Bemidji's beautiful Blue Ox Marathon returns for the 9th year
Oct. 10—BEMIDJI — As if by magic, the area's gloomy forecast of rain vanished just long enough for the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon to successfully run its ninth annual in-person course this weekend, bouncing back from a virtual format last year.
While Friday played host to kids' fun runs and 5k and 10k races, Saturday presented the event's mainstays: the half marathon, 26k lake loop and the 26.2-mile full marathon.
The first two full marathon runners to see the winning side of the finish line were Amanda Blair from Grand Forks, who forged a record time of 3:02:14 in the women's division, and Anthony Fagundes from southern California, who was drawn to Bemidji by the appeal of taking home the marathon's legendary pickaxe trophy.
Organizer Philip Knutson said the marathon's return to a normal format this year required a "year of pivoting" in preparation, meaning planning for the worst but hoping for the best regarding COVID-19 and its regulations.
"The path that I took was going with Plan C right away so we could make the best Plan C possible and then add to it if things got better and easier to do — instead of planning for Plan A and having to backtrack," Knutson said.
In a normal year, the Blue Ox Marathon weekend brings in more than 1,200 registrations. Knutson and the event's two other organizers, his wife Heather Knutson and Angie Clark, didn't initially expect to see similar numbers this year but ended up with about 1,100 registrations.
"Registration was way higher than expected and a much better turnout, percentage-wise, than what most other big races were getting," Knutson said. "So I think that says something about this race."
However, organizers were faced with challenges in its return, like finding enough volunteers. In past years, the race has brought in 200 volunteers who assist runners along the course — among other things — but this year, the event was pulled off with just about 30 volunteers.
"Normally, we have 10 water stops, and this year there were three. We'll usually have 10 to 15 people at every water stop, and this year we had a hard time recruiting enough people to even fill those three," Knutson said. "It did make us struggle, but at the same time it worked. By the looks of everything, it doesn't feel like there's less volunteers, so it's been good."
Knutson said that throughout the weekend there was a general vibe of cheerfulness from participants and spectators alike that "the Blue Ox was back."
"I think one of the unique things about this type of event is people come here from all over and everybody has a different reason they're here," Knutson said. "Some have a pull for whatever reason to be here; there's some that are trying to beat cancer, or somebody put them up to the challenge."
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The Olympic hopeful
Even before 31-year-old Blair crossed the finish line, her approach to the end made spectators ecstatic about the possibility of a record-breaker soon to be in their midst.
But for the Grand Rapids, Minn., native, breaking Gina Aalgaard Kelly's 2013 Blue Ox record of 3:04:52 wasn't even on her radar. She said she simply decided to sign up for the marathon because her husband would be in town doing his CRNA clinicals.
"It's exciting, but I didn't even know what the record was," Blair said with a laugh. "My goal was just to finish in around three hours."
While the Blue Ox Marathon was a first for Blair, she's no amateur to the sport. It marked her 15th full marathon, having competed in the Boston Marathon, various other marathons out West and ultramarathons. This win is also not her first, she said.
Next year, she plans to run the Grandma's and the California International Marathons. But she said her crowning aspiration in the sport of running is qualifying for the Olympic tryouts.
"That's my goal, my big goal," Blair said. "I need 2:45 to run, so I have to shave 15 to 16-ish minutes off my time."
Blair, a former NICU registered nurse and current stay-at-home mom to a 1- and 3-year-old, usually trains 16 to 18 weeks prior to a marathon. But, much of her training requires the multitasking of a mother with two small children, so she'll often involve them in her process.
"Training with them looks a little different. I do a lot of double stroller miles, so less weight lifting in the gym these days and more strength training with the double stroller," Blair said. "But it's beautiful. I love sharing my love of running with them. It's a whole new plus to this sport for me."
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A bacon cheeseburger is Blair's food of choice after a marathon, and she said she looked forward to indulging in one while enjoying her remaining time in Bemidji before returning home to Grand Forks with her family.
"I wouldn't be surprised if this marathon grew. It's a great town and it was a lot of fun," Blair said. "This was a beautiful course, and I would recommend it to anybody. Getting to run through the trees and it being fall time, it's perfect for a marathon."
The trophy collector
For 31-year-old Fagundes, seeing the vibrant hues of Minnesota's fall foliage and green vegetation was a welcome change of pace from sunny Fair Oaks, Calif.
