The Royce Files

An Unofficial Fargo Marathon band One of the allegedly unofficial bands on the marathon route featured a banjo, and fiddle, and a trombone. Pretty odd trio. Nothing rock about them. There was a ton of music on the route again this year. I saw mostly DJs but also a reggae band and the minivan Elvis

You know a marathon has passed when you notice used packages of GU strewn on the streets, half used bottles of water on the boulevard, and remnants of orange peels tossed to the curb. I have been running parts of the course this week following the Fargo Marathon and take notice of the things on the street. The course is mostly especially around the aid station areas. But as you leave  those spots behind you see the GU. After marathon the course closes I like to bike it and see if I can find any leftover GU. There were lots of wrappers this year. However, I found only 5 unopened GU packets. Last year I found 12. So I guess either the GU was mostly consumed this year or cleaned up after the races were over. There is a still a spot on the course which was not an aid station which has a bunch of orange peels on the ground. I call it orange peel pass. Why no one bothered to clean up the mess I am not sure. In all the excitement of seeing 8000 runners pass they probably forgot.

On article of clothing did stick out more than the rest this year- the headband. Nike's resurrection of the image of Steve Prefontaine has done wonders for the headband market. I've been wearing the sweatband for at least 5 years now from more of a practical standpoint that one of fashion statement Here are a few wearers of the headband. To start us out we have a rainbow headband- reminding the wearer that there may be gold at the end of this marathon. Next we have a yellow headband with sunglasses- sure to make you cruise to the finish with charm. If you cannot afford those special wicking headbands, use a bandana and spend your money on lime green over the calf socks. And forget your shirt at home. This guy is perhaps the most styling fellow in whole race. He also uses the bandana but gives it a generous width. Sunglasses, water bottle, Ipod, and cool watch- he knows how to run and chill at the same time.

Continuing the beyond the race coverage of the 2012 Fargo Marathon we present you with a few runners who were shared their impressive body art with us. Running attracts many kinds of people. I was considering make this the major focal point of our beyond the race coverage but did not encounter enough of them to make a decent amount of entries.  Some of them cross genres which we have explored before (beards) and will examine later (headbands and no shirts.) I do not recall any women with tatoos, so we have just a handful of males. Colorful biceps moving gracefully by with a beard. A full frontal tattoo with beard and abandoned carpet. He also makes the shirtless category. Looks like a floral display in the center and some artistic doves on the lower shoulders. The abandoned carpet is a leftover from clean up week. Seems nobody wanted the scrap. And not to be outdone- a duplex of tattoos, and bonus trifecta- shirtlessness, beard, and a headband. You could ...

Where other media outlets stop at the winners and a few human interest stories, the Royce Files goes further in its coverage of the Fargo Marathon. A highlights video has been posted on YouTube that allows you to see winner Oliver Hoffman flash by. <p><br><br><br>The</p> The Royce Files HQ on the marathon route was right on mile 8 for the half and near 22 for the full marathon. Just down the street from WDAY. No live Tweeting, however. I was a one man operation with 4 cameras. 2 ran out of batteries plus I had to grill hot dogs and bratwurst and play banjo. Fortunately I had a little help from my friends. The streets were crowded earlier on around mile 8 for the half marathon but dwindled as most of the pack passed by. Still there was plenty of cheering happening when the 1st marathoners arrived. . Royce Files HQ  And speaking of...

It just is not a marathon unless Elvis is running in it. Well this year Fargo had 2 Elvises running and 2 performing. Elvis will never die as long as he is running the Fargo Marathon. Below is half-marathon Elvis running just behind an Alexa's Hope team member. Elvis may make some swoon but Alexa's Hope is making aware the need for organ and tissue donation.     Elvis does the half  But do not fret, Elvis also runs in the full marathon with his own guitar and a waving roadie ahead of him. Elvis makes an appearance in the full marathon Two Elvises also performed along the race route- 1 on the North side and 1 on the South side. I photographed the south side Elvis with his mini-van last year. I caught just slice of his act this year.

You probably already know the winners of the races- the German, the Moorhead woman, the guy who sprinted past Andrew Carlson to victory, and the Ladia the defender of titles. However, you might not know the curious oddities of the Marathon- those individuals who seek running glory while in costume. I saw my share of costumes- Thor with a hammer, hula guys, a caped female. Let's start with the grand-daddy of costume figures at the marathon- Superman. Superman, faster than a speeding bullet, has run Fargo at least 3 times. I am not sure why he does not just fly a few miles. I am Superman and not blond  Below I caught the back of Luigi of Mario brothers fame. Oh no Luigi  Not to worry, Luigi made a 2nd appearance with Mario and the Princess. All I can say is that Luigi got hit by one of those moving crabs and had to go back to the beginning of the level. Mario, Luigi, and the Princess and older man

3:25 pace group coming through aid station The races are done and I feel exhausted even thou all I did was watch and ring bells and hunt for GU after the course closed. It was a real cool and windy morning on Saturday for the Marathon and Half. After reaching 90 the day before in Fargo, this was more than relief- it actually felt chilly at times. A German, Oliver Hoffman, and a local woman Lisa Dyer took the marathon championships. Lisa had come in 2nd in the half last year. It seems the few Kenyans that did enter did not make it to the top ten. Hilary Kogo had been behind Hoffman at the start of the race but fell off in the later stages. Hoffman held the lead the entire race. In the half Joe Moore must have been closely pacing Andrew Carlson because right at the end Moore sniped the Fargo South grad by a few tenths of a second. Probably the biggest upset of the weekend. Ladia Albertson-Junkans bested the females in the half marathon again. In the 10K Cley Twigg won it for the...

