This was my first time visiting North Dakota and I was joined by my Traveling Sole Sisters Jola, Tali, Kinga and Aneta. Together we ran the Fargo Half Marathon. This was my 27th run state and it was the second race in the GoFar Challenge.

After running the Mark Knutson Friday Night 5K the night before, we all got some much needed rest and arrived at the Fargodome with plenty of time to park and make our way to the start line!

With Jola, Kinga and Aneta in their Team Polska Running gear and all of us sportin’ some cute Goodr’s, we found our place in the starting corral. Just before the National Anthem, we took a quick start line selfie. 🤳

As the corral moved forward, we could see Fitz Koehler, our incredible race announcer, kicking off the race with her usual motivational energy! 💖 …and then there was this guys shirt in front of us. Both of which made me smile! 🥰

Off we went! This was a bucket list road race for me and I was finally on my way! 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏼🏃🏼‍♂️

A new adventure in a new (to me) city! I was anxious to see what Fargo had in store for us!

I definitely felt safe. 🚨

We were running through the city streets (and tunnels) of downtown Fargo for the first few miles of the course.

As we made our way into the beautiful tree-lined neighborhoods of Fargo, we ran through “Mark’s Mile,” named in honor of the late and legendary race director Mark Knutson. 🤍

These charming residential streets were also lined with cheering spectators. There were people out on lawn chairs, bands playing live music, DJ’s, snacks, drinks… it was like a big neighborhood block party! 🥳

There was this long stretch of colorful signs.

The neighborhoods really went ALL OUT! 💖

There was this ginormous US Flag. 🇺🇸

And even when it was quiet, it was just so green and beautiful! 🌳

The volunteers were WONDERFUL! 😍 They were doing their best to keep everyone hydrated. I even got a pickle shot at one of the aid stations! 😋

By mile 10 we were back on city streets again.

Bridget and I met on the course and she was running her first half marathon. We ran together for the majority of the 2nd half of the race. We stopped for a quick selfie around mile 10 to celebrate her longest run so far! 😍She was so sweet, thanking every volunteer that we encountered and I really enjoyed her company and getting to know her as we ran.

We ran past the Fargo Theater on Broadway.

Then we passed the ball fields at Mickelson Park.

And then in the home stretch, The Grim Reaper himself gave us a clear sign that the end was near! 💀 …the end of the race! 🏁

Tali and Jola were already at the finish line when I crossed and we collected our bonus medals for completing the GoFar Challenge!

The 5 of us went back to our Airbnb to get cleaned up and changed before venturing back out to Buffalo Wild Wings for the Official After Party. From the rooftop to the parking lot, it was packed with runners! We had wings and redeemed our Free Beer tickets while celebrating our journey together. 🍻

After BWW, we went to the Fargo Visitor Center to check out the famous Wood Chipper.

Next up was a walking tour to see the murals of downtown Fargo. We stopped for ice cream at Silver Lining Creamery and then traveled back to Minneapolis to check into our hotel.

We walked around by Paisley Park and had dinner and drinks at Brick & Bourbon before calling it a (very long) day. 💜

The next day, Aneta had an early flight but the rest of us had breakfast together at the hotel before exploring the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. We parted ways with Kinga here as her flight was much later than ours and she had more exploring to do.

My journey home was a bit longer than expected. As I boarded my connecting flight in Dallas, it started storming. All outgoing flights were halted and they closed the jetway, leaving us stuck on the plane for nearly two hours. The flight crew kept us updated on the status of the storm and even served drinks and snacks while we waited for the storm to pass.

I was happy to get home to my family and show off the awesome new race bling and cool finisher jacket from this latest fun and adventurous Runcation! I wish I had been able to run this race while Mark Knutson was still on this earth, I had heard so many wonderful things. The love that this community has for him can been both seen and felt. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to fill his shoes but I can only imagine that they did their very best to honor his memory and that he would be so proud. 🕊️

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