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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 151 to 161]
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A. D. from Minneapolis, MN
(5/24/2010)
"Spectators made the race!" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I partially agree with some of the other critiques of the race. I ran the full marathon and I, too, really think the marathon should have started earlier. With unpredictable spring weather, an earlier start is safer for avoiding heat-related illness. I was not thrilled with the conditions of the roads, either. I understand that roads in northern states are subject to freezing/thawing; however, I believe it is possible to plan to use bike paths or newly paved roads with fewer potholes. Now, on to the good stuff. The fans were outstanding. Really great. Positive vibes were everywhere. This is a city that loves its marathon. The NDSU dormitory accommodations were also top-notch and quite a bargain at $50/night (we split between 3 and were comfortable). The Fargodome is a great place to have all the events and made logistics easy, especially being that the dorms are only 4 blocks away. I had no problem getting food with my 3:47 finish, but my friend who finished in 4:16 had to wait in line for a long time. An easy solution would be to form 2 lines around the refreshment tables. There was an adequate number of porta-lets and aid stations, and the roads were clearly marked. I think this is a small, growing marathon that just needs to work out a few details. | |
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A. L. from Fargo, ND
(5/24/2010)
"Great race!" (about: 2010)
3 previous marathons
| 2 Fargo Marathons
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I have run this half marathon twice and it has been a great experience! Great fans, and a flat and fast course! I also ran the 5K the Friday before. I wish they would have the walkers and people with strollers start after the runners. It was a little unorganized but great fun. Good job, Fargo! | |
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K. W. from Minnesota
(5/24/2010)
"Best Post-Race Food - Chocolate-Chip Cookie Dough!" (about: 2010)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Great town, great volunteers and fans, well-organized race, and an overall great experience. Positives: - Easy packet pickup, adequate expo, helpful volunteers - Fairly-priced pasta and lefse feed; great speakers during dinner - Dean Karnazes and Kathleen Wrigley (marathoner who has survived a brain aneurysm) - The Fargodome is a great place for the start and the finish: there were plenty of restrooms, and we the ability to stay out of the elements before and after the race - Very nice course: flat, and lots of variety (neighborhoods, downtown, college campus, parks) - Fabulous traffic control - Awesome aid station volunteers, called out "PowerAde," "water," "GU" - Friendly, encouraging fans. They were cheering for everyone, and lots stuck around for us back-of-the-packers. - Organizers asked people living along the course to set up sprinklers/hoses when hot weather was forecast. It didn't get as hot as predicted, but they sure felt good anyway! - Very fun to finish at the Fargodome - you see yourself on the big screen! - Nice selection of post-race food - especially the cups of chocolate-chip cookie dough!!! I have never seen that before, and if I hadn't been slightly nauseated, I would have had more than one. Negatives (not enough to keep me from doing Fargo again): - A lot of concrete - tougher on the legs than asphalt - Marathon start time. I understand the logistics of current start times, but seems like it makes more sense to send off those who will be out there the longest first. If predicted temps had been reached, it would have been brutal to be out there for 4-6 hours. Overall, loved Fargo and would love to go back! | |
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J. T. from Walled Lake, MI
(5/24/2010)
"Good Marathon - Flat & Fast, as advertised" (about: 2010)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I enjoyed the trip to Fargo, and the race. The weather didn't cooperate the whole race, but the first two hours were good (a little rain for the first hour, a perfect second hour, and then the sun came out). Plenty of water and PowerAde on the course, and a lot of spectators cheering you on (even despite the rain). About a half-mile into the race I thought, "Oh, neat, someone has sparklers!" It took a few seconds to realize a live power line had been sliced by a falling tree branch and was shooting sparks onto the course. There was a mildly panicked crush to the right away from the dangling wires blowing in the wind. Scary stuff, but cool to see, given that no one was hurt. | |
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J. E. from KC, MO
(5/24/2010)
"Fargo Marathon 2010" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Great race! This town really knows how to host a marathon. Organization was great from start to finish. Locals, including cab drivers, hotel, spa and restaurant personnel were friendly and welcoming. The course was great, pasta dinner was yummy and entertaining and use of the Fargo Dome all weekend was outstanding. The one improvement I would make would be to move the marathon to the 7:00 start and have the half and 10K start afterward. An early start for the marathoners would have really helped this year!! | |
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M. K. from Champaign, IL
