The Roots Blues and BBQ half marathon, 5k and 10k is in part of the 3 day Roots Blues and BBQ Music Festival held at Stephens Park in Columbia MO. Registering for the race gives you a discount on festival entrance.
TRAVEL
I flew Frontier nonstop into St Louis and since work gave me a comp stay at the Four Seasons, I decided to just roadtrip it to the race which was about a 2 hour drive to Columbia. With all the attractions to do in St Louis I feel like it was the right decision for my first trip to Missouri.
I flew Frontier nonstop into St Louis and since work gave me a comp stay at the Four Seasons, I decided to just roadtrip it to the race which was about a 2 hour drive to Columbia. With all the attractions to do in St Louis I feel like it was the right decision for my first trip to Missouri.
COURSE
This circle course that starts and finishes in Stephens Lake Park takes you on a journey throughout different city park trails with varying terrains that twists and turns constantly, keeping you guessing what is up ahead next. Wooded paths, bridges, painted tunnels, a cut through the University of Missouri, and very little city street running makes the time go by fast on this course. The mostly flat course does have a few long inclines that keeps things challenging enough.
PARKING
Notice was given that there was no parking at the Stephens Park where the Start/Finish was and suggested a parking garage about .8miles away. All garages were free. I parked there and had an easy walk, but noticed it would be uphill on the way back after the race. Once I arrived to the park, I noticed there were people parking there.
PACKET PICK UP
They had race day packet pick up, which worked perfectly for me since I was staying 2 hours away. However, it was super dark and they did not have any lights set up, leaving me being handed a YOUTH Small tshirt. Good thing I noticed.
START
There were porta potties and regular bathrooms and they didn't seem to have any sort of lines waiting long. Bag drop was only if you brought your own bag and you felt comfortable leaving it in an unmanned corner of the Start area. Unfortunately it was also uncovered and my dry clothes got soaked when it rained.
It was a simple 'one, two, three, go' start on the sidewalk of Stevens Park. The Half Marathon started before the 5k and 10k
WATER STATIONS/FUEL/AID
I do not know what happened with this race and the volunteers/water stations as we are a week out and there still hasn't been communication. There was supposed to be water and 'aid' every 2.5 miles. The first table was around M3 and had 1 person struggling to just get set up. Forgivable. Ive seen it happen before. But when I was passing M8 and there still hadnt been another water table, I was starting to be upset. Thankfully I had found a water fountain or two. Shortly after there was another table but that was only because a group of spectators that had been following us, found the supplies and no one manning the table. So they took it upon themselves to start pouring and handing out the water. THANK YOU! However, they quickly were out of water when I arrived, so I am not sure the back of the pack had anything. There was 1 more table about M11 that had 1 person and the cups of water were ready. However, when I say cups, they really were pill sized cups. You couldn't even get a full swallow with one cup. There was no other form of 'aid' or fuel provided the entire race. No Gatorade or even 'fake' watered down Gatorade. There was no personnel or medical anywhere on course making sure runners were okay. There were no volunteers until the last couple of miles that were directing traffic on the open intersections. There should have been more water and if they knew they were not going to have enough volunteers to get the water on the course, then we should have been advised the previous night to bring our own. I am greatly disappointed that all they provided was the very little water they had, including the finish line.
RESULT
I was excited to get in some good running that wasn't on a dirt trail and not overly hot. It was going to be an almost perfect running day with temps in the upper 50s. It ended up sprinkling the first few miles which i thought made it even better! I was running strong for the first 6 miles when I could tell that my body needed water/fuel. The further we ran without a water station, the further I got upset. Did I miss something? Did I read the runners info wrong? Being on trails, there were not a lot of spectators cheering us on, so all I could do was push through. There was this small group of spectators halfway through and I yelled out to them, I thought you were a water station! A few miles later, they actually were at a water station! They had found the supplies but no volunteers, so they just took it upon themselves to start pouring and handing out water! I found them at the Finish Line and Thanked them! Races really can not happen without volunteers! I mean they can, but then why are we paying to run, when we have to bring our own supplies? Thankfully I did find a couple of water fountains on the course. I ran nonstop the first few miles and then used my 3x30 pacer which I have not used in a long time. I felt really good until about M9 and I just ran by feel. I definitely messed up without bringing Gu. The last mile went right by the Finish but made us run away from it. It felt like forever on that last mile and included a lot of little hills, just enough for you to want it to be over with.
