Marathon # 31 of #50 Fargo, North Dakota

by Ann Page

Neither Rain Nor Sleet nor Wind……

Well I felt like a mailman (mailwoman?) on Saturday as neither rain (it
did) nor sleet (it did) nor wind (40 mph) stopped me and 750+ of my friends
from running a marathon in Fargo ND.

As they would say in Fargo - UFFA'DA! I have never worn so much
clothing in a marathon! And I kept all of it on the whole way!

When we woke up it was 26 degrees with the wind chill. Sleet turned to
ice on the windows of the hotel. Fortunately, by the end, it warmed up to
a balmy 36 degrees. Brrruffa'da! After 4 years of warm to hot marathons
I finally got my wish - a cold one.

Despite the weather, I would happily do this marathon again. It was a
beautiful run thru the entire town (it's not that big). No hills.
Tons of river scenery. And amazingly, most of the town turned out to cheer
us on, even in the bad weather.

I met some people on the plane from Houston and we became fast friends.
One was on her 49th state, another on her 45th. I decided to test to see
how I would see if I went slow to see if I could do a marathon 2 days in a
row later this year. I walked the marathon with one of my new friends and
finished in 7 hours 23 min. We laughed the whole way - or at least
those parts where the wind would let us catch our breath to laugh. No
kidding, there were places that we were unable to talk unless we turned our
backs to the wind. They offered Krispy Kremes at mile 15, hot dogs and
hamburgers at mile 20, and the best tasting electrolyte drink (All Sport) I
have ever had throughout the course (must find this). And as far as the
back to back marathon idea - I am still thinking on it.

You have got to go to Fargo. So friendly. They also have a Viking
Ship that a guy built and his family and friends sailed to from Fargo to
Norway a couple of years ago. They brought it back and built a museum
around it with a documentary of the building of the ship and the trip. The
guy with
the idea unfortunately died of leukemia before it sailed but 4 of his kids
and 8 others finished the trip for him. It was an awesome story.

You betcha I would add another Fargo next year if anyone wants to go -
that's how good it was. And it was their first year of having a
marathon - they also did a relay marathon, half marathon, 5k and 1k run.
Volunteers were upbeat and plentiful, as were the aid stations and
portalets. The medal is way cool - with a spinning section in the middle.

31 states down, Casper WY next in June.

Ann