Eisenhower Half Marathon
Abilene, Kansas
Saturday, April 10, 2010

The temperature held near 55 degrees as I race walked the Eisenhower Half Marathon in Abilene, Kansas on Saturday, April 10, 2010 to a surprising third place finish in the Male 60-64 running age group. (As in most marathon events that I do, there was no walking division and I counted as a runner. I seldom walk fast enough to win a running age group award.) On this day the skies were overcast and there was a gentle breeze. The out and back course is relatively flat with the elevation fluctuating about 100 feet throughout, having gentle up hills and down hills. Only a few police officers were needed to eliminate all traffic from the very rural highway and roads used for the event. Water /Powerade stations were locate about every 1.5 miles and were manned by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. The people of Abilene are extremely friendly and let you know that they really appreciate that you entered their event and were willing to travel to such a remote location. The race committee is the Viola Family, relatives of President Eisenhower. Near the starting line are the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum as well as his boyhood home, which I enjoyed touring later in the afternoon. The spaghetti pre-race dinner is delicious and very reasonably priced at $8 per person and there is a pancake and sausage breakfast after the race that is included in the entry fee. I did the marathon in 2007 and was extremely impressed by the event at that time and the 2010 event was even better. I recommend this small friendly event to anyone who is willing to travel to this remote location.
Abilene has much historical significance as it was the end of the Chisholm Trail which was used after the civil war to drive millions of cattle from Texas to the Union Pacific Railroad Station in Abilene for transport to the population areas in the Eastern United States. Abilene lawmen Tom Smith and Wild Bill Hickok became famous for their attempts to establish law and order there. In fact the cabin in which Wild Bill lived is still there as well as other historical buildings from before 1900. Seeing historical places and visualizing historical events is something I enjoy. I had a wonderful time.