Chicago Half Marathon

Chicago Half Marathon -- Chicago. IL

Race recap for state #12 -- Illinois.  9/24/2017


This picture pretty much sums up the race for me in Chicago.  It was hot and I struggled.  More accurately, I had a bit of a melt-down.  This was not a great race for me, but I finished and was happy to be finished.

Registration:

Another registration through Athlinks.  Easy registration, multiple questions and multiple pages to navigate, but easy enough.

 Fee:

The fee for this on was $95.00 and a service fee of $8.41 for a total of $103.41. 

The Expo:

The expo was at Soldier Field.  The entire expo was designed to force the participants to walk through all of the vendor exhibits... twice.

First you had to walk all the way through the concourse to get your race bib, then you had to walk all the way back and around the other way to get your shirt and packet.  I understand the marketing behind it, but it was a bit annoying.

Shirt:

The shirt was another long-sleeved wicking, tech shirt.  I am thinking of cutting off the sleeves of several of these shirts that I am receiving to make them something I can wear more than twice a year.

Race Day:

The race was Sunday at 7:00am.  We started exactly on time.

The weather was 76F at 5:00 am, so I was a little worried about how hot it might be, but figured I would be through before 9:00am so it should not be too bad.  Well, it did warm up and rose to about 89F before I finished and 95F some time after I finished.  It was hotter in Chicago than it was in Tampa.

Race Start Time:

The Half started at 7:00 and the 5 K started at 7:30.  I was long gone by then, so I never saw the 5k.  Although, at about the 5K mark, I was considering making this race a 5K for me instead of the half.  For some reason, I got flush and dizzy just before mile 3.  Had to slow significantly.

Course Map:

The course started in Jackson Park and then on to Lakeshore Dr.  They blocked off the road north bound and south bound.  There was lots of room.  The course went North up Lakshore and then turned around and came back.  I was focused on ways to cross the median and hide for a minute and then come out on the other side essentially saving myself several miles.  I very much wanted to quit for most of the race.  It was not pretty.  really though my training was decent for this race, and was expecting a good time on this flat course.  It did not happen.

This is a picture of me making a concerted effort to smile for the camera.  The best I could muster was a pained look of constipation.  (that might have actually been better)


Accommodations:

I stayed in a AirBnB with Noble and my friend from Illinois.  It was a two bedroom 2.5 bath apartment just a few blocks from the start and finish.  Although it took me 40 minutes to walk back from the finish because I was disoriented and wasn't real sure where I was or where I was going for a while.  Once I figured it out, I was a few blocks too far.

Transportation:

My buddy picked us up from the airport and took us to the apartment.  He brought some bikes with him and pretty much all of our transportation was by bike for 3 days.  The weather was clear and sunny, so we felt like the rides would be fun.  I wonder if all that riding depleted my energy??

Weather:

Weather was great for sight seeing, which we did.  

But it was hotter than I wanted for the race.

Race Morning:

I walked to the start at about 6:20am  Got there about 6:40am, waited in my corral, then the race started.  I really did not talk to anyone, just waited there and then went off for a little jog around the park.  My buddy and Noble rode their bikes and I saw them a couple of times for the first mile, then they went of running errands.  I suppose watching my run is a bit boring.

Race:

The race was well organized.  The start was clean and much easier than some of the other races.  The course was well marked and the roads were wide... plenty of room, which was really nice.  There was very little dodging of racers.  This was my favorite part of the race.

Water/Food Stations:

There were plenty of water and nutrition stations.  Every 2-3 miles.  I saw Gatorade and water at EVERY station.  And they were offering cups of ice at every station on the return -- after the turn around. I saw nutrition gels at two other stations.  The water stations were long, which was helpful because I had fallen back to where all of the stoppers were.  That is, they get their drink at the water station, then stop and walk.  This clogs up the entire station and causes pileups and congestion.  So, I would run to the end of the station, passing all of the stopped runners, then get my drink from the last volunteer... then, of course I would stop.  It was just that kind of race for me.

Scenery:

The scenery was nice, It was a very nice venue along the water's edge.  Had I not had my head down, sweat in my eyes and blurred vision, I would have really enjoyed it.

