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Marathon Details - Fargo Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > ND > Fargo > Fargo Marathon

Fargo Marathon

Fargo Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K, 5K

Fargo, ND USA

May 31, 2025

http://www.fargomarathon.com

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Race Details

Awesome Flat and Fast Course going through downtown city, residential and parks. Crosses ND and MN twice!

Contact Information

Name:	Chip Hazewski
Address:	405 West Main Avenue Suite 1D Fargo, ND 58108-2623
Phone Number:	888-RUNFARGO
Fax Number:	701-277-1627
Email:	Email the organizers

Runner Reviews (391)

Course 4.4

Organization 4.6

Spectators 4.6

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Number of comments: 391 [displaying comments 1 to 11]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 39 > ]

W. R. from Upstate New York (6/5/2024) "Lots of poor planning" (about: 2024) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I understand the course change due to the flooding, BUT the course description was totally off. LONG lines for the Expo. And hard ripe green bananas at the finish line? Ugh. Only other post-race food was pretzels and candy. Pretty lame.
Tiffany Reed from Missouri (6/2/2024) "Bigger than expected!" (about: 2024) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This event had a lot to offer. I did the Go Far Challenge (5K Friday night, marathon Saturday). The 5K was a lot of fun with over 2,000 runners (not lined up according to pace) so you really had to dodge and weave around walkers and strollers. If you don't care about time, it is a fun event. Don't wait until Friday night to hit the expo/packet pick up. The line to get in was extremely long. It was a small venue. The marathon course has to be redirected due to potential flooding. There were about 2000 marathoners but even though the three events (full, half, and 10K) started 15 minutes apart, the courses ran together and even crossed paths in some areas, which made it fairly congested for quite a ways. The course was nearly completely flat but not very impressive. Mainly residential streets with lots of loops and out and backs. After the finish, there were green bananas, granola bars, and some type of gummy spaghetti-thing. BUT, the medals (3 in the Go Far Challenge) were awesome, the marathon jacket is awesome and the town was great! Spectators along most of the course, bands on the marathon route and 5K. I wouldn't call this a destination race but it was fun and the weather was absolutely perfect for June 1! Great race for 50-staters!
C. K. from Kalamazoo, MI (5/21/2023) "Great smaller marathon!" (about: 2023) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Pros: Starting and ending in the Fargodome. This was AWESOME. Tons of bathrooms, no need to worry about standing around in cold or rainy starting weather (although it was not cold or rainy in 2023). Concessions were open if you wanted to grab a coffee. Easy gear check. Super comfortable for supporters to sit in the stands and hang out and watch the runners leaving and finishing on the jumbotron. They even had Elvis with a muscle car hanging out and taking pictures. Spectators: Fargo really turns out for this race. Lots of enthusiatic fans cheering and music all along the course. Expo: Not a huge expo given that this is a smaller race, but a nice one. Medal/Swag: If you are into finisher medals, this was a really cool one. Enormous with a nice etching of Fargo downtown on one side. It was also nice to get a hoodie instead of yet another shirt - something a little unique. Course: I gave the course 4 stars, but I don't think that the organizers could do better in selecting a course. It's super flat - the tiniest of hills in a little park, and a couple of underpasses, otherwise flat as a pancake. Personally, I prefer a little bit more roll, but if you like flat, this is it. I also appreciate that the 10K and half marathon runners were mostly separate from the full or running in the opposite direction - which really helped to mitigate 'runner traffic' problems. Most of the course went through neighborhoods, and as noted above, lots of spectators. There were also a few smaller parks and a bit through North Dakota State U and Concordia U campuses. Given how warm it was, unfortunately, there was very little shade. Cons: Weather: Obviously not something the race directors could control, but it was too warm. Maybe