Half #185 in the books! Saturday, May 15.
It was another weekend with MainlyMarathons! This time, the reason was to celebrate David Grudzien completing his 400th Half Marathon in St Joseph MO.
St Joseph is about 30 minutes above Kansas City. Because of being near a larger city there were more than the usual number of runners.
The course was located at a recreational sports area behind the St Joe Frontier Casino that comprised mostly of bike and walking paths. A lot of it ran along the Missouri River.
Mainly Marathons often have their races at city parks, state parks and local recreational facilities. Because of that, the race is surrounded with with nature and a calmness that you can’t always find in a big city race! This was no exception!
For me, this was a chance to not only see people in our newfound MM family, but to also see some old friends from the 50 States Half Marathon Club!! David Grudzien, Dan Roehler, Paula Marcelle Daoust, Janice Villers Martin,
Marilyn Kirchgesner, Colleen Mulholland, Andrew Martin, and his wife Emily. Since all of us were vaccinated, it was also the first time in over a year everyone felt comfortable enough to HUG!! Special guest was Zeyda, the cutest dog ever, Dan and Paula’s newest family member!
David was beside himself at the race! Colleen gave him a new cowbell that had “Ring for Beer” on the side… a perfect compliment to his 0.0 “I Just Here to Drink the Beer” shirt. I think his other cowbell Bullie Bell was a little jealous. Also, a number of people said they spotted a phantom walker who did a 5K that looked a lot like David. I will neither confirm or deny such a thing, just like the rumor from the Riverboat series a few weeks ago.
Also celebrating a milestone was JJ Robinson running her 100th Half! Dee Dee Urquhart finished her 200th Mainly Marathon race!
As is expected, the aid station was well stocked with awesome treats, sandwiches, chips etc, all mange’s superbly by some great volunteers. Jesse Rueckert and Daniel Rueckert do an excellent job, and while this post is not nearly as extensive as the ones from the Riverboat Series, it is only because I don’t want to be repetitive with the accolades!! But it is well deserved!!
After the race, David Clark and I toured this historical city a bit. St Joseph was the original starting point for the first Pony Express! Jesse James house is also found here. The city has the honor of having perhaps the first lover’s lane thanks to Eugene Fields who wrote a famous poem for his fiancé (later his wife) entitled “Lover’s Lane St Joe”. Of course we had to stop there too!!
This was a fun trip!!
Now, off to Miami OK for another MM race Sunday! #lovealltheclubs #halffanatics #marathonmaniacs #DoubleAgent
Photo and Race report Credit Jennifer Clark