The Royce Files

Just a week to go before the Fargo Marathon kicks off. The route markings are on the streets. I think May 10th is the earliest the marathon has ever been run in Fargo. Not sure if that is keeping the numbers down.  As of 4/28/15 there is plenty of room left in all races. In previous years that has not been the case. Good that the weather has been warming up although all races start inside the Fargo Dome except the 5K. A route change this year will keep the marathon north of 94 and include a considerable increase in mileage on the Moorhead side of the river. Looks like 4 miles in the middle of the marathon. The half does not even cross the river. And the 10K and 5K stay relatively close to Fargo Dome and Mickelson Field. Basically opens up more spectating locations in Moorhead in the neighboorhoods adjacent to Concordia College.

In tents Well, we made it! 10 years. What a run it has been blogging this event! And I still think I am the only one providing exclusive coverage the big media misses. This year will probably involve a little less coverage due to a family crisis I am in the midst. Nonetheless, there will be coverage. Watch the twitter feed @suspect_bill for my quick takes. 10 years ago I was out in a slightly snowy morning in May keeping traffic out of the race route in Moorhead. A modest turnout of runners entered the inaugural event.  Now the event is massive. Simply astounding growth. The event was born at a zeitgeist of running enthusiasm. So much that more local and region events were spawned and likely inspired by the Fargo event's growth. There is something like 3 or 4 new marathon or half marathons in the region too. So for this tenth year the organizers brought it back to downtown Fargo. This made for quite a logistics challenge as the Fargo Civic Arena is nothing like the Fargodo...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

Well it is pretty done and dusted in Fargo now a whole week after all the excitement happened. I have run, biked, or walked most of the southern portion of the marathon route and have found almost all the GU leftovers. The rest of the GU will probalby blow away. Here's an article about the men's winner- Luke Watson . The writer likes to point it out that he beat a Kenyan. Actually 2 Kenyans if my race media guide is correct. I was surprised to see that Watson also calls Stillwater MN home. Well he graduated from Stillwater and I believe moved to PA to do doctoral work at Penn State. Another unknown fact was Watson was a friend and roommate of Ryan Shay at Notre Dame- a distance runner who died after suffering what is believed to be a heart attack while running in the US Olympic marathon trials in 2007. Watson also has a brother, Jake, who is a pretty good runner too (he ran a sub-4 mile.) Watson only appears to have taken on the marathon rece...

Last week reminded us how late spring is in coming to the Dakotas. I was in the garden on Saturday and I thought I felt something like snow hit my face. But, then Saturday evening arrives and spring awakens again. And just in time for a great Fargo Marathon. Weather forecast thus far this week suggest low 70s. I guess it might be around mid-40s or 50s at race start this Saturday. I think we are in the making for a great Fargo Marathon. Research thus far does not show me any notable elite runners coming. However, they might just be hiding. Here's the rundown of bloggers I found going to run the marathon: http://nicandkier.blogspot.com/2011/05/fargo-marathon-training-upadate.html http://solarsquirrel.com/blog/ http://jimlindlauf.areavoices.com/ http://50after40.blogspot.com/ http://4-30.blogspot.com/ http://acaseoftheruns.blogspot.com/ http://journeytomyfirstmarathon.blogspot.com/ So plenty of ordinary people hoping to do something extraordi...

Above we've got this famous Monty Python dead parrot sketch done by scammers who have been scammed themselves to do the sketch. It is a result of a scambaiter sting from a number of years ago and made a little famous by the NPR program This American Life . Which by the way you don't need to donate to but I'm sure it would be appreciated since Ira Glass and his gang would love to continue doing some great  and ambitious radio documentaries. Last year's New York rest stop one was really very good and their forays into economics have proven informative. And now for the record. A record I apparently one but never realized it. It is a very poor record by all accounts but I made when I ran the 3200m in the Prairie Rose State Games a number of years ago. 16:15.28 is NOT a record I am of which I hold much pride. I am much prouder of my 3:57:33 marathon record. Apparently not many men aged 24-29 have run the 3200m. I think I was the only one. Ever. I remem...

There should be a caveat to that statement. There are returning champions-2009 half-marathon winners Chris Erichsen and Lindsay Henkels but they will be running in the full marathon this year. Both Pete Gilman and Nicole Cueno will not be returning to defend their titles. It looks as if Pete got his Boston qualifying result last year and placed 38th at Boston just over a month ago. He probably deserves a rest. Nicole is working at a YWCA in the Twin Cities and appears to be co-coordinating triathlons. Best of luck to her. So the field is wide open. Let's look at the half. The Duma Runners Club is back again with some real quality Kenyan athletes. Richard Kandie looks favorite but could local runner Eric Loeffler pull down a victory? Richard won the Illinois Half a few weeks ago and won the 2008 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. Papers are reporting that non-Duma runner Sammy Malakwan will be running the half too. However his registration claims he is set for the full maratho...

