A little wet and humid - Fargo Marathon 2013

The view near mile 4 just before official race time

My preparations for a morning of spectating and random coverage began at 5:30 AM. 
My crew zipped over to our race corner near mile 4 at 6:30 AM and set up the easy up tent in a light rain. Not much was happening until we started to see a few runners trickle by. And these were runners with official race bibs. No clue what they were doing. Too far from the Dome to be lost. I think about 2 dozen passed before either half or full officially started. We do know that a guy from Iowa ran the 10K by accident but eventually got on the right course for the marathon. Cris Estes would be proud. Apparently some entrants felt that because of the potential for high humidity in the later morn it would be better to start sooner than later. But perhaps they were slow runners who needed more than 6 hours to complete the course. This is the first time I ever encountered anything like that.
Let's go back in time for a moment before the race begins  to May 17th- inside the Fargo Dome.
As all the hubhub of packet pick up was going on I snapped a few celebrity shots.

Beardsley chats and challenges

Ah yes. Dick Beardsley, the trans-local guy who has ran marathons faster than anyone has run the Fargo Marathon. Still holds the Grandma's record. I think he moved to Texas recently. He was here touting some healthy recovery mix. I think I got a sample.

Coach GP texting.

An obligatory picture of Coach GP- the voice of the marathon. He's been doing stuff for the Marathon for 8 years now. He should just get a holiday home near Fargo. He's a pretty likeable fellow that has nothing but words of encouragement spurting forth from his mouth. Oh, and he's cool too!
Enough with those running celebs. Let's head back to the marathon.

The rains stopped after 7 but it still was damp and occasionally drizzling. At least there were no high winds and we had coffee and breakfast sandwhiches. As 8 o'clock approached we got out the bells and started the cheering the halfies.

 Then a bit after 8:30 Kenyan James Kirwa strides by followed at bit of a distance by some other elite runners including Twin Citian and 2010 champ Chris Erichsen. Kirwa seems to have a decent lead at mile 4 but nothing insurmountable.
Coverage continues in my next post- including the women's marathon champ- a Gustie!