Fargo Marathon 2016: Things missing

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Here I am at the Fargo Dome exercising my volunteer muscle doing registrations. It has been somewhat slow but enjoyable nonetheless. It got me thinking what to blog. So I looked to see what was missing. So here is my rundown.

  1. Swanson Health and their goodies.
    Swanson is no longer a sponsor nor an exhibitor at the Expo. I think since the were sold to an outside group the marketing relationship was cut. I miss the vitamins and stuff they gave away. Essentia Health has taken their place and makes the Expo a little different although still good. They have great giveaways like water bottles. Just not gobs of vitamins, health mixes, and soaps.
  2. Pasta/lefse feed
    I am not sure when this met the axe. May have been a few years ago. I guess it may have been a low income generating event. I would need to check if other races still have have a carb load meal. Research, I believe, has nullified the value so close to a race. Local establishment on 19th across from Fargo Dome- Labby's- was having their own pasta feed on Thursday and Friday.
  3. 5k route map
    It is not in the Fargo Marathon magazine and I did not find a poster of it at the dome. I did spy a possible handout at an info table. So 5kers follow the herd or the signs.
  4. Fargo marathon canned announcements at dome
    There was a pre-recorded message welcoming runners to the race or expo. It ran every fifteen or 30 minutes. Now there are a few live announcements during the day. Not sure I miss these
  5. 5k bib numbers for runners running 2 races or GoFar challenge.
    Biggest trouble we had for registrations was no bib number assigned to them for the 5k if the were running a 2nd race. Some were fortunate to get them in email. Others were left in dark only to be sent to the trouble table. I think there has been a bit more registration trouble this year or all the trouble seems to arrive on my shifts.
  6. Signs for 5K registration et al
    The 5k registration signs have been missing for 2 years. Common confusion for those wandering the upper concourse of the Fargo Dome

Not missing this year- Coach GP. Just saw him.







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