Race Entertainment:

There really little entertainment that I noticed.  A few DJ's (who were motivating and fun), and one guy with curly red hair, a shirt pulled up to expose his belly and a cow bell.  He banged the cowbell for at least 2 hours and presumably longer.  Plenty of spectators and many were cheering.  Some sitting on the median (the one I wanted to jump over and cross to the other side), some on the side of the road.

Finish:

The finish was crowded with people cheering and having a good time.  They were encouraging all of the runners.  That was nice.  I was very happy to be finished.  I skipped all of the after party and food and drink, pictures, etc.  I just sort of wandered around lost until I figured out where I was.

Bling:

The Medal was the largest medal I have received so far.  I was surprised how big it is and how heavy it is.

Misc:

I suppose everybody has a bad race from time to time.  This was a bad race for me.  I was definitely hydrated adequately, but my nutrition was not the best and I did spend the previous two days out in the sun walking and biking (we were biking fairly hard).  I thought maybe I would be all loose and physically prepared... or maybe I just wore myself out??

I felt like my training was good for this race.  So, not really sure what it was, but it was not my day.  It was not my worst race, Kiawah still gets that designation, but it was close.  I would have thought that I would be getting better after 12 of these races, but that does not appear to be the case.  It will be interesting to see what happens next.

Next stop, Detroit international half.  It starts in Detroit, crosses over into Canada and back to Detroit.  Sounds interesting.  Hope I do better.

Bynum -- Hurricane Irma -- Update

I realize that this blog was originally started as a running blog to update anyone and everyone who was interested in knowing more about my progress with the 50 half marathons in 50 states in 50 months goal that I have set for myself.... BUT... there appears to be a little storm brewing out in the Atlantic and there are several family and friends who are interested to know what is happening down here in Florida.  So, this particular blog I will use to update whoever cares what's happening from my limited perspective.

I will keep it chronological, so you don't have to read the whole thing.  Just scroll down to the time that you are interested in and read from there.

Saturday, September 9, 2:25pm 

I just got back from a run.  The weather is really nice, although there was a bit of a headwind on the run back.  So, I ran 4 miles out, then did interval sprints heading East into the wind.   Ran 5 intervals, walking in between, then jogged back almost a mile.  Almost 7 miles total.  Here is the current weather conditions in Valrico Florida.  Just East of Tampa.



So far today I have driven to the lake house in Winter Haven and moved everything off the patio into the house.  We will likely lose the screen, but I did not want any of our patio furniture flying through the air into the neighbors house.  Just about all of the neighbors there are staying around.  They have stayed for all of the storms since they have lived there.  They intend to watch out for our house since we will not be there.

Valerie and Keeley have moved all of the movable stuff out of our yard here at our house in Valrico and moved it all into the garage.  We have taken important papers and money and some clothing, etc. and placed it into vacuum sealed bags just in case we take on water.  (BTW.  It appears as if the story of putting your valuables in the dishwasher for safe keeping from the water is not an accurate story.   I hope we don't have to test it.)  We have removed all of the pictures off the walls in case they were to get knocked off.  It only took a few minutes and would potentially save us from having to clean up broken glass.  It looks like we are moving.  Where is that moving truck anyway?



The boys are busy playing in the yard and swimming in the neighbor's pool.




We have plenty of food and plenty of water, frozen and unfrozen.  All of our devices are charged up.  We have flashlights and batteries and candles and propane and a gas grill.  5 or six of our immediate neighbors have a generator and have told us that we could use their refrigerator or whatever we need if we need.

We have had multiple friends offer to help us if we are in a worse position than they find themselves and vise versa.

My mom has invited us over to her house on the other coast.  I am pretty sure she is not happy with me for not accepting her invitation.

I have my office three miles away that has everything we might need and could function as a house in the event that this one and the lake house are inoperable.

3:00 pm Sat.  Sept. 9


The latest track of hurricane Irma shows her pushing further and further West.  Generally speaking about a hurricane in the Atlantic, we would pray that it push off to the East so it does not impact anyone.... and it often does just that.  This one appears to want to keep pushing West, which puts those of us on the West side of Florida at risk.  If there is any good news for us, it would be that the storm has downgraded to Category 3 -- for now. -- and could potentially continue to push West and miss Florida all together.  The downside to that is the potential for damage to the panhandle and/or Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.

