Sturgis Falls Half Marathon 6/30/19 Cedar Falls, IA
Weather: 80+ degrees, humid
Terrain: Paved recreation trail, roads
Distance: 13.1 miles
My first half marathon ever was the Sturgis Falls half marathon in 2007. Since then I have run/walked it 8 times, missing it only the three times I've been out of town (usually for other races) and the year that I gave birth a couple months earlier (I did the 5K instead). I train on these trails, I drive on these roads. I know this course. That said, this race is always one of the most miserable, "why can't I quit you?" events on my calendar. Why? Because it's late June in Iowa, where at least 3 of the following 5 components will be present: 1) heat 2) humidity 3) rain 4) mosquitoes 5) gale-force winds. This year we had 1, 2, and 4, which slowed everyone down a bit. In fact, I crunched the numbers, and usually about 1-3% of the field finishes in over 3 hours. In 2016 when I did this race, it was quite hot and 5% finished in over 3 hours. This year? NINE PERCENT. Also the winning time was about 7 minutes slower than usual. Just wanted to tell you guys right off the bat what we were dealing with today.
Temperatures topped 80 degrees at the 7 AM start of the race, but no matter! We were off and running! The half course split off and we started on the long flat out-and-back along the river. Fortunately I'd put my bug spray on. I was pleased to see the mile 2 aid station was present and accounted for, as sometimes it is missing. Ah, Sturgis, you fickle gal. There were some teen boys pointing the way and I saw one dancing, so I called out "show me a dope dance move!" and he immediately launched into this cool Michael Jackson spin move that led to his buddies doing a "Con-NOR! Con-NOR!" chant. It was fantastic.
We continued to the turnaround just past mile 4, which is on a sunny section that goes uphill, then we turn around and go back down. This sunny part was maybe a mile or so but it felt like being shot in the face with a shotgun slug made of HOT. Back to the shade for the slog back to the park (the teen boys did the running man), up out of the river valley at around mile 8. Uphill in the sun for a good 3/4 mile. Lots of walking in this portion. This is the part of the race where everyone starts to look like participants in Stephen King's "The Long Walk," but people were continuing to be in surprisingly good spirits. Everyone was encouraging each other and saying "good job" to strangers and such. I'd never seen such a love fest at Sturgis. We were all in this together, to quote High School Musical.
The out and back on Grand Boulevard is always a treat. One house left an amp in the driveway blaring the Hamilton soundtrack. Nothing makes a middle-aged gal jog more quite like hearing "My Shot" blasting in an upper-middle-class residential neighborhood. Two fine citizens left hoses shooting into the street to create cooling stations for the runners, which was a brilliant idea and I'm surprised nobody's done it before. Then again this year's race was at least 10 degrees hotter than ever before. Turnaround and back down Grand (as usual, I heard the song "Call Me Maybe" on this stretch), this time going DOWN the 3/4-mile hill, which was sublime. My splits resembled a bit of a bell curve, with the slowest miles being around 8-10 and then getting faster again.
We went past the utility company for yet another out-and-back section from mile 11-12 and the aid station had the Holy Grail of hot-weather race fuel: ICE WATER. I was so excited I took two cups and immediately dumped one down my shirt and the other down the back of my shorts. You may laugh but it is the best way to cool off. It perked me up enough to jog more as we looped the turnaround (staffed by the most enthusiastic teen girls yet!) and went back past Ice Water Heaven where I grabbed two more cups, this time for my shirt and the FRONT of my shorts. I jogged as much as possible to the finish (just under three hours! Woop!), where I took my medal, walked over to a sprinkler that had been positioned near the beverage tubs, and immediately sat down on the street and let the spray soak me from head to toe.
Pros:
Temperatures topped 80 degrees at the 7 AM start of the race, but no matter! We were off and running! The half course split off and we started on the long flat out-and-back along the river. Fortunately I'd put my bug spray on. I was pleased to see the mile 2 aid station was present and accounted for, as sometimes it is missing. Ah, Sturgis, you fickle gal. There were some teen boys pointing the way and I saw one dancing, so I called out "show me a dope dance move!" and he immediately launched into this cool Michael Jackson spin move that led to his buddies doing a "Con-NOR! Con-NOR!" chant. It was fantastic.
We continued to the turnaround just past mile 4, which is on a sunny section that goes uphill, then we turn around and go back down. This sunny part was maybe a mile or so but it felt like being shot in the face with a shotgun slug made of HOT. Back to the shade for the slog back to the park (the teen boys did the running man), up out of the river valley at around mile 8. Uphill in the sun for a good 3/4 mile. Lots of walking in this portion. This is the part of the race where everyone starts to look like participants in Stephen King's "The Long Walk," but people were continuing to be in surprisingly good spirits. Everyone was encouraging each other and saying "good job" to strangers and such. I'd never seen such a love fest at Sturgis. We were all in this together, to quote High School Musical.
The out and back on Grand Boulevard is always a treat. One house left an amp in the driveway blaring the Hamilton soundtrack. Nothing makes a middle-aged gal jog more quite like hearing "My Shot" blasting in an upper-middle-class residential neighborhood. Two fine citizens left hoses shooting into the street to create cooling stations for the runners, which was a brilliant idea and I'm surprised nobody's done it before. Then again this year's race was at least 10 degrees hotter than ever before. Turnaround and back down Grand (as usual, I heard the song "Call Me Maybe" on this stretch), this time going DOWN the 3/4-mile hill, which was sublime. My splits resembled a bit of a bell curve, with the slowest miles being around 8-10 and then getting faster again.
We went past the utility company for yet another out-and-back section from mile 11-12 and the aid station had the Holy Grail of hot-weather race fuel: ICE WATER. I was so excited I took two cups and immediately dumped one down my shirt and the other down the back of my shorts. You may laugh but it is the best way to cool off. It perked me up enough to jog more as we looped the turnaround (staffed by the most enthusiastic teen girls yet!) and went back past Ice Water Heaven where I grabbed two more cups, this time for my shirt and the FRONT of my shorts. I jogged as much as possible to the finish (just under three hours! Woop!), where I took my medal, walked over to a sprinkler that had been positioned near the beverage tubs, and immediately sat down on the street and let the spray soak me from head to toe.
Pros:
-Aid stations. They all had Gatorade and water this year! And the ice water at mile 11.5...MWAH. Also they had BodyArmor at the end which is my favorite thing.
-People. Great volunteers (I think a lot of them are high school athletes, since the race is now put on by the local booster club) and participants!
-Course. I like all the out-and-backs. You get to see lots of folks and you don't feel so lonely in the back of the pack.
-People. Great volunteers (I think a lot of them are high school athletes, since the race is now put on by the local booster club) and participants!
-Course. I like all the out-and-backs. You get to see lots of folks and you don't feel so lonely in the back of the pack.
Cons:
-Weather. I can't blame the race for that, though. But it is a factor in a late-June race.
-Shirt. It's not great, also anyone thinner than me would be kind of screwed because the Small is still pretty big. If I'm wearing a Small, I don't know what women who are a foot shorter than me and weigh 70 pounds less would wear.
-Shirt. It's not great, also anyone thinner than me would be kind of screwed because the Small is still pretty big. If I'm wearing a Small, I don't know what women who are a foot shorter than me and weigh 70 pounds less would wear.
Race Grade: A-. Despite the heat, this was the smoothest running of Sturgis Falls races that I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of them.
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