Missoula Half Marathon
Missoula, Montana
Sunday, July 11, 2010

It was a perfect day for me to race walk the Missoula Half Marathon in Missoula, Montana on Sunday, July 11, 2010. The temperature started around 55 degrees and climbed to 65 degrees. The wind was calm and the skies were sunny. The course was mostly flat with a small hill in the first two miles. The road was closed to traffic for the first 3 miles. The rest of the course was mostly closed to traffic; however, some of the roads had the race on one side and a small amount of traffic on the other side. There were plenty of volunteers controlling the few intersections. Water/Powerade stations were located every 2.5 miles for the first half of the course and were located every 1 mile for the second half of the course. All stations were manned by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. The event was very well organized with 2500 participants in the half marathon and 500 participants in the marathon. After crossing the finish line, all of the participants who wished could pose for a free 5x7 photo which was printed afterwards in the finish area. Free photos at races are very rare and most of the participants took advantage of the offer. This was the fourth year for this event and my third time participating, 2007 and 2009 in the marathon and 2010 in the half marathon. I enjoyed myself as usual.