March 14, 2009

The Dick Beardsley Running Company

The day before I left for North Dakota, a huge blizzard shut down the interstate from Fergus Falls, Minnesota to Jamestown, North Dakota! They had a foot of snow and winds of 50 mph! I didn't think I'd be able to make it when I landed in Minneapolis on Wednesday for my drive to Fargo, North Dakota. I should have known better! I lived in the area for 50 years and there is no one better then clearing the roads then the Minnesota DOT! I had clear sailing all the way to Fargo but boy was there ever a lot of snow, especially when you got about 100 miles NW of the Twin Cities!

I arrived to Fargo around 4pm, went to our store, the Dick Beardsley Running Company, then went next door and worked out at the fitness center. That evening we had dinner and a meeting with all of the owners, and the great news is the store is doing real well! We will be open 2 years now in April.

When I'm up at the store, I always stay with my good friends Greg and Stephanie Hammes (also part owners) they have three of the nicest cutest daughters you'd ever meet, it's always great to see them!

Thursday morning Greg and I were up early to meet the runners at our store at 5:30, over 20 runners showed up on a morning that was 21 degrees below zero! Since I'm still recovering from my total knee replacement, I ran on the treadmill as I didn't want to slip on the snow and ice, plus living in Texas now, my blood hadn't had a chance to thicken up and it felt to me like it was a 121 degrees below zero!

After our runs I had two radio interviews to do that morning. Thursday evening I gave a talk to our Fargo Marathon/Half Marathon training group. We had a great turnout and afterwards I signed books and took pictures with lots of folks, it was a fun evening!

Thanks to everyone in the Fargo area and especially the folks at the Dick Beardsley Running Company for making my trip such a fun one!

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