8 Days, 7 States, 6 Races

Our quest to run races in six states in eight days started with a boom…Boom Island Brewery Beer Run in Minneapolis, actually.

“It doesn’t get more simple than this: walk / jog / run … drink beer … and raise money for local non-profits!” 

That first line of the race website described exactly what we were looking for and when we arrived at the brewery we knew we had made a great choice for our first race. Instead of handing out race bibs with numbers, we were given a blank bib and asked to write our answer to the question of the day.

“What would you bring to a desert island?”

I answered:

And my sweetie wrote “My Swiss army knife” which made my choice even better! It  was amusing to read other runners’ answers.  “Beer” was absolutely a popular suggestion.

When the race started at 11:00 a.m. the temps were already in the 80’s.  

The not very shady but otherwise pleasant course crossed the Mississippi River twice before heading back to the brewery where we were treated to beer, music, and other festivities.

There were a number of shirt options to choose from.  I think the one I chose perfectly describes our quest.

We were happy to add another glass to our collection.

Earlier in the summer a perusal of our trusty runningintheusa.com website had enlightened us about Mainly Marathons.  It is a company devoted to helping runners reach their goal of running races in every state by organizing a series of races on consecutive days in various regions around the country. By offering races mid-week in adjoining states it’s possible to run in up to seven states in a week.

We signed up for four races in their inaugural Prairie Series.

Our first race of their series was in North Dakota. This race actually ran in Minnesota and North Dakota and runners were able to choose which state they wanted it to count for. All of these races start at 5:30 a.m with an optional early start at 4:30.  Although we had happily opted for 5K races, many runners were doing half and full marathons.  The temperatures were sweltering so the early start helped runners beat some of the later day heat.

All of the Mainly Marathon races are held off-road in parks, at schools, and similar locations.  Runners do a specified number of short loops to cover the designated distance for the chosen race.  The races we did had loops of about 1.3 to 2.2 miles.

They use a rubber band system in which after every loop you pick up a rubber band to keep track of your distance.

We gathered with our fellow runners in Minnesota for the start of our North Dakota race.

Before we walked across a short bridge to North Dakota where our race would start we received our instructions:

“Take this Dixie cup and run with it back to the rubber band table and then head out on the full loop.  Turn around at the zebra cage and come back for the next rubber band. When you are finished with your race go to the timing table and say, ‘I’m done!’ and they will give you your time.”

These are, without a doubt, the most unusual directions we have ever heard at the start of a race.  To be honest, we were a bit foggy about the details, but we followed other runners and asked volunteers as we went along.  We did turn at some sort of cage in what I believe was the Chahinkapa Zoo  but alas, there was no sign of a zebra although we did hear peacocks.  We also heard thunder which got progressively louder and was soon accompanied by flashes of lightning.  Part way through our race it began to rain but we were able to enjoy a rainbow and sunrise before it began to pour.

The next morning as we entered the park in South Dakota the sight of figures with single lights on their foreheads moving silently towards us was a bit eerie and made us think of aliens for an instant. Quite a few early runners were already on the course.  As the sun rose we were once again treated to a beautiful sunrise and a scenic location.

In all of these races there is one main aid station that runners go past as they do their loops.

Since we were only doing 5Ks we didn’t need much but there appeared to be an extensive selection of food, drinks, (including individually marked bottles and cups for specific runners) as well as first aid and comfort items like bug spray, sunscreen, and Vaseline.

We finished our portion of the Mainly Marathon series with races in Nebraska and Kansas .

We found the runners and volunteers to be exceedingly kind and encouraging.  No one was disparaging to us for “only” doing 5Ks. The atmosphere was very low-key.  There are no awards for placing.  In fact, given the number of loops that runners complete I think it would be hard to keep track of who was ahead of you.  Timing is casual-no chips, just a volunteer at the table at the end who gives you your time when you tell them you have finished.

The medal system is quite a collection of hardware!  You start with a medal and then add state medallions as you complete them.

We really appreciated the opportunity to run consecutive races in neighboring states to avoid making multiple trips from home. And we found the series to be virtually stress-free (except for remembering how many loops to do and where the course went).  But I think we’ve probably done our last Mainly Marathons race.

Mainly Marathons is a for-profit organization (although they noted that they do donate a portion of their income to “various organizations”) and our impression of the event was that the focus of the runners was to complete their races.  While those are entirely acceptable reasons for races, we missed the feeling of participating in something beyond our own goals. One of the most rewarding parts of our quest has been to run races which benefited specific causes.

While planning this trip, Mike wisely suggested that we run a couple of races that were not part of the series in order to participate in events that had other beneficiaries. As the week progressed and the Mainly Marathon races became “repetitive and redundant” (note the Gilmore Girls line) the thought of running in a “real” race was refreshing.

The Head for the Cure in St Louis, Missouri was our final race and it was exactly what we had hoped for. This race, which is one of many held by this organization, is devoted to raising awareness and funding to support the brain cancer community. As soon as we arrived we felt a bit of relief to once again be running for a cause other than our own quest. The race took place in Forest Park which is a gorgeous venue.

Despite sweltering temperatures

 

the race organizers were prepared to keep runners comfortable.

The race route traveled through quiet tree-lined roads in Forest Park. The addition of hills after four totally flat prairie races along with the heat made this race a bit more challenging.  But we persevered and were thrilled to cross the finish line and complete our 34th state race.

There were many groups gathering to run in honor of loved ones.  The stories presented about survivors after the run were incredibly poignant and really reiterated our feelings about wanting our races to benefit a meaningful cause.

We were surprised to hear our names called during the awards ceremony.  I (amazingly) won first place in my age group and Mike won second place. This unexpected bonus completely topped off the fabulous experience of this last race in our week of traveling the prairie states.

In eight days we traveled to seven states and ran in six of them. We opted out of the chance to run in Iowa since we had checked that state off in an unexpectedly terrific experience at the Lagomarcino Cocoa Beano race in October 2015.

Once again, this trip provided us with the opportunity to run some terrific races and see new areas of the country-and an extraordinary amount of corn!  More about our travels in the next post.

State: Minnesota

Date Run: July 15, 2017

Quest Race #: 29

The Bottom Line: The Boom Island Brewery Beer Run was the perfect run to start our 6 state adventure.  We loved the idea of writing an answer on the bib instead of being assigned a number.

States: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas

Dates Run: July 17, 18, 20, 21, 2017

Quest Race #s: 30, 31, 32, 33

The Bottom Line: Running four races in four states in five days was an excellent way to check several states off of our quest list. It also gave us an opportunity to experience a totally different kind of race. This was our first opportunity to run a race with a Dixie cup and rubber bands!

State: Missouri

Date Run: July 22, 2017

Quest Race #: 34

The Bottom Bottom Line: Running in a variety of types of races during the week, culminating with the Head for the Cure, completely solidified how important it is to us to have the races we run benefit a cause much more significant than our quest. Looking back at all of the races we have done since starting this quest, the ones that are most meaningful are the ones where we felt our presence had benefited something much grander than our adventure. And we are looking forward to many more.