The Royce Files

Last year German Oliver Hoffmann was the first to finish the Fargo Marathon. Lisa Dyer won the women's title. Not much on the victors on the net besides their Fargo victories. I think Hoffmann may be lurking in the European track and field circuit. Dyer may still aspire to qualify for the 2016 Olympic trials. And we have a blog post from just after her victory . But then the blog is silent after Thanksgiving 2012. Despite the cool weather in 2012 there was quite a turnout and spectators once again showed their Fargo friendly spirit. Here's some highlights from last year. It will be a little different this year so it should be an interesting race.

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...

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...

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...