Please keep in mind that what you see on the news is not what is happening right now in the state of Florida.  There is certainly danger, but that danger would not be until Sunday evening or so.  I will keep you updated here.  Right now we are making sure that we are prepared, but we are not freaking out.  There will most certainly be wind and wetness.  There could be flooding and we might lose some possessions.  We are about 40 miles inland from the coast.  We are NOT in a flood zone.  We are NOT in a mandatory evacuation zone.  We are NOT being stupid or unsafe.  We are NOT worried about our possessions.  We have taken precautions and we have decided to stay home and see what happens and deal with it when it does.  The children are well aware of what is happening and they are in NO danger.  We have a few safe places in our home, near the center,  that have no windows and nothing that could fly around and hurt someone.  No one is looting, not even us, lol.  Valerie is planning some hamburgers on the grill for dinner this evening.  I'm hungry... and tired.

Stay tuned if you are interested.  We love you all and thank you for your concern and support and prayers and offers.

4:15pm
The extreme outer bands have reached the area.  Light winds only.  A little cloudy.  We are expecting rain soon.


7:40 pm
Very light winds.  Darker than normal because of the clouds.  A couple of small rain drops, but nothing really.  I would not even take an umbrella if I were going out.  In fact, Valerie and I went out to a friend's house and had a nice prayer meeting a few minutes ago and the windshield wipers did not even come on.  The forecast looks like it is still pushing West a bit and moving slower than they anticipated.  Still downgraded to Cat 3.  Looks like it is not forecasted to be over us until 2:00 am Monday morning.  I guess I will not be working on Monday and possibly Tuesday either. (Is it possible that this storm was created and planned by my employees in an effort to get a vacation???... hmmm....)


10:00 pm Saturday

Still pretty much the same.  It appears that the storm slowed a bit over Cuba and decreased in intensity all the while heading West.  The latest track shows much of the same as the above.  The satellite image shows that Irma has started to turn slightly to the North as predicted.  So, it looks like the previous projections are proving accurate.  I am waiting for the 11:00 pm advisory, then off to bed.  The weather outside is calm and normal.  You wold never know we were about to get 100+ mph wind gusts.  The air-condition is working hard keeping us cool.  I am not looking forward to the power going out and losing the A/C.  Not sure I will make it till 11:00.  I may get to bed and get a good rest. -- Well, now that I think about it, I am watching football, so I'll probably stay up for a while.

11:22 pm Saturday

The 11:00 advisory shows that Irma did begin to move NorthWest.  But continued to move West.  This report also suggests a decrease in the storm intensity to Cat 3.  Currently the forecast shows the storm hitting land in roughly the same spot, around late Sunday evening, but kind of brushing the West coast of Florida and at something lower/smaller than Cat 3 -- winds around 110 mph (much better).   Potentially she continues West and the worst of the storm happens out in the Gulf and affects no one.  The european model is the next advisory and it does not come out until 2:00am.  I am certain that I will not stay up for that.  I'll sleep soundly knowing that God is in control.  We will see what she looks like in the morning.  Good night all. Thanks for your prayers.

6:49 am Sunday, Sept.10

Good morning.  We got a good night's sleep last night.  It rained, but that is not atypical and it was a typical type of a rain.  No significant wind noticed.  Just some rain. This is the view out my front door.  Looks like a normal day after a night of rain.  Not uncommon. (Noble mowed the yard Friday, so it still looks good.)  I'll take a contrasting picture after the storm, but before I make him go back out there and clean up the debris, lol.)



Irma appears to have begun her expected trip up to the North.  Over night her path appears to have been straight North.  The 6:00 am advisory shows her expected path to be brushing the West coast of Florida and on land in our area somewhere around 2:00am Monday.



I am praying for anyone still in the Florida Keys and for those who have left their homes.  Some models have her at Cat 4 and others have her at Cat 3 at the moment... a big storm either way and will leave a lot of damage in her wake in Key West.

We are safe and in good shape -- for the moment.  The kids and Valerie are still sleeping.  Now it is time for some God time and start my day.  I'll keep you updated.