RESULT
I was excited to get in some good running that wasn't on a dirt trail and not overly hot. It was going to be an almost perfect running day with temps in the upper 50s. It ended up sprinkling the first few miles which i thought made it even better! I was running strong for the first 6 miles when I could tell that my body needed water/fuel. The further we ran without a water station, the further I got upset. Did I miss something? Did I read the runners info wrong? Being on trails, there were not a lot of spectators cheering us on, so all I could do was push through. There was this small group of spectators halfway through and I yelled out to them, I thought you were a water station! A few miles later, they actually were at a water station! They had found the supplies but no volunteers, so they just took it upon themselves to start pouring and handing out water! I found them at the Finish Line and Thanked them! Races really can not happen without volunteers! I mean they can, but then why are we paying to run, when we have to bring our own supplies? Thankfully I did find a couple of water fountains on the course. I ran nonstop the first few miles and then used my 3x30 pacer which I have not used in a long time. I felt really good until about M9 and I just ran by feel. I definitely messed up without bringing Gu. The last mile went right by the Finish but made us run away from it. It felt like forever on that last mile and included a lot of little hills, just enough for you to want it to be over with.
FINISH
Crossing the Finish line all i was looking for was water! I downed an entire bottle in seconds and headed to find the BBQ, but little did I know they did not even hand out any other runner food.
I was excited for the BBQ sandwich given to the runners, but quite disappointed when I saw the looks of it. Cold, flattened, and not much flavor for Missouri to be a BBQ hotspot. I chugged the one Michelob Ultra. There was a pretty good band playing, but since my bag check/dry clothes got soaked in the rain, I was too cold to sit around and party. I shivered my way to the massage tent. Thankfully the line was short and the masseuse had a blanket! It was a perfect recovery after the run!
Heading back to my car, there thankfully was a random Bird scooter sitting there calling my name, so I gladly took it back uphill! Those things are so fun!
I was excited for the BBQ sandwich given to the runners, but quite disappointed when I saw the looks of it. Cold, flattened, and not much flavor for Missouri to be a BBQ hotspot. I chugged the one Michelob Ultra. There was a pretty good band playing, but since my bag check/dry clothes got soaked in the rain, I was too cold to sit around and party. I shivered my way to the massage tent. Thankfully the line was short and the masseuse had a blanket! It was a perfect recovery after the run!
SHIRT/MEDAL
The shirt is unisex and cotton, but I know that helps keep the cost of the race down. The shirt and medal work well together with the same festival theme
Getting back to St Louis, I found the top BBQ joint in the city, Chappys and ordered some real MO BBQ! ...and since they were next door to Southern Chicken, I grabbed some of that too! Hey, I ran!
ACCOMMODATIONS
I decided to stay in St Louis for a couple of reasons. The nonstop flight and my comp'd stay at the Four Seasons, so unfortunately I did not spend time at the Roots Blues and BBQ festival. In my error, when registering for the race, I did not quite realize how expensive this festival was. After the runners discount, tickets were still $70 for one day. I just couldn't chalk it up for the budget.
My Arch and water view room at the Four Seasons really made my first trip to Missouri! Located downtown along the river and walking distance to the Arch, the Four Seasons also has a rooftop pool, bar and restaurant with the gorgeous views. It is also connected to a casino if you need to get your gambling on.
MUST DO IN ST LOUIS
Of course I had to do all the St Louis rituals-
Visit the Arch....and go UP! I was amazed at the process of going up the Arch and I ended up going at a pretty cool time to see the shadow of the Arch below!
