Fargo half marathon was a family affair

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FARGO, ND – 13.1 miles is a challenging distance to run, but the father-daughter duo of Rick and Katie Klapperich conquered the Fargo half marathon together on May 20th.

Katie, an experienced runner who was a member of highly successfully Pheasant cross-country and track teams in high school, had previously run the Sioux Falls Half Marathon in September 2016, and wanted to continue to run.  Rick also had prior running experience from his experience at Wessington Springs High School and Dakota State University.  According to Rick, “Back in ‘the day’ I used to run quite a bit.  All through high school I was a miler and half-miler, and even ran the two- mile a couple of times.  I ran one year of track at Dakota State, but I hurt my back (and also realized it took more training at that level!)  And the last time I ran a race, a 5K, was back in 1987…and about 40 pounds ago!”

The ingredients were all there for success, it just took a little bit of convincing on Katie’s part.  “After the Sioux Falls half (marathon), my dad showed a lot of interest in running,” stated Katie, “so I really encouraged him to train, and eventually he was convinced to run the one in Fargo, ND with me.”

Seeing is believing, but running miles with another is proof.  Katie didn’t have to twist her dad’s arm too tightly to get him on board for the Fargo race.  “After seeing me run the Sioux Falls Half Marathon last year, I think that's when my dad decided he really wanted to take on the challenge” stated Katie.  “He was a little hesitant when he first started training, but I made sure to assure him that it doesn't matter how fast you run it and that it's almost all in your head and if you believe in yourself enough, you will be able to do it!”

Since Katie had completed the 13.1 mile distance before, her objective was again to finish the race.  “When it comes to running half marathons my main goal is just to finish, so I didn't even think about a time (result),” added Klapperich.  Deep down, she had the underlying goal to complete the race, but ultimately wanted to do it as a team effort.  “All I knew is that I wanted to run the whole thing with my dad and not get separated, “stated Katie. 

To prepare for such a feat, both Katie and Rick followed a detailed training regimen.  According to Katie, “The training schedule that I followed started ten weeks before the race, so I started training the second week of March 2017.  The first week I ran a total of 13 miles, and then as the weeks progressed, the distance increased. So the most miles I ran in one week throughout my training was 26 miles. The longest run I completed was 12 miles.” 

Rick also followed a training plan to prepare for the race.  “I followed the Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan pretty closely.  It was a 12-week plan where Monday and Friday were rest days and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, were 3-4-3 miles for the most part,” stated Rick.   “And then on Saturday or Sunday there were long runs.  The longest run I had was 12 miles on the Saturday prior to the race.  I’m pretty sure it was the same plan or close to the same one Katie did prior to her first race,” added Rick.

Although their join goal was to run and finish together, they mostly trained separately because Katie was still attending college.  “Once I graduated, we had more opportunities to run together” added Katie. 

Family is a powerful source of love and support, and it is evident that Katie and Rick share a common bond in running and in life.  “I would have to say for this half marathon my dad inspired me a lot,” stated Katie.  “He worked so hard, and I was so impressed with his dedication to training.”  The support poured in while training and poured in during the race.  “While running the race he was sure to give me a pep talk whenever I started to doubt myself.  I'm just really proud of him. Not many people can say that they got to run a half marathon with their dad!”

On the flip side, if you asked Rick for his opinion, it was Katie that motivated him to keep going when the race revealed a few wrinkles mid-way through.  “During the half marathon, at about mile seven or so, volunteers along the route handed out these energy gel packets, and Katie and I both grabbed one.  I ate all of mine, but Katie only ate a little and threw hers away,” explained Rick.  “Well, something happened at about mile eight where I lost sight in my right eye.  I saw stars one second and couldn’t see the next.  It lasted about a mile or mile and a half or so, but during that time, I had to walk as I felt kind of unbalanced.  I found that if I closed my right eye, it was better, so I jogged about another mile with one eye closed!  I’m sure I looked goofy!  But at about mile ten I could see fine and just had a headache,” added Rick.  “Thankfully the doctor says it wasn’t anything major…no heart issues or anything.”

Now that Katie and Rick have completed their goal of finishing a half marathon together, it’s only natural to look into the future.  “I will definitely run more half marathons throughout my life,” stated Katie.  “There is a huge sense of accomplishment when you're done, and it assures you that you are pretty mentally and physically tough, even when you don't necessarily think so.” 

More specifically, challenges in the near future include another half marathon and some 5K races.  “I plan on running the Sioux Falls Half Marathon on September 10th, and if any 5K opportunities present themselves, I would be up for that too!”

As for Rick’s future running plans, “I plan to run in the Sioux Falls half on September 10th”  stated Klapperich.  “This time I would like to do more than just finish!  I want to improve my average mile time from what it was in Fargo…we’ll see how that goes.”  Rick and Katie finished together at Fargo with Rick placing 3191 out of 3873 runners and Katie right next to him at 3192 out of 3873 runners.  Their finish line time was identical at 2:34.47 for the 13.1 mile race.

It can be stated that Once a runner, always a runner.  “I guess I have started to like to run again, too!” added Rick.  “Instead of it just being getting ready for the race, it’s kind of a life thing for me, too.  I feel like I have more energy and just feel better overall.  With the summer heat after work, I have started to run in the morning.  It’s so much different trying to get out of bed to run 4 or 5 miles!” added Rick.