8:34 am Sunday

I just had to check my pulse because I thought I might be dead.  Watching the news, it appears as if I am dead or dying.  The good news, or bad news depending on who you are, is I am NOT dead.  I DO have a pulse, and my roof is still on my house.  I find that I can only watch the news in short bursts.  I am not at all nervous.  At least not until I hear all of the doomsday reporting.

There is a rain band over the area at the moment.  Light rain, light wind.  We are NOT in danger.  We are NOT running scared.  Keeley is still sleeping soundly.  We have power and Valerie is making waffles. (I had leftover Chinese food for breakfast :)~ ).

Our plans for today are to relax and spend some time together as a family, enjoying each other's company.  We will play some board games, watch some animated movies, tell some stories.  Our big plans for the day as it relates to planning for the storm is to make sure that we have everything prepared for the eventual and inevitable loss of power.  We WILL lose power.  When and for how long are the only variables.

Church is cancelled today.  I will update when there is anything different to report. -- or maybe sooner as I might get bored.  OK... probably sooner.  Chances are I will not run today.  Maybe I will "run" on the elliptical.   Oooh, that's a good idea.  Hope you all have a great day!!

11:29am

Just like a woman, this storm is being a little stubborn and a little unpredictable. (yes ladies, you could substitute "man" in that last sentence for "woman".  That would be OK).  Irma has move East a bit and then straight North.  It appears if she will make contact Florida south of the Naples area.  If this is the case, then it will be devastating for them, and will likely weaken the storm significantly for us.  

I read earlier that this period of waiting on Irma is like waiting for your father to come home to give you a beating and the media is like your mother threatening you saying, "You wait till your father gets home!"

We are experiencing rain.  It has been raining steadily for 3-4 hours now.  There are some wind gusts about 30mph, but not sustained winds.  Mostly it is just a bit breezy and rainy. We still have power and water and no trees down at the moment.  Irma is currently listed at a Cat 4, but expected to weaken again to Cat3 once it makes land fall and then weaken significantly from there.  If the current projected path remains constant, that would put the eye on our East side and this would give us southern winds instead of northern winds, which they say will be MUCH better for us.  We are praying for the First Responders who are willingly placing themselves in harms way and their families.  We are also praying for those in and from the Naples and Marco Island areas.

Keeley is still sleeping.

Time to prepare for lunch:


12:45 pm Sunday

Nothing new to report -- but it is a party in the driveway.


3:35 pm Sunday

Keeley woke up in time for lunch.

Good news/bad news -- really just depends on your perspective.  Irma has not yet hit land in Florida... but is due to make landfall right about Naples/Marco Island within an hour.  She is currently pushing winds of 120mph.  That is a weak Cat 3.  When it hits land, it will weaken further.  They are suggesting that it will continue north on land toward Tampa, but it will be weakening all the way, so it may be at Cat 1 by the time it gets here.  She has tracked straight North for several hours.  So, they are fairly confident in the projected path.  The next official track will come out at 5:00pm.

I tried to workout on the elliptical.  I rode it for 30 min on its highest speed, but I did not feel like I got enough of a workout, so I decided to go for a run.  I ran a little 5k around the neighborhood.  It is like a ghost town out there.  I saw maybe twelve cars, and I ran on the major highway in our town.  All of the stores were closed and it was raining with a light wind.  A little spooky without anyone around.  For a minute, I started to wonder if I got "left behind".  I ran down one road and there was a large tree down in the middle of the road and one of the homeowners got out his big utility truck and some chains and tried to pull the tree off the road.  I stopped and helped him tie the chains around the tree and to the trailer hitch.  He almost had it off the road when another homeowner came running out barefooted, bald with a rain coat and a beer and began screaming obscenities at this man.  The best I could tell through all of the cuss words, the bald guy was expressing his concern that the good citizen would "mess" up and pull down the power line and bleep, bleep, bleeping, bleep, bleep.  Of course, the good citizen screamed back to the bald guy something about bleeping, bleep, with live bleeping power every bleeping day.  It got fairly heated and they were not happy with each other and were getting very close to each other.  I restarted my watch and ran the rest of the way home.  I think they both had everyone's best interests at heart, but unable to communicate effectively with each other.  Sad, but I did not want to be a part of it.  I hope they got it worked out.  I did see a TECO truck headed that way, not sure if they were called to the scene or not.  I hope they worked it out.

