On May 18, I ran the Fargo Marathon. I didn’t sign up for this race until
April. Deb and I were originally
planning to go to Colorado that weekend, but our plans changed. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find a hotel
room in Fargo on such short notice, but I was pleasantly surprised to find
several hotels that still had rooms. I
was also surprised to find room rates that seemed normal. The last time I did this race, the hotels all
seemed to be twice as expensive on the weekend of the marathon.
I stayed at Home2Suites.
I’m familiar with most of the Hilton brands, but I had never stayed at a
Home2Suites before. The room had a
living room/kitchenette that was separate from the bedroom. Each room had its own thermostat, so I could
keep the bedroom cold for sleeping while keeping the living room warmer.
I drove to Fargo on Friday, making a lunch stop in Fergus
Falls. After checking into my room at
Home2Suites, I went to the expo at the FargoDome. I picked up my race packet and stopped by the
booth for the 50 States Marathon Club.
Then I returned to the hotel, so I could drop off my race packet. I’m always afraid I’ll misplace it if I keep
it with me all day. The race shirt was a
hooded sweatshirt. That was a nice
change of pace. I have hundreds of race
shirts, so I always like it when I get something different.
This race was one of the quarterly reunions of the 50 States
Marathon Club. I went back to the
FargoDome to attend the club meeting. A
big part of the meeting is recognizing members who have recently finished
running marathons in all 50 states.
There’s also a chance for everyone to introduce themselves and tell
their stories. I saw quite a few old
friends at the meeting.
I had dinner at Old Chicago.
I couldn’t think of any local pizzerias that I haven’t already tried, so
I went with a familiar chain. After
dinner, I sampled some local beers at the Fargo Brewing Ale House, which
happened to be next door to Home2Suites.
I got to bed early and slept well for about six hours. Then I woke up and couldn’t get back to
sleep. I felt OK, so I didn’t worry too
much about not getting more sleep.
Home2Suites has a free breakfast, but it doesn’t start until
6:00 AM. I wanted to leave before that,
so I made a cup of tea and reheated a slice of pizza that was left over from my
dinner in Fergus Falls.
The race started and finished at the FargoDome. It didn’t start until 7:00 AM, but I wanted
to get there early to make sure I didn’t have any trouble finding parking. They opened the dome to runners at 6:00, so
that’s when I got there.
At this time of year, weather in Fargo can be just about
anything. The first time I ran this
race, temperatures were hovering near 32 degrees, with rain/snow mix. I’ve also seen heat and humidity, with the
threat of a thunderstorm. This year, the
temperature was in the 40s, but it rained all night. From the hourly forecast, it was unclear how
long the rain would continue. It might
rain for the whole race, but it also might stop raining as soon as the race
started.
Five weeks ago, at the Carmel Marathon, I ran in a plastic
rain poncho and got too hot as soon as the rain stopped. Wanting to avoid a similar experience, I
opted not to wear a rain poncho.
Instead, I wore a Tyvek jacket.
It’s not really waterproof, but it would keep me warm enough if it only
rained briefly. If the rain stopped, I
could take it off and tie it around my waist.
I underestimated how long the rain would last. I also underestimated the wind.
One of the nice things about this race is the start and
finish inside the FargoDome. We might be cold and wet when we started
running, but we were warm and dry while we waited for the race to start. We could also count on being warm and dry
after finishing. This is the reason I
was willing to risk being underdressed.
It’s also the reason I didn’t mind arriving early.
Thirty minutes before the race, there was a brief wedding
ceremony for two of the runners, Ed and Bonnie.
I know Ed. I’ve seen him at
numerous races, and by chance, it was at the Fargo Marathon that I originally
met him.
I ran my previous race in 3:26:59. That was a big breakthrough for me. The most obvious goal for this race was to
see if I could do better. I saw a 3:25
pace group, so I lined up right behind them.
I knew 3:25 was an ambitious goal, but I couldn’t resist testing the
waters. I didn’t feel like I had
anything to lose by trying.
In some races, it takes half a mile to get up to pace. We were lined up pretty close to the front,
so we were going fast almost immediately.
The pace felt too fast, so I allowed myself to hang back a bit until I
got used to the fast pace. As we left
the dome, I felt the rain. Then we
turned into the wind, and I realized it was stronger and colder than I
anticipated. After a few quick turns, I
settled in behind the 3:25 pace group.
The pace felt like it might be too fast, but having a big group of
runners in front of me helped shelter me from the cold wind.
