Anyone got an idea of anticipated weather conditions and temps on race day. I know it's difficult to predict but don't want a grueller if it turns out to be too hot. What were race day temps like in previous years?
May is a very fickle month in North Dakota--the weather can be polar or tropical on any given day. Each of the years the Fargo Marathon has been held, it has been snowing or raining, cooler than expected, and windy to some degree. Last year, race day was 50F with a 25mph wind. However, the day before the race, temps were in the low 80s!
There's potential for any kind of weather. Best be prepared.
Just don't let the wind thing fool you. There's lots of ground cover to break up that wind for much of the race. Even if it's real windy, it won't neccessarily hurt your running. Lots of turns in this race. '07 was just a little cool but not bad. Kept me from overheating.
I have to respectfully disagree with the ground cover argument. Last year with the north wind, over the second half of the course, going into the new neighborhoods was very difficult. With the lack of large trees, the wind was very noticeable, especially over the second and third hours of the race, when the wind was steady at 22-24MPH and gusting to 30MPH.
With regard to the weather in general, here is the historical weather data from Hector Airport (just a few miles up the road from the start line) for all three years of the Fargo Marathon:
