Runners starting to bloom

Tammy is cheered on while running

Still feeling chilly up here in the 'Go, yet this weekend runners started to bloom out of the ground. It seemed that everywhere I went I noticed someone running. Even I ran this weekend- which has been rare this year because I run during the week. The weather cooperated mostly this weekend. The temps touched the 40s. It rained later on Sunday.
But why all the running now. Well, here are a few of my  theories.

1. Treadmill burnout.
   I cannot imagine day in and day out doing the treadmill all winter. Running may be about the body but there is a huge aspect of running that is mental. I often burn-out running the same routes. When I find a new one my pace is more chipper. I feel more confident.
2. Fargo Marathon in less than a month.
   Yes, many may have realised that marathon day in Fargo is drawing near. Time to train. Time to get used to the pounding of the pavement. Although, the hardcore of those anticipating on running a PR at the Fargo Marathon will probably have been training since January. There is a formidable population of runners who do take on winter and wind chills and the dreaded ice to train. I do it myself. But I have rarely met them on my runs. I think I maybe ran past only 3 or 4 the whole of this winter. Fortunately there are a few indoor tracks in town.
3. Getting ready for the flood.
   Sandbagging  may seem like a simple task but really it is an endurance activity. Think of it like a triathlon without the separate events. Fill. Lift. Carry. Place. Do that for six hours and you realise you need to train. It is getting to be old hat in this region- after winter, then flood. This year the flood is playing itself out long and cool.  And without a permanent solution- sandbagging and all its variations will continue to be a task each "after-Winter."

Flood or no flood, Fargo Marathon will go on according to their recent newsletter. They have 2 flood contingency routes. Which they choose I cannot tell? The last time the flood gutted parts of the route, a dual loop was utilised for the marathon. Some liked and some did not. But whatever happens I am sure Fargo will be out in force to watch and Rock On the runners.
This will be a particular poignant event since the events that transpired at the Boston Marathon. I would never have thought that such violence would collide with the sport of running. It seemed like something out a Harrison Ford film I saw in college without the part where Harrison Ford gets the perpetrators moments later.