Running News Daily

Fargo Marathon director killed in bike crash

 It had been 18 years since Fargo had a marathon when Mark Knutson and Mike Almquist double-handedly decided to do something about it. That was in 2005 when it seemed like a 26.2-mile race should be staged on Fantasy Island rather than the streets of Fargo and Moorhead.

The two pulled it off, turning the Fargo Marathon into a yearly spectacle that injected millions of dollars into the local economy over the years. Sadly, only memories remain after Knutson was killed in a truck-bicycle crash Sunday morning, July 9, in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Knutson, 53, was on his bicycle going west in the 1100 block of South Shore Drive, just west of the intersection with Muir Lane, when he was struck by a westbound pickup truck pulling a boat just after 7 a.m., according to the Detroit Lakes Police Department.

The driver of the pickup truck was Jacob Grabowski, 42, of Fargo, authorities said. No criminal charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing.

The news was a shock to those in the area fitness community, particularly runners. Knutson was planning for the 20th annual Essentia Fargo Marathon next May, an event that he talked about as possibly being his last as the race director.

Twenty years is a long time in that position, with many of those being spent with Almquist.

“The marathon is Mark,” Almquist said. “This is a huge loss for the community and the running community. He touched so many areas. The marathon touches so much of the community. It pumped in millions and helped improve people’s healthy lifestyles, improved people’s health and brought families together and it brought neighbors together.”

Almquist said Knutson was a master at multitasking, a guy who could be the finance guy, marketing guy and visionary guy.

“He was very good at not worrying about things and figuring things out as we went along,” Almquist said. “That’s very much needed in event management because we always expect the unexpected and you have to be able to roll with a lot of fluid issues.”

The idea of the Fargo Marathon surfaced from a Run for the Children half-marathon in 2004, with what was then called an “ambitious” goal of 5,000 runners. Almquist and Knutson were college friends from Minnesota State Moorhead. The last race of that distance in the area was the Harvest Bowl Marathon in 1985.

At the time, 5K or 10K races in Fargo-Moorhead drew maybe 200 runners at best.

“It was a pipe dream,” Almquist said of the marathon. “We were told ‘I know what you guys are trying to envision but, no, not here.’”

The first Fargo Marathon drew 2,641 runners on a cold day, with the race starting at Veterans Memorial Bridge between Fargo and Moorhead. Temperatures were in the mid-30s with winds gusting to 25 mph.

Five years later, the event drew almost 20,000 participants in the marathon, half-marathon, 10K, 5K and Youth Run. It peaked at 25,700 in 2012.

“Mark had a clear view of what the Fargo Marathon would ultimately become very early on,” said Eric Sondag, the 2008 men’s winner, “and he worked tirelessly to make that vision a reality.”

A few times, after the race day was done and workers were cleaning the streets and bike paths, Knutson ran the 26.2-mile route himself. Almquist did it once with him, starting around 6 p.m. and finishing in the Fargodome just over four hours later.

“Mark was the heart and soul of the Fargo Marathon and the region’s running community,” said Steve Wagner, a personal friend and longtime active member of the Fargo running community. “His kindness, philanthropy and leadership impacted tens of thousands of people who participated in the Fargo Marathon, Dick Beardsley races and dozens of other events. Those events helped people dream about goals and strive to be better versions of themselves. He was respected by race directors across the country and put the Fargo Marathon on the map as a world-class event.”