upper 40s /lower 50s at the start, full sun nearly the whole way, ending in 60s or 70s depending on your time. Finish food: Meh. There was chocolate milk (yay!), donuts and little cups of vanilla ice cream and not much else. Race day party: In spite of lots of info about it on the race website and a beer tag on our race bibs, there was not actually a post-race party. About 30 minutes after it was supposed to start, someone made an announcement that the info on the website was from last year and the party had been cut this year due to budget constraints. OK, totally get that, but really, nobody noticed the link and page with info about this on the website? Weird. Overall, a great experience and super nice, well organized and supported smaller marathon. Definitely recommend this race, especially for the 50-staters. Too bad the weather wasn't a little more cooperative this year.
Jim Gullo from Williamsburg, Va (5/24/2022) "Flat, fast and cold!" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The temperature was around 34 degrees at start time, something I did not expect in May! However, it does make for excellent running conditions, especially on a flat course. Not much wind either. The positives ; 1.) A flat and well marked safe course 2.) Starting and ending in the Fargodome 3.) Excellent runner's jacket and OK medal 4.) Plenty of port-a-pots and water stations along the course. 5.) Good community support and the folks from Fargo are some of the friendliest people I have ever met 6.) Expo was an OK size 7.) Easy parking and plenty of indoor bathrooms at the start inside the Fargdome. 8.) Nice after party in downtown Fargo in the evening. Areas to improve; 1.) Food at the end, Sandy's donuts and chocolate milk were the highlights, not much else after that. 2.) A fair about of the course is on concrete. Overall, the race director did a fabulous job in that he had to change the course twice two weeks before the race due to flooding issues. He pulled it off with no problems as far as I could tell. I would highly recommend this race, especially if you need to get North Dakota off your 50 state list.
M. K. from Bay Area, California (9/26/2021) "Fast, flat, friendly marathon in a cool town" (about: 2021) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 You should run Fargo because: --Fast, flat course. --Great support for a marathon this size, especially at Moorhead State and Concordia College, and the bands and the bagpipes and the orchestra and the people in lawn chairs. --Starting and finishing in the Fargodome means plenty of warm places to sit before the start, and indoor plumbing for water fountains and bathrooms. --Buses provided to and from the dome from multiple hotel locations (you should stay downtown if you can, which is one of the bus pickup/dropoff points; visit the Red River farmers market after the race)
C. D. from Florida (5/26/2019) "great organization" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Everyone from the director, support staff, and spectators were great. I stayed in the Radison, airport shuttle, race day shuttle pick, this was provided by race shuttle not the hotel. Within a block of bars and places to eat lunch and dinner. As others have commented starting and finishing in the fargodome made this a great race.
T. N. from Boise, ID (5/20/2019) "Far exceeded expectations" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race far exceeded my expectations. The director is clearly a seasoned runner and considered details that make a huge difference. It was cool and rainy at the start and gloves and coffee were provided prior to the race. (Indoor start huge benefit for rain as well as having plenty of bathrooms!) The course was well marked and supported and the 10K and half courses joining and branching off was not a distraction nor clogged the course. Full road with cones throughout clearly separated courses. Despite the weather, crowds and bands were present throughout and colleges provided fun atmosphere. It was fun to finish in the FargoDome and great that finisher certificate and video is provided. I did not expect to enjoy this race as much as I did and highly recommend for anyone who lives in the area or is travelling for 50 state club.
