truly AMAZING! | |
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K. F. from Minnesota, USA
(5/22/2011)
"Too Many Turns and 1/2 & Full merge problems" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 4-5 Fargo Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 3 This was my 5th time running this marathon. I as disappointed with some of the changes that have been made since the previous time I ran this marathon in 2008. #1 - seems like many more turns have been introduced to the course including a hairpin turn in the middle of a residential street. #2 Starting the half marathon 1 hour after the marathon does not work well given that we share the last 8 miles of the course. I ran the race in just over 3 hours. At mile 18 of the marathon (mile 5 of the half marathon) the marathon and half marathon courses merge. This does not work well. I was running at a 6:52 pace surrounded by half marathoners that were running at a 10:00 pace. The half marathoners were to stay to the right and marathoners to the left. However this was not the case. If this does not change in the future I will not be back. | |
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D. E. from Texas
(5/22/2011)
"Don't miss this marathon" (about: 2011)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This is one of the best marathons I have run. Great course, friendly runners, and lots of local spectators. Enjoyed visiting the lovely town of Fargo. Hats off to the organizers - it was awesome! | |
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Nick Hansen from Weston, WI
(10/29/2010)
"Reminds me of when I was young" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 I tried to keep it under control but the course was just too fast to resist. I saw a man with a keg at mile 21. I ran up to him and he handed me a cold one. He said to me, "You know that's beer, right?!" I said to him, "Hell yeah, I know it's beer," chugged it down, let loose, and laughed all the way to the finish! | |
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D. S. from Minnesota
(9/14/2010)
"Great, but be sure to save bags for marathoners." (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 Race was great. Pre-race in the Fargodome was a blessing. I agree with most previous comments. The best part of the race was running through Concordia, even though I am a Piper! My biggest complaint was the expo. I saw lots of 5K particpants showing off their bags they got at registration. By the time I was able to get to the expo, the bags (both Adidas and regular plastic bags) were all taken. I recommend that they set aside bags for those who sign up for the full and half-marathon; that number should be a known number prior to race weekend. The 5K people should get the bags on a first-come, first-served basis. This was frustrating when I had to scramble to get a bag to drop off on race day. Never had to find my own clothes bag at any other race. The folks who were working at the expo looked very surprised when they were made aware of this. Again, an overall great experience. Fix the bag issue at the expo and it gets 5 stars all the way around. | |
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Julie Feist from Beatrice, Nebraska
(7/2/2010)
"Outstanding Marathon" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Loved this marathon - one of my favorites! Great experience for me and my family. I agree that the marathon start could be earlier but that's my only suggestion. Expo organization/speakers and meal were super. The kids' play area is much appreciated after the race too. The bag and shirt we got for signing up is unbelievable. Course - flat as promised. Very easy for family/friends to follow and cheer you on. Crowd support - awesome the whole race! Post race - great to finish in Fargodome. Awesome post-race food/drink and set-up for family (kids' area). Medal is really cool and unique! Loved the way the whole City of Fargo supports this event and its heritage!! I'll be back and will bring more runners. I would recommend it for first-time marathoners. | |
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K. O. from Lincoln, NE
(6/28/2010)
"I loved Fargo! Fantastic place to run." (about: 2010)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This was only my second full marathon (with my first being only 3 weeks earlier), but I've traveled to many with my husband running, and so I can compare those as well. I only have great things to say about Fargo. I thought the expo was wonderful: it was in a nice, open place; they had great bouncy games to keep our kids busy; the shirts and Adidas bags were wonderful; and we walked away with lots of samples (which is always nice). The course was really pretty good - the bit between about miles 12 - 16 was boring and seemed to take forever, but really that's just a small complaint. It really is a flat course and you could easily PR on it. The spectators were fabulous!!! Many after mile 18 had their water hoses out and getting that cool water spray as we ran by that was so welcome and refreshing! Keep that up, Fargo! Finish line was great inside the FargoDome - lined with people all the way from the outside, offering great encouragement to help you to finish fast. I can never eat right after running. The chocolate milk helped though - and I did see the line for pizza and snacks (which looked great if I could stomach that kind of thing). We drove about 7.5 hours to run this race and it was absolutely worth it. Great expo, great shirts and bags, great course, great medals, and great spectators! Keep up the good work! | |