To finish in 3:25, we needed to average 7:49 per mile. The pace leader hit the one mile mark right
on schedule, but I was a little bit behind the group, so I got there in
7:51. By the end of the second mile, I
found myself falling behind. To stay
with the group, I needed to maintain an effort that I could already tell was
unsustainable. I let the group go, but
still tried to keep up with some of the runners around me.
Now that I was on my own, I was more exposed to the
wind. I also needed to pay attention to
my mile times. At three miles, I checked
my watch. I was only a few seconds off
the pace for 3:25. The pace group was a
block ahead of me. They were going too
fast. I had no regrets about letting
them go.
Over the next several miles, I stopped trying to keep up
with the runners around me. I gradually
unhitched myself from the pack and allowed myself to slow down. I ran one mile in 7:55. Then I ran the next two in 8:10. Then I ran two more in 8:20. I was trying to find my comfort zone, but I
never found it. By now, it was apparent
that I not only wouldn’t beat my time from three weeks ago, but also wouldn’t
run a Boston qualifying time. I really
wanted to see if I could qualify in two consecutive races, but I wasn’t willing
to fight hard enough to keep up a fast enough pace.
This race has a flat course, but it has lots of turns. On average, you turn every two or three
blocks. The rain kept up, and deep
puddles formed at the sides of the streets.
To run the shortest distance, you had to take the shortest route through
each turn. To avoid the puddles, you had
to stay near the center of the street.
You couldn’t do both. I opted to
avoid the puddles.
Sometimes, after a few turns, we would double back on a
street we had run before. These
out-and-back sections gave me a chance to see some of my friends, as we ran in
opposite directions.
After about an hour of running, it was apparent that the
rain wasn’t to stop anytime soon. It was
even more apparent that the wind was much stronger than I anticipated. I severely regretted not wearing a rain
poncho. By now, my clothes were wet and
the wind was cutting through me like a knife.
My Tyvek jacket became less and less useful as the water soaked through
it.
Between the wind, my wet clothes, and my soggy shoes, I felt
miserable. That’s one reason why I
couldn’t get comfortable, even as I slowed my pace. I also had an unsettled stomach.
The race organizers have two alternative routes for this
race. The traditional route crosses the
Red River into Moorhead, MN and returns about mile miles later. They also have a backup route in case
flooding makes the traditional route untenable.
This year, there was severe flooding in the river valley, so I assumed
they would have to use the “flood-proof” route.
The river level has receded significantly. About a week before the race, the race
committee decided they could use the traditional route. About 10 miles into the race, we got right
alongside the river.
Right around the 10 mile mark, I was passed by the 3:30 pace
group. By now, I knew I wouldn’t be
breaking 3:35, much less 3:30. It was
inevitable they would pass me sooner or later.
Just before 11 miles, we crossed the river into
Moorhead. As I looked down at the river,
the river level looked normal. You’d
never know how high it was a month ago.
On the Moorhead side, the route zigzagged south and east for
the next two miles. Then I reached a
turnaround and started to come back. I
could tolerate the cold wet conditions when the wind was at my back, but coming
back from the turnaround, I had to run into it.
The wind was strong enough to be tiring, but more importantly, it made
me intolerably cold.
At 14 miles, I reached an aid station just as a strong wind
gust blew all the paper cups across the road.
Then I had to turn into that wind for about a mile.
At the easternmost point in our route, we ran through two
college campuses in Moorhead. Running
through Concordia College, I saw a medical aid station with a large red and
white sign that read, “Medical Drop Out.”
If I was in distress, this would be a good place to seek medical
attention. At this point, I was pretty
sure I could finish, but I wasn’t out of the woods. My hands and forearms were numb, and I was
painfully cold. In my life, I’ve dropped
out of five races. Two of them were
because of hypothermia, and it was a contributing factor in a third. I had 11 miles to go, and the wind was
getting stronger.
Running through Concordia College, we ran around a bell
tower as the bells were ringing. They’re
loud when you’re right below them. It
was a welcome distraction.
Next, we ran through the Moorhead campus of Minnesota State
University. After a big loop, we headed
back toward the river. At times, it
seemed like the rain might be stopping.
Then I saw it was still raining.
At this point, it was academic. My clothes were already soaked, and they
wouldn’t dry out before the end of the race, even if the rain stopped. All that mattered now was the wind, and it
wasn’t letting up.
Running with the wind at my back, I sometimes started to
feel more comfortable. With the wind at
my side, I got cold. When I had to run
into it, it was unbearable.
After returning to Fargo, we worked our way through some
residential neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Fargo. I was in survival mode now. I just tried to get through each mile. I never bothered to look at my watch. My pace no longer mattered. I was struggling to keep moving, but it had
nothing to do with my pace or my fitness level.
