The Royce Files

North Dakota will be electing a new governor in November and some politicking was going on at the Fargo Marathon this May. It is not all that common for candidates to use an event to elevate their exposure to the electorate. Or just to have a good time. Right now there is a race concerning who will be the Republican candidate.  Both big candidates in this race, Doug Burgum and Wayne Stenehjem, had a presence at the marathon. Presumptive Democratic candidate, Marv Nelson, has been quiet. But he has no challengers inside his party.   The Burgum for Governor organization took the big step to host an aid station on the marathon route. I think it was the one pictured below with the super hero spectators.    The Burgum Aid Station Burgum is a big name around Fargo although he has been behind the scenes for while after leaving Microsoft and making the foray into real estate development. So jumping out of the boardroom to the streets, Burgum made the additiona...

I do not think I had posted bearded Fargo Marathon participants since before Duck Dynasty arrived on the scene. This year I saw much evidence of the that style of beard which Willie, Jase, Phil, and Si have upon their faces. But for starters, it appears Hagrid of Harry Potter fame was an entrant in the half marathon. This marathoner is putting it all on the line at mile 21. This beard resembles Jase's beard. Just put a stocking hat on this guy and some shades and you got Jason Robertson running a marathon- which he will probably never do. Hanging in This is probably the best kept beard of the bunch. It almost looks like it was just attached to his face this morning. Not sure how to categorize it. Maybe a little Grizzly Adams a la Dan Haggerty . Party on Griz Our final runner knows how to wear the beard in style while running. The headband, the sunglasses, the track top- this all screams "don't mess with me, I'll run circles aroun...

So no Will Ferrell. And no Elvis. I think there has not been an Elvis running Fargo in half a decade. But let me indulge my celebrity radar. First let me get the first one off: Dick Beardsley , legendary long distance runner ( and fisherman). There he is in an orange long sleeve telling a participant to take the race by the horns. I met him once in Detroit Lakes. He was at a pasta dinner for his namesake race with Alberto Salazar . Is that Matt Maher? Looking closely at the image again I also notice another celebrity of sorts which I totally missed in the foreground- worship artist Matt Maher . On the course I was surprised to see Jim Gaffigan took time from his busy schedule and decided to run. Perhaps he was doing it to jab Ferrell. I must have missed the hash tag #runfargogaffigan. Jim Gaffigan takes it easy on the course And finally, this year I did not miss the Fargo Marathon Maniac. This guy like runs a marathon every week. Actually he is a classmate of mine wh...

Watching a steady stream of runners push on through to the end of the race can be a bit monotonous. What is good is that at the heart of the Fargo Marathon route is a great big neighborhood party going on. This year those neighborhoods along 9th, 8th, and 7th St S were abuzz with activity. It is a fantastic atmosphere.  Even the dead were grateful for the good weather for watching runners. Then there was this interesting item on the boulevard. Appears to be some representation of Dr. Who's TARDIS sending encouragement to runners. Of course there is lots of music. I think I saw maybe 5 bands within a the mile I strolled. Another thing I should have marked as missing this year was the list of bands and music on the route. The regular reggae band on 9th near the 21st mile seemed to be missing too. However, Elvis was still on 9th south of 13th with about 4 speakers cranked. Band at the Temple. Not Klez. Unusual bikes seem to crop up a lot. This one reminds me of...

I think I get shots of this guy every year. He is the Fargo Marathon's own Superman. Patrick Millard dons the full blue suit with the 'S' on his chest with cape and runs the marathon in under 5 hours. Superman goes by Superman says "Hi" Were there other characters running the marathon this year? Yes. SpongeBob. But I think he was running the half. SpongeBob Squarepants runs by

Possibly the best weather for watching a Fargo Marathon yet although running in the warm weather may have been difficult. My volunteering marathon left me exhausted so I only posted a few things via Twitter while observing the Saturday events. On Friday night I was tucked into the Fargo Dome helping with bib number look ups and so I missed perhaps the most competitive 5K finish for men. A just graduated Bison trackster, Brendan Skime crossed the finish line 1 second ahead of Jonathan Stoltman. You could have said it was the battle of the Falls as Skime is from Thief River Falls and Jonathan is from Little Falls. 15:31 is a pretty impressive time for a guy who did not even have the race on his radar until a few weeks ago. In the women's division a 12 year old from Staples took the top honors. So much for experience and wisdom winning. By the time I exited the dome on Friday most of the competitors had gone home and volunteers were readying the place for the start of the marath...

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. 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. 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 hav...

Interesting running related story came out the other day: 12 Year Old Girl Accidentally Runs Half-Marathon . She came ready to run a 5K but instead ran a the half. Quite an achievement for the youngster and also a scare for her parents.  The organizers of the Rochester (NY) Flower City Challenge certainly enjoyed the the free press this story generated nationwide, but for a race day consisting of a little over 3000 runners they also must be scratching their heads. Starting line and starting time confusion generated the mistake. Perhaps it could have been prevented with better starting line discipline and communication. The half supposedly started 15 minutes prior to the 5K. I can only speculate that there must have been some congestion at the half start which may have impacted the start of the 5K. The 5K appeared to have less entrants- about 1000 for the 5K and little bit over 2000 for the half. I am surprised that the 5K did not have more runners as that has typically been th...

The organizers of the Fargo Marathon as not struggling for ideas on how to expand the brand and participation. The Furgo Dog Run has been added this year to cater to the growing number of canine runners. Well, maybe it is more for the owners of those canines who like to run with their furry friends. The 1.6 mile race is set for Tuesday of race week, which is really stretching Fargo Marathon's pawprint over the entire week. I cannot say that I know of many pet runs out there but this may definitely be a good move considering the amount of cash that Americans shell out for their pets. The event also has a mascot, MJ , who apparently is training for the event. MJ has been mum on the topic since the end of March. The 2nd addition to the races this year is the Cyclothon . On Monday May 16 bicyclers will be able to do the marathon course and receive a shirt and medal. However, you need to finish the course in under 2.5 hours. Sounds like a strenuous bike ride. In previous years I h...