Imos Pizza-St Louis style pizza-not like any other pizza you have had before!
TRavs-Toasted Ravioli-these are everywhere and made a million different ways
Frozen Custard-dare I say I liked it better than gelato?
Gooey Butter Cake-went to Park Avenue and had 2 pieces with coffee-must get the original, but got the pumpkin to be festive!...it was to die for!
St Louis (FREE) Zoo-this is much bigger than you think! Make sure you plan an entire day!
Forest Park-a beautiful green park much bigger than Central Park. The zoo and other attractions are located here, or you can just picnic or ride bikes/scooters
Laumeier Sculpture Park-unique little park right outside of downtown
Bird and Lime electronic scooter rentals-these were so much fun! download the app and pick up a scooter anywhere, ride it around, and leave it anywhere! Bring back childhood memories with this fun little ride! Makes it so much easier to get around downtown!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This race has such high potential, but really fell short. The registration fee wasnt obnoxious, but I still cant help but feel a little ripped off. A lack of water is unacceptable. A lack of volunteers is almost as unacceptable as well. This weekend festival is such a huge part of this community, I cant imagine why neither of these were available. The overall concept of the race/festival combination is great and I would recommend it if you are really interested in going to the festival. I do not feel like the course was private enough with proper security/aid/support and I do not feel the swag/fuel/festival discount received makes up for the registration, which is disappointing because it was a fun course.
St Louis on the other hand was cool and I would highly recommend a trip there. I definitely could have spent some more time here to do more, like The Hill and a baseball game!
13.1-2:30
State #39
Half Marathon #89
MUST DO IN ST LOUIS
Of course I had to do all the St Louis rituals-
Visit the Arch....and go UP! I was amazed at the process of going up the Arch and I ended up going at a pretty cool time to see the shadow of the Arch below!
Imos Pizza-St Louis style pizza-not like any other pizza you have had before!
TRavs-Toasted Ravioli-these are everywhere and made a million different ways
Frozen Custard-dare I say I liked it better than gelato?
Gooey Butter Cake-went to Park Avenue and had 2 pieces with coffee-must get the original, but got the pumpkin to be festive!...it was to die for!
St Louis (FREE) Zoo-this is much bigger than you think! Make sure you plan an entire day!
Forest Park-a beautiful green park much bigger than Central Park. The zoo and other attractions are located here, or you can just picnic or ride bikes/scooters
Laumeier Sculpture Park-unique little park right outside of downtown
Bird and Lime electronic scooter rentals-these were so much fun! download the app and pick up a scooter anywhere, ride it around, and leave it anywhere! Bring back childhood memories with this fun little ride! Makes it so much easier to get around downtown!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This race has such high potential, but really fell short. The registration fee wasnt obnoxious, but I still cant help but feel a little ripped off. A lack of water is unacceptable. A lack of volunteers is almost as unacceptable as well. This weekend festival is such a huge part of this community, I cant imagine why neither of these were available. The overall concept of the race/festival combination is great and I would recommend it if you are really interested in going to the festival. I do not feel like the course was private enough with proper security/aid/support and I do not feel the swag/fuel/festival discount received makes up for the registration, which is disappointing because it was a fun course.
St Louis on the other hand was cool and I would highly recommend a trip there. I definitely could have spent some more time here to do more, like The Hill and a baseball game!
13.1-2:30
State #39
Half Marathon #89
Pink Feet is on Year 8 of running a half marathon a month, while also completing the 50 states, with the final race each year being The DONNA Marathon in February! Funds raised benefit The Mayo Clinic and Donna Foundation. My mission is to help spread the word of breast cancer prevention, early detection, and living a healthy lifestyle including running and walking. My overall goal is to raise $100,000 for breast cancer charities in which over $69,000 is currently raised. Donations are currently being accepted HERE
Or you can mail a check to:
Donna Foundation
11762 Marco Beach Dr Ste 6
Jacksonville FL 32224
Memo-PinkFeet
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