Lewis and Clark half marathon vs. Hurricane Ike
I'm finally dry enough to reflect on one of the worst possible running conditions I've experienced thus far. Kevin Cadiuex, Dan Carmody, Chris Long, and I awoke at 5am to heavy winds and heavy rain to drive to the start line of the Lewis and Clark Half marathon in St. Charles , MO. Although wearing trash bags, as soon as we got out of the car we were immediately soaked to the bone. Here is a fellow runner's video that will give you an idea of conditions at 6:30am.
The race started 20 minutes behind schedule because the police were understandably late due to working a multitude of traffic accidents. Once we started, people were weaving in and out of each other like salmon spawning upstream. It took about 3 miles to find a nice groove. This was about the same time Dan found a new gear and took off. Kevin and I stuck togeter as CTLong was shortly behind. Thanks to the crazy volunteers who braved the storm to pass out water and shouts of encouragement...they were amazing! At mile 6 we heard familier cheers from Maria and Nicole which gave us a nice pick-up before the most difficulte part of the run crossing over the Missouri River on i370 bridge with wind gust of 40 mph and rain falling sideways pecking at our faces. After the bridge we were informed of a course change due to flooding. A mile later we found out the race was cut short to 10 miles. It was disappointing to not actually finish the half marathon but looking back it was an awesome experience with great buds. Thanks again to Maria and Nicole for picking us. Much better than riding a cold wet bush back to the car.
Here below video doesn't really depict the force of wind, rain, and flooding but will give you an idea of the conditions.
The race started 20 minutes behind schedule because the police were understandably late due to working a multitude of traffic accidents. Once we started, people were weaving in and out of each other like salmon spawning upstream. It took about 3 miles to find a nice groove. This was about the same time Dan found a new gear and took off. Kevin and I stuck togeter as CTLong was shortly behind. Thanks to the crazy volunteers who braved the storm to pass out water and shouts of encouragement...they were amazing! At mile 6 we heard familier cheers from Maria and Nicole which gave us a nice pick-up before the most difficulte part of the run crossing over the Missouri River on i370 bridge with wind gust of 40 mph and rain falling sideways pecking at our faces. After the bridge we were informed of a course change due to flooding. A mile later we found out the race was cut short to 10 miles. It was disappointing to not actually finish the half marathon but looking back it was an awesome experience with great buds. Thanks again to Maria and Nicole for picking us. Much better than riding a cold wet bush back to the car.
Here below video doesn't really depict the force of wind, rain, and flooding but will give you an idea of the conditions.
How did I finish? Not bad for the conditions…1:31:06 which is a 9:06 / mile pace.
posted by Kris at
9:23 PM
1 Comments:
Kris - Way to gut it out, you are a true runner. I was there also and the conditions were crazy. The race directors done a great job with what they had to work with. I plan to return next year.
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