A. F. from Missouri (5/19/2019) "A Must-Do Race!" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Out of all the marathons I have done, I can say that Fargo definitely is in the Top 10, easily! For the expo....they had two days for it and it ran pretty late so that was a plus. I don't believe they had race day packet pick up, which could be an issue for some people. I thought the expo was adequate. Had opportunities to pick up last minute stuff (gels, etc) and also a chance to buy some local running gear. They had all the races separate so I think that alleviated any confusion. Really nice swag! You got a very nice drawstring backpack (which doubled as a drop bag) and nice hooded sweatshirt. Race day: Starting and finishing in the Fargodome (especially with the weather we had this year!) was a huge plus. Was also great because there were plenty of bathrooms. The RD and the race were really accommodating for my friend's wedding which was nice. The community really comes out for this race! I was really surprised with how many people were out there, despite the weather (rain plus cold plus wind). There was a fairly large marathon field in my opinion, so that was nice not to ever feel lonely on the course. You ran through a lot of neighborhoods mostly, thru a couple college campuses and along a river (forget the name). The course wasn't super scenic by any means but I think the crowd support plus numerous bands and DJ's along the course made up for it. Pretty flat for the most part, with maybe a couple hills, but nothing too crazy. I think the road was a bit tough for me to run on, cracks and whatnot throughout the route. I think aid station support was great. Water and Powerade were plentiful, I think they had stations every two miles. Again, a lot of community support. They even had the UPS guys out there blocking the roads with their trucks and whatnot. I was really appreciative of the fruit in the later miles (around mile 19 and other spots later on). The finish at the Fargodome was neat! They had you on the big screen TV and called you out by name when you finished. And the medal! I loved it! Was very nice and big too! Each distance's medal was slightly different. I wish I had done the 5K also and could've gotten an extra medal for the Go Far Challenge but oh well. Post race food was nice. Since it was cold, I would've maybe appreciated some warm soup, but that's just a personal preference. I believe they had pizza, chips, cookies, and bananas. They also had free beer at the end which was nice. I also appreciated the fact you had access to a shower there too, I didn't use it, but it was nice they had it. My only complaint was that it would've been nice if they had massages available because I really could've used one, but they did have a stretching area available with foam rollers. I would highly recommend this race! I initially chose it to complete my North Dakota requirement for the 50 states but it really is a great race! You won't regret it.
C. G. from Overland Park, KS (10/30/2018) "Great race that lives up to the hype" (about: 2018) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I picked this race because I'm doing the 50-state thing and ND has few alternatives, but it's in my top 10 for sure. The course is flat and fast, provides a nice tour of the area, and race organization is top-notch. Good swag - hoodie sweatshirt, drawstring backpack, good post-race foodstuffs. Starting and finishing inside the Fargo Dome was nice altho I was concerned about my Garmin finding itself so ran out to find satellites a couple minutes before the start, which appeared to work - data seemed accurate. Having both US and Canadian natl anthems was awesome.
K. W. from Minnesota (10/21/2018) "Poorly organized" (about: 2018) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 The signage was horrific. For starters, when I picked up my packet for the 1/2 marathon, they gave me a bib for the 10k, they ran out of 1/2 bibs. During the run, the mile markers were blown over & hard to see. They only had 3 water stations. There was a 10k run that was on the same course as us & And when I was on mile 8, and there was a mile 6 sign, I was confused because it had been awhile since I'd seen a mile marker. I asked the person standing at the split (10k went left, 1/2 went straight), and I was told to go left, I suppose because of the bib I had on. Then boom, I was at the finish line. My nike run app said I ran 9.04 miles and they gave me a 10k badge. I ask the guy in charge if I could get a refund, he was a dick about it and said, "go run 4 more miles and I'll give you the half pin". Also each mile marker was 1.05miles apart.. Never coming back to Fargo for a race again.

