Three is motivation for Wallin

By MICHAEL LINNELL, Sports Editor mlinnell@minotdailynews.com
Former Minot State University runner Chad Wallin said he isn’t putting too much pressure on himself to win another Fargo Marathon. That being said, a third-straight title would certainly be great.

Wallin has won the past two marathons, taking last year’s in 2 hours, 31 minutes, 20 seconds, but has to remind himself here and there that it really happened.

“It’s pretty overwhelming. I have to sit back a little and say I am the one who has won it two years in a row now,” he said. “Fargo is really getting the numbers. They are expecting 13,000 runners this year. But to say you are the defending champion really keeps your focus. I think I have the training behind me to win another.”

The Fargo Marathon has become one of the top venues in the Upper Midwest to run, according to Wallin, and that has helped him make the decision to continue to run his one full marathon in the state of North Dakota.

“It is tough on the body to do more than one a year — you could probably squeeze in two or three, but the body takes a pounding,” he said. “I like coming back to Fargo. The hospitality and the support of the people is great. It is like running in your own back yard.”

While Wallin has kept his regiment to just one full marathon each summer, that hasn’t stopped him from competing in other marathons — he has just kept it to the half. He competed in the 2008 ING Trestle Valley Marathon and has an invitation to the area’s most popular race, the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn., in June.

“I just got the invite for the Grandma’s half marathon. That’s a pretty elite field,” he said. “It’s probably the most popular one around here and that is great.

“The Trestle Valley is a good event for local runners to stay here and run, but I use it as a tune up for the Fargo Marathon.”

If Wallin does successfully defend his title, he might relinquish it in 2009. He has his sights set on one of the biggest in the country — the Boston Marathon.

“That’s the thing, when I tell people that I run marathons, the first thing they say is what do you think about Boston,” he said. “But Fargo is what I have shot for. I certainly have thought about it and Boston, New York or Chicago is at the top of the goal list. To represent North Dakota at the Boston Marathon ... that is on top of the list.”

As grueling as the race itself, Wallin said training for a marathon can be especially difficult in a cold state like North Dakota, but it also tests a runners’ dedication.

“It is a true test,” he said.

Neubauer, Mapes impress at Front Range Invite

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — At the first-ever Front Range Invitational track and field meet, a pair of local standouts shined for the Air Force Academy women’s team. Thrower Sara Neubauer, a sophomore from Bottineau won the discus throw with a toss of 156-feet-11 and sprinter Jessica Mapes, a graduate of Our Redeemer’s Christian School, took second in the 400-meters with a time of 57.72 seconds.

Neubauer has had a solid follow-up to a great freshman season, earning NCAA qualifying marks in both the shot put (50-4 1/2) and discus (159-5). Mapes, who didn’t compete last year, has the team’s top time in the 100 (12.95), 200 (26.11) and 400 (57.72).

The Falcons begin the final faze of the season as they travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the Mountain West Conference Championships today through Saturday at the Lowdon Track and Field Complex on the campus of TCU.

Hassler, Keller and Weber all NSIC champs

BISMARCK — Holly Hassler, Destinee Keller and Mishay Weber all earned individual championships to help the University of Mary win its second-straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference track and field outdoor championships.

Hassler, a former Bishop Ryan star, won the javelin with a toss of 128-feet-9 to outthrow the next closest competitor by more than four feet. Hassler has a NCAA Division II provisional qualifying throw on the season. Keller, from Beulah, won the triple jump with a leap of 38-4 3/4, which gives her a provisional mark. Keller also placed fourth in the long jump (17-7 1/2). Weber earned her championship as a part of the 400-meter relay team along with Cassie Blazer, Kacie Sweep and Kristen Stewart. Weber was a runner up to Sweep in the 100 and took third in the 200.