Running News Daily

Arturs Bareikis took the lead at 20 miles and went on to win the Sanford Fargo Marathon

After grabbing the lead at about Mile 20, Arturs Bareikis spent the final six miles in the Sanford Fargo Marathon on Saturday constantly looking over his shoulder. There was noone there.

The 32-year-old from Midlothian, Ill., made his third trip to Fargo winning the 15th annual event in 2 hours, 27 minutes, 14 seconds. He placed second in 2014? He was on a mission not to let that happen again.

“I came here to do one thing,” Bareikis said.

Winning was the only goal. He didn’t wear a watch and therefore wasn’t paying attention to mile splits. It was all about racing with a pack of four from the outset that consisted of defending champion Geofrey Terer, Anthony Kirui of Minneapolis and Garang Madut from Lebanon, Tenn.

Terer and Kirui split from the other two after a few miles. In an oddity, Terer had the solo lead around Mile 9 where he had to stop to tie his shoe. That appeared to solidify the pack again until Bareikis made his break at Mile 20.

“I knew that was going to cost him and he wasn’t going to be able to make that last move,” Bareikis said of Terer having to stop. “I always observe early in the race what people do and I was staying in the back. You only get one real move and I waited for mile 20 to make it. It wasn’t guaranteed but I knew (Friday) I was going to hit it at Mile 20.”

He knew Friday after studying the weather forecast. The race was was run in light rain and wind. Those elements, Bareikis said, played into his favor.

After mile splits in the neighborhood of 5:45 to 6:05, Bariekis ripped off a 5:19 from mile 20 to 21. He was hoping a small cramp that began to develop in his leg didn’t escalate.

“Once you start feeling a cramp, it’s a little bit scary,” he said.  But it did not excalate and he went on to win.

Kenyans have won the last five men's full marathons of the Sanford Fargo Marathon

The country that has produced so many great long distance runners over the years will be represented a sixth time at the Fargo Marathon Saturday.

It looks to be a competitive field for the 7 a.m. start. Perhaps helping the increased number of elite runners is the upcoming Olympic Trials for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Runners like Enock Birir, who is training out of Sante Fe, N.M. He’ll toe the line with the fastest personal record of the elite entrants at 2 hours, 20 minutes, 10 seconds. The 28-year-old won the Des Moines (Iowa) Marathon last fall, which was his first marathon in seven years and took third in the Mercedes-Benz Marathon in February in Birmingham, Ala., with a time of 2:26:44.

He’ll have competition from Arturs Bareikis of Crestwood, Ill., a native of Latvia, who took second in the Fargo Marathon in 2014. The Duma Running Club in Coon Rapids, Minn., is sending Kenyan runners Anthony Kurui and two-time Fargo champion David Tuwei.

Kurui most recently finished fifth in the half-marathon in Lincoln, Neb. The 40-year-old Tuwei lists a 2:14 as his PR, but his performances in the last few years have been more in the range of his Fargo-winning times of 2:27.15 in 2015 and 2:28.24 in 2017.

Perhaps the favorite is Garang Madut, who won the St. Jude Memphis Marathon last December. He ran cross country for four years at Cumberland University (Tenn.) and is a graduate assistant coach for the Cumberland women’s cross country team.

Madut moved to Nashville, Tenn., from South Sudan when he was 5 years old. At 23 years old, he may be on the verge of realizing his potential.

Defending Fargo champion Geofrey Terer of Colorado Springs, Colo., won the Brookings (S.D.) Marathon last weekend in 2:30.47. It’s doubtful the 42-year-old would have enough in the tank to challenge on consecutive weekends but he’s been in the running game long enough to know competition over 26.2 miles can get strange at times. It worked last year when he won the Fargo in 2:30.00.

“It’s about who’s on Saturday?” Almquist said. “Who has it mentally and physically together? Or who adapts best to the conditions the runners are facing that day? You know Fargo, it could be anything on Saturday.”

Colorado Runner Geofrey Terer is back to defend his 2018 victory at Lincoln Marathon

The 42-year-old Geofrey Terer is back to defend his 2018 victory. Terer won last year's full marathon in 2 hours, 29 minutes, 37 seconds.

Running last year his first-ever Lincoln Marathon, the 41-year old from Colorado Springs, Colorado, took the lead from Lincoln’s Eric Noel — the 2016 winner — between miles 16 and 17 and cruised to the finish line in 2 hours, 29 minutes, 37 seconds.

Terer’s time bested Michael Zeigle’s record of 2:32:41 in the 40-44 age bracket set in 1992. His winning time was just over four minutes slower than 2017 winner David Tuwei.

“I just increased the pace a little bit around Mile 17, and he (Noel) wasn’t able to maintain it,” Terer said. “There was quite a lot of cheering along the way with the race, and that was very, very nice.”

With temperatures creeping into the 70s and virtually no breeze on the course, staying hydrated proved to be key for the 13,500 runners competing in either the half- or full marathon.

“It was a little warm, and when it’s warm like this you lose a lot of water,” Terer said. “Around Mile 25 I got tired and hit the wall. Cooler weather is OK.”

Though it was Terer’s first Lincoln Marathon, it wasn’t his first race in Nebraska. He ran the Nebraska State Fair Marathon in 2015 and 2016. He decided on a whim to register for Lincoln.

Terer has won previous marathons, including the 2016 and 2017 Missoula, Montana, event.