May the odds ever be in my favor. This morning I woke up, still alive after a weird night in a crappy potentially crack den hotel. And I checked my phone for the forecast.
Rain seemed highly likely in the back half of the marathon. I’ve often said to friends about training runs on the rain that you have to run in all kinds of weather as you never know what you’ll face on race day. And truth be told, once you’re 100% soaked you can’t get any wetter so rain is just something you face and endure… It’s terrible when it’s a cold rain and it’s never exactly fun to run in the rain, but it’s something you have to face.
I arrived per usual far too early at the start line. I’m always paranoid about parking… And maybe this time I was right to be. St Louis is under seeming city-wide construction and road works. Areas were shut down for the race but also for some construction… necessity? Inconvenience? Who can say?
I did find a pretty sweet spot just a block or two from the start/finish. And within ten minutes of my parking, a swarm of runners arrived in waves. So I probably wasn’t too early… And the benefit of having the car close by at race’s end made an early arrival that much more beneficial.
I donned my Not-So-Normal recovery jacket from last week, fully intending to dump it before the race. The cheap, thin paper-like material provided almost zero protection from the winds and the chilly morning air. In my heart I told myself it was better than nothing; my head however wasn’t so sure.
At the start line I ran into Brian Wright. He’s a great runner and an even better guy. I seem him quite often on “the circuit” and it’s always nice to see a friendly face. He’s really stepped up his running game and has been pacing and Boston Qualifying left and right. At the Corral B starting, “Go!” he took off at a now characteristically breathless pace and I lost track of him. He crushed it today.
The course has changed from prior years. The race organizers claim it’s a faster, flatter course and now takes you into Illinois via a bridge challenge. Unfortunately, that trip takes one into the less spectacular sights and sounds of East St Louis, IL. I’m sure it’s a lovely town outside of the burned out warehouse district we found ourselves but as a highlight of a town it was only slightly better than the depressing warehouse and railway vistas of Providence, RI.
Ultimately that would be my major criticism of the race — a city marathon should feature and highlight the best aspects of the community. I know that can be difficult and trying for residents with road closures or detours. But it’s a small inconvenience for a mostly positive social and economic impact. And I felt this race just… Was. There were a few moments of spectacle — the Arch is always a nice backdrop and the actual running of the bridges made for some great “across the water” views of one’s fellow runners. But for every one of those there were five to ten “WTF?” experiences. It was fun running through the Anheuser-Busch brewery but then later the highlight of a long stretch was, what, the St Louis IKEA? Just a weird route.
Surprisingly, I felt pretty good despite having run in Jackson the day before. A few inclines here and there, not quite mountains but definitely more than molehills, took their toll. And there was this really annoying guy at roughly my pace who in the early miles threw his half drained cup right at me. Whether intentional or not, it was kinda gross to have backwash infused Gatorade splash onto me even in a small dose. And he was a serial spitter, constantly and loudly clearing his throat only to spit phlegm onto the sidewalk. Maybe he was sick and under the weather… But that doesn’t excuse the time he threw his goo wrapper OFF the bridge. I get runners toss their trash along the course (although I think they should strive to toss it at aid stations or trash cans along the way). But it’s inexcusable to toss your trash off a bridge and into the water.
Somewhere around the late teens I spotted a bit of the sun trying to poke through the grey cloud cover… But it was quickly obscured by the ominous looking stratus clouds. A few slight drops of drizzle was all we had encountered so far and I kept thinking it just needed to hold off another 90 minutes or so.
And somehow it did. The astonishing thing about percentage of possible rain storms is that ultimately it’s always 50/50 — it either will or will not rain. So when there was a 80% chance of rain, it seemed like I was destined to get soaked… Only the 20% paid off and I stayed dry until race’s end. Maybe that chance of success and easy living is the reason the lottery is so popular. But given how little fun I had with even a free ticket, I think I’d rather gamble on marathon race day weather any day of the week.
Finishing the race with a just shy of 3:28, I came in a few minutes UNDER yesterday’s time. On top of that, the lovely woman who handed me my finisher’s medal said my hair looked too good for somebody who had just run a marathon. That comment made my day and I grabbed a photo with her to remember her by.
The food at the finish line included such St Louis staples as toasted ravioli (disappointing) and what sounded like Ted Cruz Custard but was in fact a Diddy Riese style ice cream sandwich from Ted DREWES Frozen Custard. It was delicious.
The wind was picking up as I walked the short distance back to my car (hooray for early arrivals! I’m a genius!). And indeed the rain started just as I got in. Not terrible, not a torrential downpour, but just long enough that coupled with the wind would prove bone chilling.
I grabbed a quick victory photo at the arch and then decided to kill some time before my flight out at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery Tour. I opted for the free tour rather than paying for the smaller and more detailed tours. A lot of people were signed up and the parking lot was almost overflowing. I guess the prospect of two free beers is a good incentive.
A stable visit with the Bud Clydesdales and Dalmatian in the oldest building at the brewery started the tour and then we headed into the brewery proper. Our tour guides tried to describe the history of the company and the process of brewing but nobody was listening. You could practically here the cotton mouths lip-smacking. I wasn’t too keen on a free beer post race but also wasn’t that engrossed in what was being said either. A few bits I did mentally note:
Bud was the ninth brewer in the US taste wise until the founders added rice to the milling process; Bud shot to number one and has remained there ever since, hence the moniker of King of Beers.
They still use their yeast culture from the 1800s and its under armed guard and locked key; if it ever died, so too would Budweiser.
Occasionally the tour guides would ask questions to review material and whoever answered correctly would get an extra beer token for free samples at the tour’s ending biergarten. It was like feeding fish to trained seals.
I did however break away from the tour to snap a photo of this street sign. I saw it while running through the brewery during the marathon but couldn’t grab a pic then. I mean seriously–did Yoda approve this thing?
The guides advised trying the cellar reserve experiments at the biergarten, particularly the one called “Date Night.” In my head I kept thinking it was “Date Rape” and had rohypnol as the secret ingredient. But the description of it made it clear I was wrong… And the prose was oddly beautiful.
I asked for a tasting glass amount as I really didn’t want 16 ounces of anything save a Diet Coke… And they only had Pepsi for the under-21 tourists. It did not taste like pound cake even when I closed my eyes. It just tasted like beer to me.
I came. I ran. I saw “sights.” And now I’m heading home. Not a bad weekend.