Marathon director Mark Knutson's death echoes in Fargo, Detroit Lakes and beyond

In 2004, Mark Knutson called Minnesota running legend Dick Beardsley with an idea.

"He said, 'Beards, I'm going to put on a half-marathon, kinda test the waters a little bit. Could you come over [to Fargo, N.D.] the night before and give a little talk at the pasta dinner?'

"I said, 'Sure, I'd be happy to," Beardsley recalled. "I can't remember how many runners they had, but it was enough for Mark to say, 'I think we can make this something bigger.' "

The seeds had been planted for 2005 — and the first Fargo Marathon, founded by Knutson and his collaborator, Mike Almquist. Years on, it has become a popular weeklong celebration of health and fitness events in May, drawing as many as 20,000 participants. Perhaps the most anticipated community event in the city.

Beardsley spoke at the first and 10th marathons, and he is scheduled to speak at next year's, marking the 20th.

"What that race has done for that community of Fargo-Moorhead, it is a boon to the communities up there," he said. "Uff da."

While Beardsley looked back this week, his emotion echoed that of others in the running and recreation communities.

Knutson, the longtime Fargo Marathon executive director, died after a cycling accident Sunday morning in Detroit Lakes. He was struck after falling from his bike into the path of a pickup truck pulling a boat trailer, according to police. The sudden jolt of Knutson's death, at age 53, continues to reverberate.

"Mark is loved by everybody," said Beardsley, who now lives in Bemidji.

Detroit Lakes' Dick Beardsley Races, every September the Saturday after Labor Day, are in their 27th year and include a 25-kilometer, half-marathon, 10K and 5K.

Under Knutson's direction, they only improved, Beardsley said.

Virginia Brophy Achman, the former Twin Cities Marathon director, ran a Beardsley half-marathon one year and passed Knutson, who at the time was hosting a water stop. His enthusiasm is a lasting memory.

"He was excited for me running," she said. "He knows that we [race directors] don't get to run very often."

Brophy Achman said the widespread outpouring on social media from random runners, longtime friends and community partners is a reflection of his ability to connect in a meaningful way.

"I know he is special. He is a unique person, caring, innovative and all those things," she said. "But when you see what people share about him, you're like, you don't even know the half of it. Just how many people he has affected …

"Mark brought running to Fargo and not just the marathon. [The effort was] to get people moving. You're welcome as a walker, you are welcome as a runner, and he built a community of runners that wasn't there before."

Kaitlyn Greenleaf, vice president of Ventures Endurance, which owns and puts on the Fargo Marathon, said staff are grieving Knutson's death while also "working toward how we can continue Mark's legacy."

Coincidentally, it is Detroit Lakes where Knutson continued to build his reputation of a humble, thoughtful, tireless change-maker. He moved there in spring of 2022, and last October he was hired as general manager of Detroit Mountain Recreation Area, which is built on winter sports but also winning acclaim for its mountain biking facility.

Tony Schmitz, Detroit Mountain's operations and rental manager, said in Knutson's short time on the job he was having success adding more events to the recreation area's schedule, while getting up to speed on learning to run a ski operation. Several events revolved around one of Knutson's passions: live music. He and the staff wanted to get people out who weren't skiers or bicyclists. Haunted trails were a project for this fall, Schmitz said.

"He was in front of the scene where he needed to be," Schmitz added. "He knew events, and he knew how to bring people in."

A public memorial service for Knutson is at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hope Lutheran Church in Fargo.

"There is going to be a big void … he knew everybody," Beardsley said.