Running With Ike - Part One

I was awakened about 3:50 AM on Sunday morning to the sound of heavy rain. Very heavy rain. Torrential rain. It was hard to ignore the sound of the rain and wind and simply go back to sleep, even though my alarm was not set to go off until 5:15. Eventually at 4:45 AM my sister Shelley and I got up. We threw on some clothes and went down to the breakfast area at our hotel. (The hotel was very accommodating and started breakfast @ 4:00 AM for the runners.) There were a few other runners drinking coffee and eating a light breakfast while looking out at the tropical storm going on outside.

We went back upstairs and checked the Weather Channel. Hmmm.... The radar showed a beautiful depiction of the eye of Hurricane Ike (now considered a tropical storm) wrapping around the St. Charles/St. Louis area. We were actually in the eye of the storm as it moved up and across from Texas. Foreboding to say the least.

By 6:15 AM, Howard, Shelley and I were in the lobby looking outside at the continuing storm. Fortunately there was no thunder or lightning. We stepped outside to evaluate the conditions. It was surprisingly cool - the temps had dropped from 74 degrees to around 64 degrees. With the heavy rain and strong winds it felt very cold!

I made a quick trip back to the room to get a cycling rain jacket. When I came back to the lobby, people started to straggle back into the lobby. Some had ventured out intending to run to the start (less than 1/2 mile away), some had already gone to the start on the shuttle bus and decided to return and some had just stepped outside briefly. Many were deciding not to run. Some of the runners who had actually gone to the start area, came back with reports of ankle deep water. I stepped outside again and decided I would at least head to the start.

I did another quick check of my clothing options. If I actually had to run in my plastic rain jacket, I knew it would chafe my bare arms terribly. So, I went back up to the room for a second time to get a long sleeve technical running shirt. Now I was ready. Was I ready to run in a tropical storm? I was about to find out.

Shelley and Howard decided not to run. So, with a quick goodbye, I boarded the shuttle bus. Once on the shuttle bus, it became apparent that we were in the middle of a tropical storm. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I waded through the ankle deep water to deposit my gear check bag (containing dry clothes for after the race) and joined some friends in the start area.

Because the visibility was so poor, it was difficult to judge how many people were lined up. It was far less than the 5,000 originally signed up for the 1/2 marathon and full marathon. For the most part the group seemed to consist of die-hard runners, experienced runners, with a sprinkling of some first-timers.

After singing of the National Anthem, we prepared to start our adventure.