Wind is starting to pick up.  We just heard a tree break behind our house, but we did not hear it land.

We were just informed that the sewage lift station in our neighborhood has already failed and we are asked to limit our usage of the facilities.  Awesome.  Oh well, I guess I'll shower outside.  More later if I am able. still have power, still have water, still have a pulse. -- and faith!

6:27pm Sunday

We are starting to "feel" the effects of the storm.  The wind is picking up and the rain is steady.  Trees are starting to fall and break branches.



The retention pond in the back is starting to take on water.
We expect to lose power any time now as a tree or branch will likely fall and take out a power line.
The kids are getting cleaned up and ready for bed.  We have all had a hot meal and are prepared to be without power for as long as it takes.  The latest advisory still shows Tampa in the target of the middle of this storm, but the winds are slowing.  We are expecting a Cat 1.

Just heard another tree branch fall in the back yard.

All of our devices are charged up to 100%.  I will keep you updated if and when I am able.  Ready for some board games.

7:26 pm

Looks like she still want to aim right for us, but she is slowing down.  Currently a Cat 2.  Still projecting a Cat 1 by the time it gets to Tampa.  Wind is continuing to pick up.  Power has flickered off and back on several times.  We imagine it will be soon when we lose power all together.  

The forecast is that we will not be sleeping much tonight.  Trees and branches continuing to crack and break and fall.  BTW... IF I NEVER HEAR THE WORDS HUNKER DOWN AGAIN, IT WILL BE TOO SOON!

9:00 pm Sunday



Amazingly we still have power and internet and water and cell service.  Lots of rain.  More and more wind.  Tree branches are cracking and falling all around us, but so far there does not appear to be any damage.  The storm is just south of us right now and headed this way.  But, as you can see from the graphic above, the wind speeds are still decreasing.  We are expecting 70-85 mph winds when it gets here -- which should be around 2:00 am.  wind speeds are about 40-45mph right now.  All of the rain is enough to take down the tree branches and even some trees.  Add in some heavy and sustained winds, and the trees, if not just the branches come down around us.  So far so good though.

Kids are playing games and we are just chillin.  God is good! and we are doing great.  Might be a rough night, but it looks like we are going to be way better off than anyone thought.  This was close to being catastrophic.  Thankful that this will be minimal.  Praying for those in and from the Naples area and all of those affected by flooding in the Miami area.

I am hoping for a restful nights sleep.  Hoping that we are not woken by a tree in the house or anything like that.

10:10 pm

Still have power, somehow.  Winds are picking up.  we are seeing sustained 40 mph and gusts up to 50-60.  I am guessing a little and following along with the abc live feed.  Storm is still heading North and moving faster, but wind speeds are still decreasing.  Also storm has continued directly north, so the center appears as if it might pass by us a little to the east.  Still expecting 70-85mph sustained winds somewhere 12:00-2:00 am.

My concern is what will happen after the storm passes.  Sounds weird, I know, but what happened in Naples may happen here as well.  The storm sucked out all of the water and when the storm passed it pushed all the water back in and the storm surge as well, which flooded Naples.  Naples, FL (164 miles south of here) -- below -- appears to be flooded pretty good.


The same thing MAY happen here.  Earlier today they showed pictures of Tampa Bay.  People were walking on the bay.  The water used to be there... but the storm sucked it out.  People were walking out what looked like more than a couple hundred yards.  Normally they would be under water.

So, when the storm passes and the storm surge comes back in with all of that water.  I wonder if we will have some problems.  As I mentioned, we are about 40 miles from the coast, but closer to the bay.  I am guessing about 20 miles east of the bay.  Either way, there may be a bunch of flooding in the Tampa area... same as in Naples.  Also, there was apparently a great deal of flooding in Miami too.  This could be a problem for us.  Not sure how it will play out.  I'll update you tomorrow if I can.  Pray for no flooding.  Thanks!!!

1:00 am Monday, Sept. 11

It appears as if we have weathered the worst of the storm.  The storm is just passed us to the north.  It passed by us with winds of 100-110 -- a Cat 2.  The reports suggest that we sustained wind gusts of 85mph.  It was certainly windy.  Trees were cracking and branches falling, but as far as we can tell nothing has damaged the house.  I have not been to my office, but our house seems to be fine at the moment.  I will report what I find in the  morning.

