University of Okoboji Marathon

Okoboji, Iowa

Saturday, July 19, 2008



I race walked the University of Okoboji Marathon in Okoboji, Iowa on Saturday, July 19, 2008. The marathon is a very small event with about 100 participants that does a lap and a quarter around one of the three large glacial lakes in north central Iowa. There is plenty of up and down with only small hills; however, it turned out to be somewhat challenging. There were water stations approximately every two miles; however, only one third of them had Powerade, the rest only had water. It rain for over two hours of the event which I did not particularly enjoy. There was little wind but lightning and thunder occurred in the distance. Fortunately it stayed away from me. The roads were open to traffic and some of the course was along highways with cars and trucks traveling over 50 miles per hour. When I finished in a little over 5 hours there was no liquid available for me. The finishers medal was crummy. I would not recommend this race to anyone.

There is one interesting thing about the University of Okoboji. It does not exist. It is a fictitious University that holds events much like the Conch Republic in Key West, Florida. This was the 31st time the event was held.