The Fargo Marathon’s Annual FurGO Dog Run Continues to Grow in Paw-pularity

The run gives owners and their furry friends the opportunity to run along a 1.5 mile course

FARGO, N.D. — The FurGo Dog Run, one of the Fargo Marathon’s newest events, is back for a third straight year.

The 1.5 mile course is certainly giving people something to bark about. Since its start in 2016, the event has grown in paw-pularity.

“The first year we were pretty surprised,” director Mark Knutson said. “We had had about 400 dogs. 350 to 400 dogs, which I thought was a pretty good start to the event. Last year it mushroomed over 500. This year we’re going to be close to 600 dogs, so there’s definitely a lot of enthusiasm amongst dog owners and dog lovers.”

Although to some a dog marathon may be too far-fetched, some dogs have had some fur-real training.

“We hike the state parks of Minnesota, the state park hiking patches and stuff like that,” FurGO participant Tim Peil said. “When we travel cross country we’ll hike with them.”

After tons of preparing, Knutson says there is nothing ruff about watching our four-legged friends take off from the starting line.

“When you think of 600 dogs all together in one spot taking off at the same time, there’s probably about 30-40 percent that are running it really hard,” Knutson said. “The rest are just for fun and having a good time, meeting other dog owners. It’s just comradely.”

And after a tail-wagging good time, some pups may be in for a few extra treats before dinner.

“Gosh, I’d say we have about 26.2 treats for every dog out there,” Knutson joked.

“Well they’re spoiled all the time, so no more spoiling than usual,” Peil added.

It took approximately 25 minutes on average for each pooch to cross the finish.