Des Moines St. Paddy's Marathon
We arrived in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday night before the marathon. Packet pickup was at the Fleet Feet store in front of the state capital where the race would start and finish. Pickup was efficient and quick. The race provided a nice green hoodie. The weather was beautiful in the 70's. But the race day feels-like temperature was supposed to be 28. The hoodie was nice to have. Many runners wore the race provided hoodie.
Our pre-race meal was at Buzzard Billy's. They had several gluten-free options. The mac-and-cheese was pretty good.
We stayed at the Embassy Suites just up the street from the capital. It was odd that we could park for free on the bridge about 100 yards away from the hotel. Paid parking was available on other streets and a parking garage was also available for a fee. We opted for the bridge.
Being close to the start/finish, we opted to walk to the start on Saturday morning. It was cool and windy. We were well dressed. We left the hotel at 7:17 and arrived at the start/finish at 7:30 for the 7:45 start. When we arrived, we looked around for corrals. But there weren't any. People were huddled up near the science museum, so we blended in. At 7:35, an announcer requested that runners proceed to the corrals and that the race would run away from the capital. The corrals were very informal but once we moved into the street, we could see banners with suggested paces. We lined up with a pacer holding the 4:40 sign.
The roads at the start were filled with cracks. After about a half mile, we ventured off the streets onto a greenway which lasted for most of the rest of the loop. The course for the marathoners was two loops.
The wind was cold and brisk on the way out. Although the half marathoners started with us, there weren't very many packs to blend in with to shelter from the wind. Even early, there were many gaps.
The pacer we started with disappeared quickly. Although we were running 10 seconds a mile faster than necessary, he was running at least 30 seconds a mile faster than his target.
The greenway was smooth, wide, and scenic. Other than the wind, it was a great course.
When we were finishing the first lap, we came within just a few feet of the finish line and then did a U-turn. We were feeling good. But if we weren't, it would have been disheartening to see the finish and know that we were only halfway there. To pass the time, I started counting how many runners we were passing in the second half. It's something I like to do to keep me motivated.
On the second half, there were many less runners, but it was rare that we felt alone. The course was not exactly an out-and-back with a loop at the end. The way out differs slightly from the way back. On our second time away from town, we almost missed a right turn. There weren't very many volunteers to help runners navigate. But there were a lot of small signs propped up against caution cones. Where we almost missed our turn, was a right turn off of the greenway, through a parking lot, onto a sidewalk before returning to the greenway. At that point, there wasn't a runner in sight.
When we were approaching the 24-mile mark, we saw a guy walking. He would be number the 20th person we passed. As it turned out, he was the pacer all by himself. He must have realized he was 15 minutes ahead of schedule and decided to walk it in to get closer to his goal time.
The finish medal was nice and as a bonus we were given a big beer mug. The post-race food consisted of Cuties, granola bars, cookies, and water.
Paula placed third in her age group and won an extra medal that said "Winner" on the front.
Overall, this was a great race and a nice course. The wind was challenging…but only God can control the weather.
While we were running, we heard there were storms back home and some cars and homes had significant hail damage. Glad we didn't experience that during the race.
