37/50 - Eisenhower Marathon

Carry on wayward son! Yes, I'm listening to Kansas while typing this

I registered 2 days before this race, just as I was about to get in the car for the 10-hour road trip. Ok, this race was on my radar for a few months but I've got a nagging hamstring strain that won't leave me alone. After the Snickers Marathon 5 weeks ago, I needed to address it: physical therapy, Pilates, rest. Just before leaving, I got a call from my son Mars' school that he fell off the playground equipment. After an ER trip and 4 staples in his head, I was on the road. Poor kid.

Abilene "City of the Plains", Kansas was considered the wildest town in the west as a bustling stockyard for cattlemen traversing the Chisholm Trail after the Civil War. It is also the birthplace of the cowboy boot; true story. Nowadays, it is home to the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Dwight Eisenhower's boyhood home, and about 7,000 people. The main drag is lined with stately colonial homes surrounded by less fortunate dwellings. I couldn't find anything wild (oh, I looked) but President Eisenhower was a fascinating man!

President Eisenhower's boyhood home

Boots made for Ike as President

While looking for Kansas marathons to run a sub-3-hour race, this one came up as the best option. Most of my research for this 50-state marathon goal comes from Marathon Guide. This is a small race that combines the marathon with a half marathon, 10K, and 5K and is set up as 2 half marathon loops. I like these. You get to survey the course then you know what to expect on the second loop. For small races, it ensures you're never alone for too long.

I've mentioned before that I don't have a pre-race regiment. Enter Joe Snuffy's fried chicken. This homey diner is reminiscent of your grandparents' wood paneled, drop ceiling basement - probably with similar cooking. I listened as the pre-dinner staff meeting unfolding in front of me discussed the exotic special item for the evening: gyros. Or is it gee-rohs. Or maybe guy-roos. No one could be quite certain. This place knows fried chicken.

It was as greasy (and delicious) as it looks

The first loop went well. You climb slightly uphill to the 6.5-mile turn around then coast back down to the start line. I fell into second place after a few miles and that hamstring kept its mouth shut. Lap number 2 brought the sun and warmer temperatures - the day would reach the low 80s. I realized at this point that 2nd place was secure so I dialed it back a bit. There is a part of me that truly enjoys the thrill of just finishing under 3 hours. I like to get to a point in a marathon where I determine that I can still run a sub-3-hour race by dialing back the remaining miles to a 7-minute pace. It's a dance with the clock and any miscalculation can cost me the entire goal. By finishing in 2:58:33, I kept it exciting and had minimal pain in the hamstring. I now have 31 sub-3-hour marathon states completed. Another one bites the dust!

I won $300, I'm a paid runner! Time to take myself seriously, get some sponsors, and post my running exploits incessantly - complete with a lot of unnecessary pound signs. Or I can just hit up the donut shop on my way out of town and spend with reckless abandon. I think you know what I did. #donuts.

This is Mary Eisenhower, Dwight's granddaughter, handing out the awards

From Abilene, it's 2.5 hours to Kansas City, MO (I could have made it longer as I stopped to consider a visit to the Wizard of Oz museum but hunger won). Kansas City, KS is not a city to me because all the great BBQ is on the Missouri side. I drove straight to Danny Edward's BBQ for burnt ends. It's another 4 hours to St. Louis where I met with friends at Perennial Artisan Ales (a highlight of the St. Louis Marathon blog post 2 years ago).

You know it's good by the bars over the windows and doors

Rural America is beautiful. I love to drive through areas of wide open space, poverty and wealth, historic land and buildings, stocked with podcasts, music, and NPR. Having conversations with locals is what moves me to see more and see differently. Try it. I haven't been to a state marathon I haven't enjoyed because of it... or maybe I just enjoyed 4 peaceful days without the kids.

Next up: Ohio in a couple of weeks.

So serious