Winter Haven is reported have taken the highest winds in our area -- of course that is where the lake house is.  I suppose I will drive over there tomorrow and check out the damage.  Oh well.  The family is safe and the winds have died down.  The kids are now sleeping and all appears to be well.  There is still some concern about flooding with the storm surge.  Hoping and praying that we do not have the significant flooding like Naples and Miami.

We have maintained power the entire time.  Valerie just told me that the lamp post outside our front door is missing... gone... weird.  We were spared the major damage.  So thankful as many, myself included thought this was going to be much worse.  Praise God.

Still praying for others who were affected more than us.

5:10 am Monday

Managed to get a few hours sleep.  Something woke me, but everyone else is still sleeping.  The house is fine.  It is still very windy.  The back side of the storm is still affecting us.  I have no idea if there is any further damage at this moment, but I think we fared very well and we are extremely thankful that we were spared here.  Valerie and the kids are safe and comfortable, in their own beds.    We still have power.  The flooding that I was concerned about does not appear to be a major issue yet, but the news is suggesting that there may still be some flooding.

This morning I will go check on the neighbors and my office and the lake house.  Winter Haven apparently took a beating. THINGS can be replaced.  We are not at all concerned.  Just thankful we are all safe.  Thank God!!

8:45 am Monday

I went out to the office to check on the status there.  It took me a while longer than usual to get there as I had to change roads multiple times because there are trees down over the roads everywhere.  I saw no less than ten trees down and laying on the road.  Many of them had taken the power lines with them.  Miraculously the office is fine.  The power is off because of the downed trees, but otherwise in fine shape -- which is good because last year I remember the same scenario.  It cost me about $15,000 in tree removal alone.  Not so bad this year.

We have little trees down in the yard here at the house and the lamp post is not gone.  It did not disappear,  but it did fall over.  We will have some clean up to do , but nothing structural.

There are a few houses in the neighborhood that have trees fallen on them.  No one appears injured, just some minor house damage.

We are headed over to the lake to see what kind of damage is there.  I don't think we will fare so well there, but we will see.

It is still windy and some heavy gusts, but Irma has passed us and we are confident this is the worst of the damage.  Here is a picture of the back yard at the moment.  Could definitely have been worse!!

Thanks for all of your prayers and support.

We are going to start the clean up now.

God bless you.  Have a great day.

Mesa Falls Half Martahon

Ashton, Idaho -- Mesa Falls Half Marathon

Race recap for state #11 -- Idaho.  This race was August 26, 2017.  I decided to wait for the photos before I posted the race recap... then I was out of town.  I am certain that ALL of you have been anxiously and impatiently waiting.  Sorry for the delay.

Registration:

This race was registered through Athlinks... another membership that means nothing to me, does nothing for me, for which I will never remember my password, but really does not bother me too much.  In the end, they had a problem with the membership registration so I don't have a membership after all, but the race registration was successful.... interesting... whatever.

 Fee:

This one was also pretty cheap, in comparison.  I did get a discount, as you can see for being a member of the 50 States Half Marathon Club.

The Expo:

There was no expo.  The pre-race packet pick-up was at the local elementary school.  It was really cute.  There was one hallway with classrooms on either side, then the cafeteria and the restrooms and more classrooms.  Possibly 10 classrooms in total.  In the hallway was the registration desk.  One nice young man pulled up my name on the computer and gave me my packet.

The race packet was a potato sack with all the "stuff" in it.  A nutrigrain bar, a lube stick, some electrolyte gums, the bib, the shirt, a breakfast ticket, a dinner ticket and some coupons.  It was cute.

Shirt:

The shirt was a long-sleeved wicking, tech shirt.

Race Day:

The race was Saturday, but the Half did not start until 8:30 am.  The race organizer suggested that the course was so pretty, they did not want to ruin the scenery with darkness, so they started well after sunrise... the weather was nice, but warmer than it would have been if we had started at the typical 6:30-7:00am timeframe.  The weather was about 10F higher than what my iphone weather showed that it would be.
 
Never the less, it was cooler than the 90Fplus we were having at home.

Race Start Time:

I guess I have covered that already.... but we started right on time at 8:30 and it was still about 60F.

