Spencer Ruebke running the Fargo Half Marathon on Saturday, September 25th. Photo/Fargo Marathon
FARGO, ND (KDLM) – The Ada-Borup-West cross country teams were in Milaca on Saturday competing in the Milaca Mega Meet. But there was a noticeable person missing on the bus ride over: their head coach Spencer Ruebke.
While Ruebke’s teams were getting ready to run in the largest cross country meet in the state, he was competing in the Fargo Half Marathon 200 miles away.
“I had signed up for this race in December 2019,” Ruebke said. “I signed up when the race was originally in May of 2020, then it was delayed to May of 2021, then pushed to September. I’d circle a day on the calendar, then they’d change it again. I’d get to the end of my 12-week training regiment, and they’d change it again.”
Ruebke’s assistant coaches coordinated the trip to Milaca, where the boys team finished 11th out of 26 teams in Division 4 and the girl’s team finished 19th.
Ruebke, meanwhile, had a sizable lead heading into the final stretch of the half-marathon, winning the race by seven minutes.
“Finishing seven minutes ahead of the next runner wasn’t what I expected, said Ruebke. “My goal was to finish in under an hour and ten minutes. Looking at past results, that time usually gets you in the conversation for a top-five finish. I was really hoping from the start that there would be a couple of faster people that I could tuck in behind and let them pull me along. But right from the start of the race, I was in first and I was like ‘uh-oh, maybe I’m doing something wrong or else I’m just gonna win it today’. It spread out really early, and I got out to a big lead right away. Not what I expected at all, but I just went with it.”
Ruebke won the half-marathon with a time of 1:10:32, seven minutes ahead of Denver’s Megan Smith (the first female finisher), and eight minutes ahead of the next male finisher.
Ruebke hopes that his win on Saturday not only motivates his current runners but also encourages students to join cross country…a sport where numbers in some area schools are dwindling.
“At one point, anyone who is winning races like that started out as just another high school kid who at one point wasn’t even a runner, or didn’t think of themselves as a runner. Hopefully, they can put themselves in my shoes, or vice-versa, see how at one point I was in their shoes. Give themselves that positive mindset and a little bit of confidence. If they see me doing it, hopefully, that gives them the confidence that they can do it, too.”
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