Quad Cities Half Marathon
Moline, Illinois
Sunday, September 25, 2016
On Sunday, September 25, 2016 I race walked the Quad
Cities Half Marathon in Moline, Illinois.
The event was somewhat hot as the temperature varied from 71 to 80
degrees with sunny skies and little breeze.
The course utilized 10 miles of roads and 3 miles of a bike path along
the Mississippi River. The half marathon
which had approximately 2700 entries started in Moline, Illinois went across
the I-74 Mississippi River Bridge to Bettendorf, Iowa, looping up and down a
hill to the bike path along the river to Davenport, Iowa, looping through the
downtown to an iron deck bridge back across the Mississippi (It had a series of
linking 3 foot wide carpets across the entire half mile bridge for those who
did not wish to use the iron decking, me included) to Rock Island, Illinois
where the participants entered the Army’s Rock Island Arsenal and transversed
through the Arsenal to an exit in Moline, Illinois for the final half mile to
the finish line. The intersections were
controlled by plenty of friendly police officers from each of the cities and
military personnel in the Arsenal. Turns
had volunteers, arrows on the roads, and signs to ensure that the half marathon
as well as the marathon and marathon relay participants stayed on course. Water/Gatorade stations were located between
1 and 3 miles apart with plenty of efficient, friendly volunteers to take care
of the needs of the field. Because of
the sunny warm weather there were a large numbers of spectators with chairs and
coolers cheering enthusiastically for everyone participating, including military
personnel in the Arsenal. There was also
much live music played along the course.
I have done this event 4 times (1 full marathon and 3 half
marathons). It has been in existence
nearly 20 years and is always recognized as one of the better events in the USA
being extremely well organized with the emphasis on ensuring that all the
participants enjoy themselves tremendously.
My friend and well known ultra-runner, Dane Rauschenberg, was one of the
celebrities at the event and ran the half marathon. There were also several elite runners in both
the marathon and half marathon. I
enjoyed myself.
Me and Dane Rauschenberg at the Exposition before the race
Me before the race
Me after the race
Me and Dane Rauschenberg after the race
posted by Chester Kalb at
5:12 AM
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