More Comments: [ < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 .. 39 > ]



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W. R. from Upstate New York (6/5/2024) "Lots of poor planning" (about: 2024) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 5 I understand the course change due to the flooding, BUT the course description was totally off. LONG lines for the Expo. And hard ripe green bananas at the finish line? Ugh. Only other post-race food was pretzels and candy. Pretty lame.
Tiffany Reed from Missouri (6/2/2024) "Bigger than expected!" (about: 2024) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 3 FANS: 3 This event had a lot to offer. I did the Go Far Challenge (5K Friday night, marathon Saturday). The 5K was a lot of fun with over 2,000 runners (not lined up according to pace) so you really had to dodge and weave around walkers and strollers. If you don't care about time, it is a fun event. Don't wait until Friday night to hit the expo/packet pick up. The line to get in was extremely long. It was a small venue. The marathon course has to be redirected due to potential flooding. There were about 2000 marathoners but even though the three events (full, half, and 10K) started 15 minutes apart, the courses ran together and even crossed paths in some areas, which made it fairly congested for quite a ways. The course was nearly completely flat but not very impressive. Mainly residential streets with lots of loops and out and backs. After the finish, there were green bananas, granola bars, and some type of gummy spaghetti-thing. BUT, the medals (3 in the Go Far Challenge) were awesome, the marathon jacket is awesome and the town was great! Spectators along most of the course, bands on the marathon route and 5K. I wouldn't call this a destination race but it was fun and the weather was absolutely perfect for June 1! Great race for 50-staters!
C. K. from Kalamazoo, MI (5/21/2023) "Great smaller marathon!" (about: 2023) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Pros: Starting and ending in the Fargodome. This was AWESOME. Tons of bathrooms, no need to worry about standing around in cold or rainy starting weather (although it was not cold or rainy in 2023). Concessions were open if you wanted to grab a coffee. Easy gear check. Super comfortable for supporters to sit in the stands and hang out and watch the runners leaving and finishing on the jumbotron. They even had Elvis with a muscle car hanging out and taking pictures. Spectators: Fargo really turns out for this race. Lots of enthusiatic fans cheering and music all along the course. Expo: Not a huge expo given that this is a smaller race, but a nice one. Medal/Swag: If you are into finisher medals, this was a really cool one. Enormous with a nice etching of Fargo downtown on one side. It was also nice to get a hoodie instead of yet another shirt - something a little unique. Course: I gave the course 4 stars, but I don't think that the organizers could do better in selecting a course. It's super flat - the tiniest of hills in a little park, and a couple of underpasses, otherwise flat as a pancake. Personally, I prefer a little bit more roll, but if you like flat, this is it. I also appreciate that the 10K and half marathon runners were mostly separate from the full or running in the opposite direction - which really helped to mitigate 'runner traffic' problems. Most of the course went through neighborhoods, and as noted above, lots of spectators. There were also a few smaller parks and a bit through North Dakota State U and Concordia U campuses. Given how warm it was, unfortunately, there was very little shade. Cons: Weather: Obviously not something the race directors could control, but it was too warm. Maybe upper 40s /lower 50s at the start, full sun nearly the whole way, ending in 60s or 70s depending on your time. Finish food: Meh. There was chocolate milk (yay!), donuts and little cups of vanilla ice cream and not much else. Race day party: In spite of lots of info about it on the race website and a beer tag on our race bibs, there was not actually a post-race party. About 30 minutes after it was supposed to start, someone made an announcement that the info on the website was from last year and the party had been cut this year due to budget constraints. OK, totally get that, but really, nobody noticed the link and page with info about this on the website? Weird. Overall, a great experience and super nice, well organized and supported smaller marathon. Definitely recommend this race, especially for the 50-staters. Too bad the weather wasn't a little more cooperative this year.
Jim Gullo from Williamsburg, Va (5/24/2022) "Flat, fast and cold!" (about: 2022) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 The temperature was around 34 degrees at start time, something I did not expect in May! However, it does make for excellent running conditions, especially on a flat course. Not much wind either. The positives ; 1.) A flat and well marked safe course 2.) Starting and ending in the Fargodome 3.) Excellent runner's jacket and OK medal 4.) Plenty of port-a-pots and water stations along the course. 5.) Good community support and the folks from Fargo are some of the friendliest people I have ever met 6.) Expo was an OK size 7.) Easy parking and plenty of indoor bathrooms at the start inside the Fargdome. 8.) Nice after party in downtown Fargo in the evening. Areas to improve; 1.) Food at the end, Sandy's donuts and chocolate milk were the highlights, not much else after that. 2.) A fair about of the course is on concrete. Overall, the race director did a fabulous job in that he had to change the course twice two weeks before the race due to flooding issues. He pulled it off with no problems as far as I could tell. I would highly recommend this race, especially if you need to get North Dakota off your 50 state list.
M. K. from Bay Area, California (9/26/2021) "Fast, flat, friendly marathon in a cool town" (about: 2021) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 You should run Fargo because: --Fast, flat course. --Great support for a marathon this size, especially at Moorhead State and Concordia College, and the bands and the bagpipes and the orchestra and the people in lawn chairs. --Starting and finishing in the Fargodome means plenty of warm places to sit before the start, and indoor plumbing for water fountains and bathrooms. --Buses provided to and from the dome from multiple hotel locations (you should stay downtown if you can, which is one of the bus pickup/dropoff points; visit the Red River farmers market after the race)
