Fargo Half Marathon in Fargo, North Dakota

Uff da!

After the 2025 Fargo Half Marathon, so many members of the 50 States Half Marathon Club had such great things to say about the race, I tentatively put it on my 2026 schedule. I booked an inexpensive room at the Candlewood Suites hotel, right across the street from the start/finish at the FARGODOME. I also found relatively reasonable airfare on a flight to Fargo, so plans came together easily. 

Briefly, I considered trying to plan a visit to Bismarck instead so I could see a third skyscraper Capitol building. I found the Bismarck Half Marathon, but the logistics seemed complicated with no obvious hotels near the start/finish so I got discouraged. Meanwhile, the Fargo Half Marathon wooed me back when they revealed great swag with a soft jacket and state-shaped medal (it's subtle, North Dakota is pretty much a rectangle after all). The jacket is one of my favorite colors, and is a nice change of pace from the usual race T-shirts!

I love the colors, shape, and design of the medal, but I do wish it said "Half Marathon" more obviously. It caused some confusion that the medals all looked so similar. The full medal has a lime green stripe and the 10K medal has an orange stripe, and the ribbon has "Half Marathon Finisher" in tiny print, but I overheard more than one person confused by the "Fargo Marathon" printed on all the medals.

I was very excited to visit another new-to-me state, North Dakota! It just feels very cool, remote, and random, like how I felt visiting Montana! Flight options to and from Fargo were limited, and since it was a Saturday race I ended up having to take a flight that got in very late on Friday night. That is definitely not ideal, as I missed getting to visit the Expo and could not attend the pre-race dinner. The race did offer packet mailing though, so I had my bib ahead of time.

The hotel provided an airport shuttle, and was only about five minutes away from the airport! It was also steps away from the start/finish line, which is really the best thing ever. I had discovered the race provides shuttles to several other areas with more hotel options, so at the last minute I did consider switching hotels. I thought it would be nice to be downtown, walking distance to more of the shops and restaurants for exploring after the race. But, rather than complicate things, I stuck with my original plan and I think that was the right call.

Welcome from Candlewood Suites

The hotel was undergoing renovations, so the hallway and my room did have a pretty strong paint odor, which was not great. But, the bed was comfortable and the location couldn't be beat!

FARGODOME view from my hotel room

Race parking starting around 6:00 am

I found these ladies when they got off the shuttle from their hotel!

Kortne, Keri, Amber, & Amy

We visited and took a few club pictures.

Half Fanatics

Course Report: The start line energy was great! It was a big crowd, but they had well-organized corrals and released us in waves. Amy and I visited while we worked out way towards the start. We were in corral J, which I had assumed was the last, but there were actually several behind us that I later realized held the 10K runners. The announcer/emcee for the event was Fitz Koehler, and she did an excellent job hyping everyone up and keeping us entertained.

Start Line!

There were lots of people around for the entire race, no real quiet stretches. I didn't listen to any music for the first five or six miles because there was so much going on around me to keep me distracted and entertained.

Around the other side of the FARGODOME

I thought the design of the course could use some improvement. For the first mile or so the slower half marathoners were just cruising along doing their thing, and then a police officer came riding up from behind telling us to move to the left because the 10K runners were coming. So, evidently the corrals after us were for the 10K, and the elite speedy 10K runners came up hot on our right. We tried to stay out of their way, but there were people who weren't paying attention and didn't realize what was happening. I noticed a lot of 10K runners having to weave around slower half marathoners, which I'm sure they were not thrilled about.

Then, the 10K and full marathon split off to the left, so they had to cross traffic (us) to turn left from the "right lane" while we stayed straight. I'm used to that because that's how we like to handle traffic on the bridges here in Pittsburgh, lol, but it's not great in a race! The half and full marathon courses met up several more times to share the road, and it felt congested every time. The big marathon pace groups would come roaring up behind us and we tried to stay out of the way, but let's just say, this is a party race and I think a serious full marathoner on a BQ mission would have been unhappy. It was not really a BQ kind of day anyway given the heat, we all had to manage our expectations and adjust accordingly. I chatted with several people out on the course who had planned on running the full and opted to run the half instead.

I had assumed North Dakota in May was a safe bet for cooler weather, my mistake! I watched the weather the week before in disbelief as I saw highs climbing into the 80s and 90s! That is way too hot for me to be running, no thank you. I probably should have reconsidered when I realized what was coming. It seems like this was an unusual heat wave, so it should typically be cooler. Don't let that deter you if you are planning on running this race, just know that it is a possibility! I wish they could have started us earlier to help, but I guess the logistics of that in such a big race are just too unrealistic. Maybe provide an early start option? It was actually quite pleasant while we waited at the start, 60s and overcast with a scattered sprinkle. It warmed up quickly!

