Go St. Louis Half Marathon
St. Louis, Missouri
Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sunday, April 10, 2011 was a hot day in St. Louis, Missouri when I race walked the Go St. Louis Half Marathon which features 15000 half marathoners, 2500 marathoners, and 500 relays. The temperature was 75 at the start of the race, reached about 84 when I finished, and climbed to 90 degrees by the afternoon. In fact, the race director decided the conditions were so extreme that marathoners who had not reached 10 miles in 2:05 were forced to turn with the half marathoners and only do a half marathon. There were only 1900 finishers out of the 2500 who started the marathon. Unlike so other races which were called off during the race, this event kept all water/Gatorade stations open for the people still on the course who were encouraged to slow down and take it easy. Many participants were treated for heat related problems; however, because the race was very well organized and extra water and Gatorade were available as well as 80 medical personal instead of the usual 60, the severity of the problems seemed to not be as serious as other events that were not as well planned. The course was challenging with long gradual hills on roads that were completely closed to traffic. Spectators lined most of the course and encouraged the participants. My friend, Bart Yasso, of Runner’s World was at the prerace exposition and participated on one of the relays. Despite the heat I enjoyed the event.