 Thankfully the some thunderstorms blew in overnight and have cooled Fargo down from its foray into the 90s yesterday. At this point this morning before the races it looks good albeit the roads will be wet. But at least the heat has dissipated. Volunteered at the dome yesterday on the main floor. It was not very busy. It seemed slow but some account that for 5k registration and packet pick up being removed to the south concourse rather than the main floor. I discovered that elite runners will take their time checking in. Only 2 picked up their packets during my time slot. One of them was Andrew Carlson, who will be running the half. The other was Gina Aalgaard Kelly who was still undetermined if she would do the 10K or the half due to the forecast. She holds one of the top ten course records for the women's marathon in Fargo. Other notable people spotted included the Coach- Coach GP. I actually saw him in the morning driving one of the official marathon cars. Later he was d...

Over 24000 people will take part in one of the races of the Fargo Marathon. If we assume each one came with someone else then we have around 48000 people involved. That's quite an event. Only rivaled by the annual Street Fair. Nearly 10000 ran the 5K on Friday and now the rest take to the streets on Saturday. But why should it matter to you? Is just because the economic impact we should spur the runners on? Here is some reasons I think you should be watching and cheering on Saturday.  People are important Simply put- people matter;young and old- male and female. If we lose track of that principle then we risk letting selfishness and apathy prevail which will despoil community. In this day and age of materialism and self absorption it is good to recognize the achievements of other. Character is on display It takes a lot of effort and perseverance to run a marathon or half marathon or any long distance running. event. In events like the Fargo Marathon you'll see a lot of...

5K Shirts And so the Fargo Marathon kicked off its 2012 run today with the Youth Run, Expo, and Early Bird packet pick up. All but the 5K are closed to registration. I had the opportunity to volunteer at the 5K packet pick up. It was plenty of fun. Packet work generally is a great way to meet the runners and give them a Fargo welcome. You betcha! 5K packet pick up was moved upstairs from the rest of the races. It gave us more space and generally a less stressfull time. A whole throng of gymnasts came and helped out, too. They had a great time unpackaging bags for runners. Ran into a few aquaintences of mine while I volunteered. One was running the Half Marathon while the other one, Jeff, recently got a serious injury and would not be running. Jeff has appeared in a previous marathon post a few years ago. He fractured something in his leg while trail running. Jeff assured me he was not using the 5 finger shoes. Gymnast unpacking bags Strolled t...

I think I am must be on a series here of vintage bikes of yesteryear. Here are some pictures of bikes I have seen around town First we have an orphaned bike that just showed up at work. It is a CoastToCoast Medalist 12 Speed road bike. Coast to Coast was a hardware chain. In fact some still exist. However, Coast to Coast was absorbed into the True Value brand. From my research on the webs this a brand may have been made by Schwinn but branded Coast to Coast. I doubt that this model was one of those Schwinn made however I like the semi-full fenders.  Coast To Coast Medalist 12-Speed   Wandering through the neighborhood I spotted this one- a Schwinn Breeze 5 speed with an added front wire basket. Might be 1970s vintage but could be earlier.  Schwinn Breeze ~1970s  

The youth race is just around the corner to kick of the Fargo Marathon weekend. I was supposed to be volunteering at the youth run but a volunteer scheduling blunder nixed that- those tasks were to be set asided for the race sponsors. With that volunteer gig gone I signed up for another- albeit further away from the youth race. Found another cause someone is running for. EJ Scott of Los Angeles, CA, will be running the marathon blindfolded to raise awareness of choroideremia and funds for the Choroideremia Research Foundation. Just what is choroideremia ? Basically it is a rare eye condition that leads to progressive loss of vision due to degeneration of chorid and retina (Wikipaedia). EJ plans to run blindfolded 12 marathons in 12 states in 12 months. Fargo will be the 5th marathon of that course. And on an added note, EJ does improvisational comedy and will be appearing at Fargo Billiards & Gastropub on Thursday night in an improv show. EJ's blo...

