William’s Route 66 Half Marathon
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Sunday, November 22, 2009

Sunday, November 22, 2009 was a nice day to race walk the William’s Route 66 Half Marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze, and the temperature varied from 46 degrees to 54 degrees. The first half of the course was hilly, but contained no challenging inclines. The second half of the course was mostly flat and included 1.5 miles along historic Route 66 and three miles along the Arkansas River. Water/Gatorade stations were locate between 1 and 2.5 miles apart and were attended by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. The course was completely closed to traffic and intersections were controlled by plenty of friendly police officers and support personnel. The pre-race spaghetti dinner was held at the historic Cain’s Ballroom which in the past featured most of the country western singing stars like Hank Williams, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers, when they were at the peak of theirs careers. The pictures of at least 25 such stars were displayed prominently on the walls. The post race events featured a classic automobile show. The marathon and half marathon were extremely well organized and featured live music and plenty of friendly, cheering spectators along the course and at the start/finish line. I enjoyed myself.