Not cool, literally and figuratively

Me too, pup, me too

I completely ran out of steam around mile 8. I was just depleted. You know how it is really important to optimize training, hydration, nutrition, and sleep before the race? Well, I had failed miserably at all four, so I guess add in the unexpected heat it's no surprise that this was the absolute worst I have ever felt during a race. I might have considered DNF-ing this one if that had been an easier option. Since my hotel was at the finish line, it seemed best to continue to lean in that general direction and hope for the best. I looked up the time cutoff for the race at one point just to confirm I had a full 4 hours. Not the confidence-building, pump-up run heading into next week that I'd hoped for!

Iconic Fargo Theatre

Fargo Theatre

Despite the heat, the crowd support along the entire course was incredible! People were out with great  costumes, I enjoyed the taco and Grim Reaper, and signs, "Smile, you paid for this!" We spent a lot of time in cute little neighborhoods where people were offering sprinklers and hoses for misting, all very much appreciated. Although, between sweating and partaking of the misting opportunities, my sunscreen didn't make it the entire race and I got too much sun! I tried to keep my cooling towel over my shoulders when I could. It seemed like there were enough water stations that were well-stocked. I didn't see a lot of Gatorade or other nutrition options.

Appropriate

I didn't stop to take as many pictures as usual because I was just going through it. They provided free race photography, which was available really quickly after the race! My pictures vary greatly depending on whether I noticed the photographer or not... struggling vs. pretending not to be struggling! 

 

Finish Line Report: I could not really enjoy the finish line festivities. I was managing alright walking up to the finish line chute. I should have just swallowed my pride and walked across the finish. The crowd energy got the best of me, someone even called me out by name, so I tried to run it in. My body was like, "nope, we're not doing that anymore" and I felt terrible. A kind paramedic brought me two ice cold water bottles "one to drink and one to pour on yourself." Yes, please. I collected my medal and my banana and went back to my hotel, which was thankfully just across the parking lot. The official after party was taking place across the street at a Buffalo Wild Wings. I could hear the music from my hotel room and it sounded like fun was being had, but I also thought it was a little bit odd to have to go to a second location when they had the big FARGODOME and surrounding parking lots with a stage set up right at the Finish Line.

I was very glad I wasn't rushing right out to the airport after the race. I had a chance to shower, cool down, and rest. Then I was able to rally to head back into town to explore a bit more.

 

There is a very cute downtown area with shops and restaurants. I met up with Maretta, her husband David, and Keri at the Sidestreet Grille & Pub for dinner. It was a great spot! We sat at high top table and had a nice visit over burgers and drinks. 

Maretta, Amber, & Keri

My flight out on Sunday morning was at the absurd hour of 5:00 am, but Fargo is a cute little airport that was easy to navigate. There were at least two different 5:00 am flights, so security took a little bit of time, but there wasn't much to do on the other side so it was fine. It was funny to me that the airport was so obviously filled entirely with runners. Lots of people sporting race swag, lamenting the heat, and being sad when they had to use the stairs. Such a friendly group of people and so supportive of each other. It was noticeable how many people were helping others with their bags and letting the people with tight connections get off first (someone called out "You're still racing, you've got this!"). Love the community so much. 

My connection was easy, one terminal over with plenty of time in Minneapolis. Both such short little flights, way smoother on the trip home. I listened to my audiobook, "Sometimes I Lie" by Alice Feeney, which was a little confusing, but held my attention. If there is an upside to a Saturday race and a crack-of-dawn Sunday flight plus time change, it is that I was home before lunchtime on Sunday!

I have been wrestling with how to sum up my Fargo Half Marathon experience. The heat made it very challenging. It was neither my favorite race, nor my best performance, by a long shot. However, it doesn't feel fair to judge the race on the weather, which is out of our control. The course is flat and well-supported. I imagine with cooler weather it would be a great option for North Dakota. I think the course logistics could be improved to relieve some of the congestion between the different events. It would have been much better to come in a day early to be able to enjoy the Expo and hydrate/eat more intentionally. This checked off a new state for me, and I'm grateful for the experience. I'm always happy to travel, visit a new place, and spend some time with kindred spirits chasing half marathons in all 50 states! 

North Dakota complete! State #14 / Half #20

Date: 5/30/2026
Bib: 3515
Time: 3:32:14
Pace: 16:13

Next up is the Shipyard Old Port Half Marathon in Portland, Maine... next weekend, eek!