C. D. from Florida (5/26/2019) "great organization" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Everyone from the director, support staff, and spectators were great. I stayed in the Radison, airport shuttle, race day shuttle pick, this was provided by race shuttle not the hotel. Within a block of bars and places to eat lunch and dinner. As others have commented starting and finishing in the fargodome made this a great race.
T. N. from Boise, ID (5/20/2019) "Far exceeded expectations" (about: 2019) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 This race far exceeded my expectations. The director is clearly a seasoned runner and considered details that make a huge difference. It was cool and rainy at the start and gloves and coffee were provided prior to the race. (Indoor start huge benefit for rain as well as having plenty of bathrooms!) The course was well marked and supported and the 10K and half courses joining and branching off was not a distraction nor clogged the course. Full road with cones throughout clearly separated courses. Despite the weather, crowds and bands were present throughout and colleges provided fun atmosphere. It was fun to finish in the FargoDome and great that finisher certificate and video is provided. I did not expect to enjoy this race as much as I did and highly recommend for anyone who lives in the area or is travelling for 50 state club.
A. F. from Missouri (5/19/2019) "A Must-Do Race!" (about: 2019) 50+ previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Out of all the marathons I have done, I can say that Fargo definitely is in the Top 10, easily! For the expo....they had two days for it and it ran pretty late so that was a plus. I don't believe they had race day packet pick up, which could be an issue for some people. I thought the expo was adequate. Had opportunities to pick up last minute stuff (gels, etc) and also a chance to buy some local running gear. They had all the races separate so I think that alleviated any confusion. Really nice swag! You got a very nice drawstring backpack (which doubled as a drop bag) and nice hooded sweatshirt. Race day: Starting and finishing in the Fargodome (especially with the weather we had this year!) was a huge plus. Was also great because there were plenty of bathrooms. The RD and the race were really accommodating for my friend's wedding which was nice. The community really comes out for this race! I was really surprised with how many people were out there, despite the weather (rain plus cold plus wind). There was a fairly large marathon field in my opinion, so that was nice not to ever feel lonely on the course. You ran through a lot of neighborhoods mostly, thru a couple college campuses and along a river (forget the name). The course wasn't super scenic by any means but I think the crowd support plus numerous bands and DJ's along the course made up for it. Pretty flat for the most part, with maybe a couple hills, but nothing too crazy. I think the road was a bit tough for me to run on, cracks and whatnot throughout the route. I think aid station support was great. Water and Powerade were plentiful, I think they had stations every two miles. Again, a lot of community support. They even had the UPS guys out there blocking the roads with their trucks and whatnot. I was really appreciative of the fruit in the later miles (around mile 19 and other spots later on). The finish at the Fargodome was neat! They had you on the big screen TV and called you out by name when you finished. And the medal! I loved it! Was very nice and big too! Each distance's medal was slightly different. I wish I had done the 5K also and could've gotten an extra medal for the Go Far Challenge but oh well. Post race food was nice. Since it was cold, I would've maybe appreciated some warm soup, but that's just a personal preference. I believe they had pizza, chips, cookies, and bananas. They also had free beer at the end which was nice. I also appreciated the fact you had access to a shower there too, I didn't use it, but it was nice they had it. My only complaint was that it would've been nice if they had massages available because I really could've used one, but they did have a stretching area available with foam rollers. I would highly recommend this race! I initially chose it to complete my North Dakota requirement for the 50 states but it really is a great race! You won't regret it.
C. G. from Overland Park, KS (10/30/2018) "Great race that lives up to the hype" (about: 2018) 50+ previous marathons \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 I picked this race because I'm doing the 50-state thing and ND has few alternatives, but it's in my top 10 for sure. The course is flat and fast, provides a nice tour of the area, and race organization is top-notch. Good swag - hoodie sweatshirt, drawstring backpack, good post-race foodstuffs. Starting and finishing inside the Fargo Dome was nice altho I was concerned about my Garmin finding itself so ran out to find satellites a couple minutes before the start, which appeared to work - data seemed accurate. Having both US and Canadian natl anthems was awesome.
K. W. from Minnesota (10/21/2018) "Poorly organized" (about: 2018) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Fargo Marathon COURSE: 1 ORGANIZATION: 1 FANS: 5 The signage was horrific. For starters, when I picked up my packet for the 1/2 marathon, they gave me a bib for the 10k, they ran out of 1/2 bibs. During the run, the mile markers were blown over & hard to see. They only had 3 water stations. There was a 10k run that was on the same course as us & And when I was on mile 8, and there was a mile 6 sign, I was confused because it had been awhile since I'd seen a mile marker. I asked the person standing at the split (10k went left, 1/2 went straight), and I was told to go left, I suppose because of the bib I had on. Then boom, I was at the finish line. My nike run app said I ran 9.04 miles and they gave me a 10k badge. I ask the guy in charge if I could get a refund, he was a dick about it and said, "go run 4 more miles and I'll give you the half pin". Also each mile marker was 1.05miles apart.. Never coming back to Fargo for a race again.

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Marathon Details - Fargo Marathon