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B. D. from Minnesota
(6/21/2010)
"A great value." (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 2 Fargo Marathons
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 While Fargo may not have quite the fanfare of other Midwest marathons, it did offer a lot that the others don't. You won't find a more convenient race anywhere, from ease of finding a hotel and navigating around the city to picking up race packets and parking at the Fargo Dome. I really felt like the city and race staff wanted me there and cared about my experience. It showed not only in the organization and volunteers, but in a very affordable race price and top-notch race shirt, Adidas bag, and medal. The crowd support was great. This was my second year at Fargo and it was nice to see that they implemented runner suggestions to make the race better. It is still a growing race and there are some areas for improvement. I felt the expo was a little small compared with Grandma's and Twin Cities. The runners' finish area could be more spread out given the space available, especially the cafeteria-style line for food. The course had more concrete than I prefer and some of the asphalt was pretty beat-up. Overall, the positives far outweighed the negatives. I can understand why Runners' World recognized it as a great value for a marathon. I plan to be back for years to come. | |
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H. O. from Milwaukee, WI
(6/15/2010)
"Favorite Marathon" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Choosing to race Fargo was a decision I made based on the advertisement of a fast and flat course. I had never been to ND and would like to visit all 50 states, and a 9-hour drive didn't seem so bad. BEST DECISION I MADE!!! I had a huge PR in the marathon of over 23 minutes, running 3:02. There was no congestion in the expo when I finished. I was able to easily access the food table for the next couple hours as well, so I'm not sure where the back-up occurred that others mentioned. The expo was fantastic with all of the vendors, and having the pre-race and post-race in the expo was SO convenient and entertaining with the finish line right there inside! I never had to wait for a toilet, and being able to shower there was great - not to mention the warm, dry venue prior to the race. I enjoyed the course layout and got SO much support from other runners on the parts of the course that were out-and-backs (like miles 10-16). The crowd support was also fantastic! So many residents were out cheering and offering food/Kleenex/hoses to cool down! I LOVE when a city gets into an event like this and comes out to support even if they're not into the sport of running any other time of year. That was just amazing to me!! Although Fargo is a much smaller city, I felt like the crowd support was similar to Boston in enthusiasm. The post-race food was also fantastic. The cookie dough was something I've never had at a race before and I loved it!! Having the pizza was great too, since it was lunchtime and we had worked hard! And chocolate milk, the perfect recovery drink (bananas too!)! I really can't rave enough about how great my experience was. In the past, I've wanted to use marathons and half marathons as an excuse to travel and check out new parts of the country, but there's a good chance I may be back as a repeat runner just because this was such a positive experience for me! I felt like Fargo really reached out to the racers and gave personalized attention. I felt like if I had a question, it would be easy to get in contact with someone and have it answered. I felt like people wanted me there to race, and that I mattered. I know the two others I came with felt the same way. You lose that in big races like Boston, Chicago, etc., and for me, it's important and just enhances the overall race experience. The only glitch I encountered was waiting around for an age group award until 2:00 (when I finished just after 11:00) and then being told nearly an hour later that they would instead be mailed. This was very inconvenient, since I purposely waited around for the award and delayed my ride home. I also agree with the others that having the marathon start earlier and prior to the half/10K would be beneficial in the future. | |
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S. P. from Montana
(6/7/2010)
"Best Finisher Medal" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Yep, everything was great. I've got to say, I'm a sucker for cool medals, and this one is the best in my collection: Lots of color and unique design. It makes all of my other medals ugly in comparison. This race director got it all right, and it showed! |
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