(5/24/2010)
"fans make the race" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I was so impressed by the fans throughout the race. As a back-of-packer, it was so nice to have their support long after many were finished. The course is nice enough and flat, but what really made the race for me was the finish in the Fargodome. The spectators were able to be very close and were so loud, which made the last 100 yards seem like a breeze! I also liked the staggered starts for the 10K, half marathon, and full marathon. It didn't seem as congested as other starts. My only complaint was parking around the Fargodome - it was hard to figure out where to park, and we ended up paying for parking when we didn't need to. | |
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D. S. from Michigan
(5/24/2010)
"Fargo was a top-notch community event!" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 I was impressed with this marathon not just for the organizatinal details (Starbucks coffee at the starting line, use of FargoDome facilities, etc.), but the overall community involvement. This is a big event for Fargo; banners welcoming runners were all over town, there was media attention, and there were lots of friendly people who helped guide us out-of-towners around town. There were "official" water stops but also many unofficial water/fruit stations. Jolly Ranchers everywhere! There were "official" bands (Irish, Scandinavian, square dancing even) but everyone with a trumpet, trombone, or cowbell was out there too. "More cowbell" was the motto. I liked how they used tractors to block off intersections for the runners! I constantly heard, "We are glad you came!" An organizational glitch, perhaps due to their unprecedented number of runners this year, was congestion and confusion caused by the head-to-head meeting of the half marathoners a few miles into the full marathoner course (the halfers started earlier and the early miles were not segregated). | |
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J. H. from Tennessee
(5/24/2010)
"Well Organized, Well Supported Race!" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Having returned from Fargo this weekend, here are my thoughts about the entire weekend experience: Pros: 1) Great information before race day (email, website, Facebook, etc.). 2) Excellent expo (all you needed, they had). 3) Mostly flat course, as advertised. Lots of shade over the last half, which was welcome since the sun joined the humidity at that point. 4) GREAT support by spectators throughout the race course! 5) Good post-race food. 6) Wish there had been time to take advantage of the post-race massage table. Not all races provide this. 7) Good bag-drop, which allowed for post-race showers at the FargoDome. 8) Great medal, long-sleeve tech shirt with a zipper in the front, plus the super bag used for our bag drop (although I read where they eventually did run out of medals). 9) Everywhere I went, the community seemed to really be excited about the race and eager to assist the runners (late checkouts and early hotel breakfasts provided). 10) Great traffic control throughout the course. Cons: 1) Much more heat and humidity than I planned for, but you can't blame the race folks for that! If you want flat and "most often cool" (just not this year), then go to Fargo. You won't regret it! | |
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J. S. from Kansas City
(5/23/2010)
"Fabulously done race" (about: 2010)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Fargo Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 This is a great marathon. The course is pancake flat and pretty. The logistics are unbelievably easy, from packet pickup to getting to the start line on race morning to the finish. They open the dome in the morning to give you a place to hang out, and what can I say about finishing in the dome? Too cool. The community really gets behind this race and were out cheering us on even though the weather was far from good. Only two critiques: One was the weather, which the director can't help. Second was the food at the finish. With the heat, I desperately needed calories quickly and wasn't feeling well, but the line was crazy long and swamped with relay runners and half marathoners, so I literally stood there swaying on my feet for 20 minutes waiting in line. This needs some help. Otherwise, fantastic work on this great race in a lovely town. Would happily recommend it. | |
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a. s. from United States
(5/23/2010)
"Great marathon gone bad" (about: 2010)
50+ previous marathons
| 2 Fargo Marathons
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 Who would start the 10K at 7 a.m., the half marathon at 7:30, and then the full marathon at 8 a.m.??? Only those who do not care about the full marathon entrants. The course is great, with lots of potties, and lots of water... but the PowerAde died out for the slow marathoners, and as for food at the end, ho ho ho. That vanished with the finisher medals. Common sense would indicate starting the full at 7 a.m., then the half at 7:30, and the 10K at 8 a.m. It all depends on one's priorities. Fargo got its 20,000 entrants, got lots of money, and got a lot of annoyed (and seemingly irrelevant) marathoners. Also, the temperature was expected to hit 80+; would it not have make sense to start the longer race first???? The RD needs to go back to race planning 101. |
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