On my run yesterday I noticed familiar white markings in the street.   The course for 2012 appears to be marked and ready to go. I did not follow the parts in my part of town yet but I cam across quite a few. I biked by the Mile 22 marker.   Looks like we will be gearing up for potentially hot marathon next Saturday. The forecast outlook has a high of 73 F and a low of 52 F. Some slight wind out of the north but I do not think it will have much impact unless it gusts up past 25 MPH. Things could change but the week leading up to the marathon will be pushing the low 80s. Hydration will be important. One thing you should be aware of- the half and full marathon will not be starting together. Instead, the half marathon will start at 7:15 AM and the full marathon at 8:15 AM. A lot of the local magazines have front covers featuring the marathon, including Stride . It features runner and US 50k record holder  Josh Cox on the cover who will be s peaking during the F...

I have scoured the 'nets for years trying to find further recordings of the Japanese band Bob's Fish Market of the late 70s. The only place I found anything besides seafood listings was a vinyl record catalog of sorts online. But it only has 1 album and it is the album I encountered while in college. Now a flashback. I was an aspiring thespian (who are often pains, too!) at a small college in a rural land. In my first term, I did not take Intro to Theater-like most with theatrical aspirations would take. In fact I sort of skipped it, but that is another tale. In 2nd term I  enrolled in Stagecraft. It sounded a little more serious. Behind the scenes it was often called "tools for fools," since there were whole units dedicated to tools used to build props and scenery. One of the requirements for the class involved working weekly in the scene shop. However, by some means I found myself also volunteered to design sound effects for the upcoming...

I was scouring through my photos and found an image of a refurbished green Schwinn Suburban . It is a 10 speed. Looks like a Brooks saddle and original bag. I believe it is a pre-1974 model. Back at my parent's home we have a 5 speed yellow Schwinn Collegiate Tourist which I got back into working order many years ago. The most recent bike craze has brought back a lot these to the streets again.   Schwinn Suburban  Below are 2 golden bikes that are part of the University of Minnesota Morris' bike share program. One is a non-descript store brand mountain bike and the other could perhaps be a late model Raleigh Sport. I notice what looks like a Sturmy Archer on the rear. But look at that Brooks saddle! I cannot believe it. Back in the day there was a guy- we'll call him Mark- who one day pulled up with a trailer of multiple types of yellow painted bicycles to the University of Minnesota at Morr...

Specially built marathon cart Many people get involved in running events in order to raise awareness of an issue. The Fargo Marathon is no stranger to those runners. I recall many who ran for individuals who have died from or are suffering from cancer. I remember a man who ran the marathon with an American flag a number of years ago. Then there was the guy who ran pushing his son in a specially built cart. A few years ago the race director and few others ran the entire marathon route after it was closed as a tribute to 5 year old  Caroline Ruby Vetter , who had diedearlier that spring from the affects of Leukodystro​phy and Lennox-Gast​aut Syndrome. In fact a whole mile of the race course was dedicated to her that year. It featured lots of yellow ducks. I mentioned the college barefoot runners for Samaritan's Feet in the last marathon post. They have a Tumblr site . I was running last week and encountered a young lady running barefoot- but I do no...

Every spring the residents of Fargo "flush" things from their lives and homes. This citizen took that very seriously. Everything and the kitchen sink gets tossed to the boulevards. In this case, the bathroom sink too. Often there are people who scour the town in their pick-ups and on foot looking for treasure in these heaps. I think there are even out of towners who make an annual pilgrimage to "shop" the streets. Plenty of times these people come away with something valuable. A friend of mine found some ice trays unused, still in wraps this year. And still another was able to snag some patio furniture in good condition.  My finds are minimal because I just don't have the space for it- but I have found 16mm Disney films, sheet music, and bags. I think I blogged about some of my finds a few years ago. Going by all the piles of stuff this week, I came up with a few analogies about clean up week.  First, the common call ...

Once again it is bike month . But nearly every month for me is bike month. I think I rode in every month this past year. It was a mild winter so riding was a bit easier in the normally chilly months. One of the goals of the sponsors of National Bike Month is to get bicyclist to ride safely. With many using bikes in the community as a way to get around I see plenty of safe and unsafe practices. Probably the most irksome is when those who ride at night do have proper lighting or light colored clothing. Riders become virtually invisible unless there is some cue for motorists to know you are there. I especially recommend hi-vis vests or shirts for day or night riding. You can find some as cheap as $5. Now for a bike safety video from ages ago. It might be old but it goes over most of the safety rules which are still recommended today. Notice too that the bicycles are ridden in the streets. Bikes can ride there. The only odd piece of advice in this video is the way they tell you to ...

It is now May in Fargo and most streets will be full. This week they will be full of junk- and pickers of all stripes will descend upon the streets looking for thrown out treasures. American Pickers could do a full season just passing through during clean up week. In three weeks, a portion of those streets will be full of people. People running, walking, standing around, doing nothing. And there will be music. Lots of music! Who knows there may even be some dancing in the streets. The Fargo Marathon weekend gets underway on May 17th with the Youth Run and then the following evening there will be the 5K. Saturday will culmintate with the main events- 10K, relay, marathon, and half marathon. If the weather trend continues we could be in for a much warmer marathon. No major flooding this year (just barely some minor flooding) so the course will generally stay the same. A portion had been removed from the Moorhead side but it has been added back in- albeit not through th...