I finished!!!! I am very happy to report that I finished the Fargo Marathon on Saturday with a time of 4:08:01. The weather was perfectly cool. There was a strong north wind that was a challenge for the last six miles, but temps in the 40s is a marathoner's dream! We started and finished the marathon in the Fargodome. What a treat it was to have a comfortable place to sit while we waited and a fabulous place for our families to view the finish. My husband brought me to a shuttle bus only one mile from our hotel at 5:00 AM. Our bus arrived to the Fargodome and we were some of the first people to enter the building. I found a seat and ate a pre-race breakfast of a peanut butter sandwich with a special Diet Coke that my mom had found for me. The marathoners lined up a few minutes before the start time and were greeted by the marathon director, a representative from Sanford Health, and the governor of North Dakota. A pastor lead us in a pre-race prayer, the Canadian national anthem was sung followed by the Star Spangled Banner, and we started running promptly at 7:00 AM. The course was great. We ran through neighborhoods, on paved trails, and through two college campuses. There were plenty of spectators and an occasional band playing. The atmosphere was upbeat and fun. I ran part of the race near a guy were a poop emoji costume. He was pretty funny. That definitely kept my in a positive mood. I had forgotten that little adapter that goes between my iPhone and my earphones. My husband went out an purchased a new adapter on Saturday morning, but he was unable to find me on the course. Although that was a bummer, I appreciated the sounds of the bands and fans even more. 26.2 miles is a long way to be alone with your thoughts. I really can't complain about my results. I felt like I did as well I could have done. I ran the whole thing (with exception of water stops and two bathroom breaks). That was a great feeling. We battled a 20 mph headwind for the last six miles. During that stretch I decided that my goal was to keep running and I was able to do that. I will give you an update on my race strategy of a conservative beginning in another post. Here is my race swag. The sweatshirt is awesome! It was a fun marathon. I highly recommend this race. Happy Running! -Stephanie
2 Comments
Patrick
5/20/2018 05:41:15 pm
You are inspirational!! Great job!! :)
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Missee
5/20/2018 09:41:54 pm
Congratulations! We had fun following your progress and were excited that you were right on time to a couple minutes early to your checkpoints. Love that giant medal. Uff-da!
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AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
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