It was all about how my body responds to getting cold.
They say there’s no such thing as bad weather – only bad
clothing choices. I made bad clothing
choices. I brought a rain poncho with me
to the FargoDome, but left it in my gear bag.
I didn’t think I’d need it. I
thought it would be too hot. I was
wrong!
I had no idea what my pace was, but I knew there was a 3:45
pace group, and they were still behind me.
I was pretty sure I would break four hours, and that was still a goal
worth fighting for. I came into this
race with a streak of seven consecutive sub4 finishes, and I wanted to keep
that going. Other than finishing and
getting out of the cold, that was my only remaining goal.
They had a lot of music along the route. Some of it was recorded music, but there were
a surprising number of live bands. They
set up under canopies, but it was still impressive to see so many of them on
such an awful day. Sometimes hearing a
particular song at a particular time can resonate with you. Earlier in the race, “Riders on the Storm”
was a painful reminder of the weather we were running in. In the late miles, “I Will Survive” became my
anthem.
When I eventually reached the 21 mile mark, I started
counting down the individual city blocks.
I assumed there were about 10 per mile, so I began counting down from
52. Believe it or not, that helped.
I kept my jacket unzipped in front, so it wouldn’t block my
race bib. When I was running into the
wind, it sometimes pushed my jacket back over my shoulders. Then my jacket started to catch the wind like
a sail. As I went through an aid station
at 22 miles, I slowed to a walk, so I could zip the bottom of my jacket. I couldn’t get the zipper started. I came to a stop. I still couldn’t get the zipper started. My fingers wouldn’t work. I tried to pull the zipper with my teeth, but
I couldn’t hold onto the jacket. After wasting about a minute, I gave up. As I resumed running, my neck started to
hurt. I think it’s because I was bending
my head forward to look down as I was working on the zipper.
With about three and a half miles to go, as I was running
through the downtown area, I had to go into the wind for about five
blocks. I didn’t know if I would make
it. Eventually, I turned out of the
wind, and it got more tolerable.
I got through the last three miles by continuing to count
down the remaining blocks. With half a
mile left in the race, I could see the FargoDome. I knew the rest of the route. We had to go halfway around the building to
get back to the entrance we had left earlier in the morning.
As I entered the dome, I felt a blast of warm air. Inside the dome, it was about 25 degrees
warmer, and I was finally out of the wind and rain. I ran past spectators who were sitting in the
stands, sheltered from the cold rain and wind.
Each runner was announced as they approached. From anywhere on the floor of the dome, you
could look up at the scoreboard screen and see images of runners who were
finishing.
I finished in 3:42:37.
I kept my sub4 streak alive. I
ran positive splits by seven minutes.
I’m surprised it wasn’t more.
I’m not sure how to describe the finisher medal. I guess a picture is worth a thousand words.
Post-race food included pizza, donut holes, cookies,
chocolate milk, and chocolate chip cookie dough. I took the time to refuel. Then I retrieved my gear bag, so I could put
on my wind pants. They were the only dry
clothes I had, although I had to pull them on over damp tights. I took off my wet gloves and jacket. Now that I has indoors, they were doing more
harm than good.
Most of my fingers were white from lack of blood flow. Where my hands weren’t white, they were a
pale purple. They also seemed a bit
puffy. My body doesn’t respond well to
cold.
After talking to a few other runners in the finish area, I
eventually walked back to the car. I ran
the engine long enough to get the heat going, so I could warm up my hands. Fargo isn’t that big, so it didn’t take long
to drive back to the hotel. Walking the
short distance from the car to the hotel, I could barely tolerate the wind. It was no longer raining, but the wind kept
getting stronger.
I spent half the afternoon warming up in the hotel’s hot
tub. I probably only needed 15 minutes,
but I met several other runners there.
Some were from cities where I’ve run marathons. Some have done races that I’ve also done. One is a close friend of two runners I
know. That’s one of the reasons I travel
to races. I always see people I know,
and I always make new friends.
After changing into dry clothes, I walked over to the Ale House. When I was there on Friday, I learned that if
I came back wearing my finisher medal, I could get a free beer. I also had an early dinner of pizza and bread
pudding.
In the evening, I bumped into some of the same runners I met
earlier in the hot tub. We spent an hour
or two in the hotel lobby trading stories about our travel experiences. Outside, we could see rain coming down in sheets. It just wasn't a pleasant day to be outside.
Race Statistics
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 3:42:37
Average Pace: 8:30
Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:
373
Consecutive sub4 marathons:
8
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