Brookings Marathon

I ran this race on Saturday and was really impressed by the organization and commitment of the race director and volunteers. Conditions were not ideal. It was 57 degrees at race time with 21 mph winds and intermittent light rain. The latter was less of an issue while I was on the course, but it got heavier for those still out on the course after I finished. The main problem was the wind, which is obviously beyond any race director's control. The course itself had a lot of turns, but these were capably manned by volunteers, and I never worried about getting lost, and traffic control kept me feeling pretty safe on the roads. There were plenty of water stations, although late in the race I had to grab a cup or two off the table. The course had some nice scenic areas, especially Dakota Nature Park, although other parts were pretty nondescript. Grey skies don't tend to show anyplace in its best light though. The biggest challenge in this race was the wind. There was not a whole lot of elevation gain, with one hill in Larson Park around mile 9, but there were a number of grades, and these seemed to be more frequent late in the race, going into the wind. There was also a fair amount of running on sidewalks. Candidly, this may not have amounted to very much in terms of mileage, but it was unusual, and I'm not a fan of running on conrete at age 62. The road surface in general was often a little grainy, as opposed to smooth blacktop. Actually, due to the wet conditions, this probably provided for better footing. There was also about 1/4 mile on dirt road, but conditions weren't terrible. There was also blacktop greenway through the parks and nature area, which I liked best. At the finish, the announcer not only called out my name and home town, but he also called out that I held the 50K age record in my home state and was president of the state psychiatric association. How he knew that is beyond me, and he seemed to have a little special knowledge about each of the finishers, which speaks to the effort this race team puts into making this a special race. I was 16th overall and won my age group, so the reader has to bear in mind that those finishing behind me may have had a different experience, but there was plenty of water and Powerade on the course and plenty of food and drinks after I finished. There was no expo to speak of, and post-race food included cookies and bagels. Age group award was a framed picture of the marathon route. Medal was decent size, shaped like the state of South Dakota.