Like Blair, running the Blue Ox Marathon was a first for Fagundes, but the occasion also marked his first time visiting Minnesota.
"It's very hard to go back when I go out to do stuff like this," Fagundes said. "I think I brought the California heat with me, though. This is going to sound weird, but I honestly wanted it to be colder."
"That would've been so much fun," he added when the Pioneer informed him of the Blue Ox Marathon's snowy weather in 2019.
Fagundes said he was compelled to compete in the Blue Ox Marathon after learning from a friend, who had previously won, of the coveted pickaxe trophy, which is awarded only to first place winners of the full marathon.
"I saw that she won a cool pickaxe trophy, and I wanted it," Fagundes said. "So that was my reasoning behind it: I liked the award, and I was on a quest to collect cool awards this year."
Fagundes, who participates in various marathons and ultramarathons around the country, added that he will also be competing in the JFK 50 Mile ultramarathon in Maryland next month, and the Blue Ox provided him with additional opportunity to prepare for it.
He admitted that he started out the marathon "kind of hard" in an attempt to intimidate his competitors, but then paid for it around mile 20.
"Mile 20 was very questionable of if I was going to be able to stay on my feet or not, especially after the hills came because that was not what I needed right then," Fagundes said.
In the end, he came in first in the marathon's men's division with a time of 2:44:44.
"I've been running since elementary school, and I did track and cross country in high school and college," Fagundes said. "It's not my first marathon win so I'm a little used to it. But I just wanted the pickaxe, so I was telling myself whatever I need to do to get it, I'll do it."
An hour after winning, Fagundes planned to hop on a plane to Massachusetts to support his friends running the Boston Marathon and to celebrate his own win in Minnesota.
"I had a lot of fun in Bemidji," Fagundes said. "I really liked the course, it was very scenic."
Full Marathon Results
Top 10 Men's Finishers
1.
Anthony Fagundes, 2:44:44, Fair Oaks, Calif.
2.
Brandon Lee, 3:04:29, West Fargo
3.
Dave Haglin, 3:07:32, Duluth
4.
Alex Vollen, 3:08:21, Bemidji
5.
Scott Beaulier, 3:09:51, Fargo
6.
Ryley Emslander, 3:17:57, Sartell
7.
Ryan Rogers, 3:19:27, Bemidji
8.
Elliot Anderson, 3:22:37, Lone Rock, Wis.
9.
Tanner Miest, 3:22:55, Rochester
10.
Cale Newby, 3:27:59, Bemidji
Top 10 Women's Finishers
1.
Amanda Blair, 3:02:14, Grand Forks
2.
Amy Will, 3:10:55, Warren, Minn.
3.
Amanda Reynolds, 3:21:37, Pineville, N.C.
4.
Lindsay Conrad, 3:27:21, St. Paul
5.
Natalie Timmers, 3:35:28, Nelson, Minn.
6.
Nicole Gunderson, 3:36:07, Baxter, Minn.
7.
Abigail Murray, 3:37:33, Minnetonka
8.
Jessica Houle, 3:51:53, Princeton, Minn.
9.
Allyson Herman, 3:52:40, Jamestown, N.D.
10.
Alaina Burgess 3:54:04, Hugo, Minn.
Half Marathon
Top 3 Men's Finishers
1.
Michael Bourland, 1:19:02, St. Paul
2.
Ben Jacobs, 1:24:13, Minnetonka
3.
Nicholas Youso, 1:31:45, Bemidji
Top 3 Women's Finishers
1.
Julie Helsene, 1:39:15, Brainerd
2.
Melanie Priebe, 1:41:01, Park Rapids
3.
Mary Wood, 1:43:59, West Des Moines, Iowa
26K Lake Loop
Top 3 Men's Finishers
1.
Kevin Robertson, 2:20:31, Brainerd
2.
Cullen Reiser, 2:21:59, Mound, Minn.
3.
Mike Porter, 2:22:14, Brainerd
Top 3 Women's Finishers
1.
Lindsay George, 2:03:49, Thompson, N.D.
2.
Amber Kantonen, 2:14:13, Mahtowa, Minn.
3.
Sr. Melissa Cote, 2:14:25, Bismarck, N.D.
For full results, visit www.mtecresults.com/event/show/4114/2021_Bemidji_Blue_Ox_Marathon.