From Fargo Marathon One more day. Things are heating up as the hours are whittled away until the start of the 2010 Fargo Marathon. And heating up is not an exaggeration. The weather is going to be a scorcher by running standards. Forecasts seem to point to an upper 50 degrees at the start and nearing 80 big ones by the afternoon. Remember to stay hydrated and make sure to stretch out appropriately. The Youth Run was tonight. Didn't get to see it as I was doing the community garden. Tomorrow night the is the 5k. I'll be volunteering that evening as well. Too bad they don't have chip checking anymore. However, I've got a friend and an acquaintance running the 5k. This is my friend's first competitive running event. She has been training hard for weeks. George W. would say she has been "workin' hard and ordering in, staying late and coming in on Saturdays." My acquaintance, Jeff W, will not only be running 5k but the marathon the next morning. He ran...

Starting Line for Marathon From Fargo Marathon The 6th edition of the Fargo Marathon will be run this weekend and it appears to be some really great weather arriving just in time. In January 2010 Runner's World Magazine ranked the Fargo Marathon first in value and 8th best marathon in the U.S.  Wow! I don't know how we do it. A marathon in Montana gets the top spot. Boston comes in at 5th.  The marathon course once again has been changed. The marathon route looks a bit more serpentine this year but will indeed pass through Moorhead this year (it didn't last year due to the extended flood.) It may get a little dicey in the neighborhoods just south of downtown Fargo, as the course twists and turns through those neighborhoods 3 times. Looks like it will be one of the better places to watch if you are on foot or bike or board. Lindenwood Park should be a good place to spectate as well. The new race, the 10k, will not cross into Moorhead due to the 12th Avenue toll bridge...

S eems like the success of the Fargo Marathon may have created 2 new races and revived another. Or perhaps the increased interest in running the big distances among Americans is showing itself in the Upper Midwest. May marathoning in the northland, as Fargo Marathon participants can tell you, is not for the feeble or faint at heart. To train to race condition, many begin their training just as they take down the Christmas decorations. [I just run in circles most of the year.] Weather in May can be pleasant or it can be a bear. The running of this year's Fargo Marathon was definitely on the bear side. Fortunately the snow did not fall. I was on traffic duty the first year and snow fell a bit during the 1st half hour after the start. Two new marathons across the border in Minnesota will be run in May. The first, next weekend, will be in Stillwater. That's not far from my hometown. Anytime Fitness Stillwater Marathon will be run on Sunday morning May 24. I may be nearby and migh...

About a month ago a Jamacian sprinter broke the world record for the 100 meter sprint. I think it was somewhere around 9.72. Well, the at U.S. track and field trials, Tyson Gay breaks the U.S. record in the 100 meters with a 9.77 finish. The AP released a headline stating " Gay sets US record in 100 with 9.77 ." The ambiguity of the headline must have been OK'd by an inexperienced copy editor. I made a double take when I read it. I'm sure other news outlets were wondering if they should give a cutline such as "sexual orientation matters little when on the track." I believe one new outlet changed the headline to "Homosexual sets US Record in 100m." Now that's just bad journalism. Not that I would know anything about it- journalism that is. I wonder what Phil would say? He'd probably just retort "whatever."

E njoy Fargo Marathon coverage in these current posts. I ran friendly. I ran fast. I ran Fargo. This 3rd edition of the event saw over 8000+ runners involved. All 50 states were represented and quite a few from the great north descended- at least one guy did come from Regina, Saskatchewan. Not many elite runners - although Dick Beardsley ran but I doubt he's trying to get the course record these days. The marathon champion came in at 2:31. Not bad, but still a bit off what I believe is elite pace. I am actually surprised not many elite runners take in this one. It is a particularly hill free course. However, the purse is not much so the Kenyans opt for Duluth, Minneapolis, and Chicago. There were even Kenyans running in the miniscule Sioux City Marathon I ran in 2004. Perhaps our spendthrift ways do not allow us to give into the demands of some these elite runners (and their entourage).

L ater this week I will be running in the 2007 Fargo 1/2 Marathon. It is actually the 2nd longest race I have ever entered. I ran a marathon a few years ago down in Sioux City, Iowa. It was a tremendous undertaking that I will only enter into again cautiously. You see I am not a natural distance runner. I am not a lanky stick boy waif. I do not have the ideal body type of the distance runner nor other athletic endeavor. I gave up on serious athletic pursuits in 9th grade when I decided to take the lead in the spring play and turn in my track suit. After the freshmen 15 scare in college, I attempted to run a little but did not pursue it whole-heartedly. Then came 2001. No, terrorism did not scare me into running. It was actually a woman I met in the summer of 2001. For some reason she convinced me to enter a 4 mile race with her and her friends. Aiming to impress I gave it a shot. Unfortunatley I was bad. Very bad. From that day forward I pledged to myself to never again be unprepa...

T o me distance running is 70% mental and 30% physical. At times I doubt my made up statistic because some are just naturally better runners. I do not have the lanky, wafish body of a distance runner. However, once I started pondering this sport I came to realize that victory is not always to the swiftest but to be the one who perseveres and in running perseverance is not as concrete as having run more laps. For perseverance one must look into the seemingly impossible and press onward. The ingredients are both spiritual and mental. On the morning of May 19th, I will line up with hundreds of runners contending in the Fargo Marathon . Actually I will be running the half marathon mostly due to the time contraints on my training- I am in a different town every Sunday and that makes it difficult to do long training days on the weekend. I already have one marathon under my belt. So I hope to see plenty of people along the route cheering- lest I try to cheer up the spectators. Encouragement ...

A jocular marathoner takes a moment to be enshrined near mile 12