I had my coldest run of this winter in Fargo last weekend:  -15 degrees F air temp / -28 degrees F windchill.  Layered up and no problems over 14 miles:

I was in Fargo for a hockey tournament, but took some time out to do a recon run on 8 miles of the Fargo Marathon route for Neil, who is considering that race.  I was giving him a hard time about doing it, but now I feel a little bad.  It was no Superior or Twin Cities route for me, but it was an enjoyable, low-brow run with a small-town feel.  It reminded me of a 22-miler I did through Cedar Falls and Waterloo, Iowa while training for Grandma’s Marathon.

The mileage I did was in the middle and was very residential.  My guess is you would have a lot of spectators for most of the route.  I did brief segment that went through the quaint area of downtown Fargo and that was nice; though I would be tempted to stop at Sammy’s pizza and risk a DNF.

I think I even ran the “hilly” parts of the course – which were actually just running the dips of underpasses.  I think the thighs will be alright on this one.

Anyhow, this is definitely a flat and fast course.  Though I’m not really fast on any course.

I also had a successful test of keeping food and hydration warm:  I took water bottles and Gatorade, put them upside down in wool socks (so any freezing wouldn’t freeze the lids in place, it would be at the bottom), put gels and Clif bars in the socks, added hand warmer packets, and then stuffed them in my Nathan Endurance vest.  They stayed room temperature and drinkable for 2+ hours in -15F temps, very cool!