DeeRae Nelson's Staging Area

I loved the starting point/packet picket which was at the Queens Museum. Seamless packet pick-up. Course well marked. Plenty of aid stations. No waiting for an hour in the cold. The course didn’t have grandiose scenic views, but it was a nice park, waterfront views. The course was overall pretty flat and fast. The half marathon consisted of two loops whereas the 10K one and the full 4 loops. The size was my ideal. Good running community, but without being packed in. Snuck in a 2nd place AG finish. Fun post race snacks.

The start was extremely congested and not just the first mile, but a solid 5-6 miles. You could move up periodically, but then you were blocked in again for another stretch of time. At one point, we were completely STOPPED multiple miles into the run. D/t the congestion, I missed and/or skipped the first three water stops, and I kind of shot my ideal time. The volunteers were ill equipped for the size of the group, and at several points were pouring Gatorade from a gallon pitcher. There were some hilly spots in the run, but I took them for a fun challenge, but I did see several runners actively getting medical help near the end. Great views. Not a race with a ton of crowd support. Post race was great fun with beer, pizza, ice cream, bean bags. It was a metal band so not completely my thing, but I did enjoy the rock throw-backs they did. Medal was another plus.

I did about as good as I could have given I’m not used to heat and humidity (80 degrees & 70%) and spent the previous 3 days being a tourist. We had about a 10 minute delayed start which was no big deal. Plenty of water stops. There is a mini loop in the course which was not confusing at all. Great views of the water the entire time almost. Awesome live band and bottomless post race beer. Friendly people-met several new friends. Medals were nice, & I got a bonus one for placing third in my age group.

The course is scenic with great views of Superior and the woods. There wasn’t much of an expo or swag as far as that, but the medal was super. Easy parking and walking distance from several hotels. It’s during Marquette’s blueberry fest so there’s big street party, market, band etc the night. before. Big enough group of fellow runners to be fun but not chaotic. Bottom line-I recommend. I didn’t run that great for me, but not th race’s fault haha. Oh, and free post race flower!

The event is definitely an “event”. The course workers were nice, the bling was cool, and the post race party was awesome (great band in 2022, 2 full sized beers). It was a little chilly once you stopped running but perfect running weather. The last 3 miles kicked my butt, but running up the boardwalk was cool and can’t really help the direction of the wind on race day. Post race food of chips, Oreos, wrap, and my fave-gumbo (first timer) was also great. It was upper 30s at start and just about 60 when we left the party. A far improvement from the -4 it would have been at home at start time! You don’t actually run the beach, but start/finish is at the beach.

This was an ok race as far as course. Scenery was minimal (cornfields, residential streets, and I’m pretty sure a meat plant of sorts because I swear I smelled hot dogs & burgers for like a mile). I kind of expected foliage with the name and logo, but there wasn’t much this year. Points for affordable price point, nice medal & t-shirt. I don’t actually know my time because several people had double times and others were missing (they said they were going to use photo finish to come up with a time to fix that). The course was really well marked. Minimal cheer section but that’s ok with me. Some races have big crowds and others are more peaceful. I listened to a thriller audiobook during this race. 🙃 Plenty or nice clean bathrooms & ample parking.

It didn’t affect me, but storms took our the marathon course, causing the marathoners to be dropped into the half. The course is mostly urban& flat with a couple hills, looping around the falls a bit. Really nice crowd of runners made for good race motivation. Nice people in the streets with fun signs. Water stations every 2 miles. I picked up my packet day of vs night before so missed expo goodies. They announce most runners’ names and cities over the loud speaker upon finish line (except mine because a toddler went missing around that time lol…turned out ok tho). Beer at finish line (amazing from local brewery) & unique medals. The race team forgot to stamp my bib and my niece’s as being 21 so jic bring your ID. Bottom line: I’ma Midwestern gal, this race isn’t too far for me, so I would do it again.

The race primarily goes across a bike/walking path but I enjoyed the changing textures (paved, gravel, lots of little wooden bridges, one large bridge with a great view). Beautiful green trees and grass. Small but friendly crowd. Jokes scattered throughout the course.

I thought the course a bit boring, mostly running through neighborhoods with nice houses. The year I did it was also the year they didn’t have the fun charm on the medal. It wasn’t a bad race, but I am not tempted to sign up again.

The weather was humid and warm the year I did the full, but anything goes in Fargo. Tons of cheering crowds helped get me through. Great race medals and shirts. Lots of hydration stations, great music. Fargo marathon comes prepared to make a good impression.