Semehar Tesfaye Wins Third Straight Fargo Marathon

Semehar Tesfaye is the first runner to win three in a row in any Fargo marathon event

FARGO, N.D. —Thousands of people lined the streets of Fargo, roughly 1,800 embarked on the 26.2 mile journey back to the Fargodome, but only two can say they’re the 2018 Fargo Marathon champions.

Grofrey Terer was the first marathoner to cross the finish line Saturday morning for the men. He clocked a two-hour, thirty minute mark and will take home the $1,500 first-place prize.

On the women’s side, Fargo South alumna Semehar Tesfaye completed a three-peat after finishing Saturday’s race in 2 hours, 39 minutes and 22 seconds. She is the first runner to win three in a row in any Fargo marathon event.

But despite Tesfaye and Terer’s success, both had moments of doubt during Saturday’s race.

“I was not expecting that I would win simply because two weeks ago I ran the Lincoln Marathon and I won, so I was not expecting that I would win,” Terer said.

“I’ve won it the last couple of years so there was a little bit more pressure coming in and then there was a Kenyan girl ahead of me, so I had a little bit more pressure to go out and try to defend my title,” Tesfaye added.

Tesfaye says she will spend the next few months training for a half-marathon in December.