DETROIT LAKES — It's been almost exactly a year since longtime Fargo Marathon race director and Detroit Mountain general manager Mark Knutson died in a biking accident , and friends, colleagues and family have vowed to carry on his legacy in any way they can. Knutson died one day after the Northwest Water Carnival event he helped to rebrand and organize, the inaugural Tour Da Lakes. "It's what used to be the Midsummer Bike Tour," explained James Botnen, a longtime friend and colleague who is organizing the event.
"Mark Knutson took it on and rebranded it last year, to the Tour Da Lakes." This year, the event has once again been renamed — but this time, in his memory. The Mark Knutson Memorial Tour Da Lakes is set for this Saturday, July 13 at 9 a.
m. "We just want to honor and remember him, " Botnen added, noting that Knutson had made an impact on both the Detroit Lakes and Fargo-Moorhead communities, despite having only moved to Detroit Lakes from Fargo less than two years prior to his fatal accident. ADVERTISEMENT "He (Mark) and I have known each other many, many years, through the Fargo Marathon," Botnen said, noting that Knutson also helped organize not just the Tour Da Lakes, but also the annual Dick Beardsley Races, and was heavily involved in the startup of local nonprofit Project 412.
"In talking with his family over the last year, we just want to keep his legacy alive as best we can," Botnen continued. "Before he passed, he and I had had a pretty in-depth, close c.