Course Map:

The course started up un the mountains at about 6500 ft.  The first 4.3 miles was downhill and on a trail.  The start was actually in the parking lot of a state park. We had to run once around the paring lot, then down a tunnel under the road and on the trail down the mountain.

Accommodations:

I stayed across the street from the elementary school, which was good, because this is where all the action was.  There was the packet pick-up, there was the pre-race spaghetti dinner, the pre-race breakfast, and the bus pick-up.
The "hotel" was the Rankin Motel.  Valerie saw the pictures twice and BOTH times she said, "Oh, it is cute.  It reminds me of West Virginia.'  Verbatim... both times.

BTW.  As I am in my room after the race recovering.  Still wearing my race shirt with the bib on it.  Some 20-25 year old girl enters my room and with her back to me looks around, then turns to me, notices I am sitting there and she says, "I am looking for my keys."  I said, "Well, I have MY room key." and I pointed to my key on the night stand.  She looks over at it and says, "Oh... OK."  and walks out.  I never saw her again.  I was on the phone with Valerie -- actually we were Facetiming.  it was weird, but we got a good laugh.

Transportation:

I rented a car from the airport in Idaho Falls and drove to Ashton, about 40 min. through the fields.  The transportation from the elementary school to the race start was by bus.  They rented 3 buses that carried all of us to the start.

Weather:

I guess I already covered the weather also.  Suffice it to say, it was nice.

Race Morning:

Race morning consisted of walking over to the elementary school and having breakfast in the cafeteria.  The people were very sweet.  The whole thing was just quaint and nice.

Race:

This was a smaller race and very low key.  It was the tail end of the full marathon.  The marathon started at 7:00am and the half started at the half way point at 8:30.  I saw 3 or 4 runners from the marathon start down the trail before we got started.  That makes them pretty speedy in my book to have run 13 miles in under 1:30, only to have another 13 miles to go.  ...Phew...  that makes me tired just typing it.

Water/Food Stations:

There were plenty of water and nutrition stations.  Every 2-3 miles.  They had fruit and water and Gatoraide or was it Poweraid?  and Gu packs.  There was even one "station" that was manned by a young boy about 9 years old who was filling Dixie cups with his own bottled water.  He was sweet.  He even turned his sprinkler from his farm on the road, so the runners could get a quick cool down.  I definitely stopped at his station, which was about mile 10.  ~Yeah, that's why I stopped!! ... for the kid!!

Scenery:

The scenery was nice, especially as we ran by the water.

Race Entertainment:

There really was no entertainment.  There were a few people hanging out on the side of the road who were clearly there to cheer on someone specific, but none of them were there for me... so, I just listened to my music and tried to zone out.

Finish:

The finish was pretty simple.  It looked much like the start, only 13.1 miles away from the start.  There were a few dozen people there cheering the runners on to the finish.  They had chocolate milk and fruit and water and Gatoraide and several kinds of pizza.

Bling:

The Medal was a tiny little circle of wood with the race logo stamped ~~ or burned into it.  I will say it is unique.

Misc:

This was technically a down hill race.  The race started at 6500ft and went downhill to about 5300 ft over a period of 4.3 miles on a trail.  I was cruising.  I was running 7:45-8:00 per mile.  I was feeling good and thought I was back on track.  Then we got out on the pavement  and promptly went uphill for 2.5 miles.. back up to 6500ft.  The same elevation gain over 2.5 miles as the previous elevation loss over 4.3 miles.  I was dying.  People started passing me.  I started sweating and breathing heavy and becoming heavy footed.  I apparently don't like hills, and they apparently don't like me.  Then it was downhill, uphill, downhill, uphill... which of course at that point felt like uphill, uphill, uphill, uphill.

I did OK. I finished 1:58... right at 9:00 per mile average.  Not great, but not terrible for me.  If not for the hills, I would have done much better.

The trail portion of the course was nice and scenic.  The rest of the race was through the fields and all I saw was mowed farm land, silos, pavement... and the back sides of several people passing me up a hill.

In all it was a quaint little race.  The race organizers really did do everything they could to take good care of the racers.  They truly seemed to want to make it a good race experience for everyone.  I even received a free huckleberry milkshake.