Eau Claire Half Marathon Recap by runner Krista
Thank you Krista for sharing your recap of the Eau Claire Half Marathon. Congratulations on State #19. We want to be the WISCONSIN STATE for all 50 staters!
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The 19th Run State in my 50 states running journey was in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The day after running the Get in Gear Half Marathon in Minnesota, my travel friends and I ran the Eau Claire Half Marathon.
This race had several other distances to choose from over the weekend. There was a 5K, 10K and Kids Obstacle Run on Saturday evening as well as the Race Expo, and then both a Half and Full (bq) Marathon and Four Person Marathon Relay on Sunday. We had fun at the Expo and then did some carb loading at The Cranky Buzzard before heading back to our hotel.
On race morning, temps were in the low 30’s and we were met with light rain and snow flurries as we made our way to the race start.
We had waited in our car with the seat warmers on until the last minute with just enough time for potty breaks, gear check (for dry clothes) and the National Anthem. So we missed Amber again but we got another group pic with most of our “Double Racing Crew.”
It was just as cold as it was when we ran Minnesota the day before except now it was also raining, so once again we layered up. Robin had brought enough rain ponchos for everyone so we all had one “just in case.”
As always, a quick start line selfie before we took off.
Despite the freezing cold and light rain, there were spectators all along both sides of the bridge at the start line! Did I mention the wind?
We made our way through some wide residential roads as it continued to drizzle.
It was amazing how much support we had in this dreadful weather but heres some proof… Spectators were bundled up and wearing rain ponchos to be out there supporting runners!
There were some interesting sights to see as we ran along the river.
We ran through several of these cool tunnels.
There were plenty of aid stations along the course and as I passed this one (about 4 miles in) I noticed runners were starting to warm up and shed their layers.
This bridge crossing had an interesting view of train tracks over the river.
This little guy, looking every bit the “Rockstar,” made my day! Who wouldn’t wanna high-five this cool kid?
There were plenty of portapotties along the course and I made a quick “pit-stop” here at mile 5. While waiting in a short line I met another Half Fanatic named Kris. She was running to honor her beloved fur-baby that had passed away the day she signed up for this race. I also met a young man that was running with his fiancé. She was running her first ever half marathon and he was already so proud of her.
This was a hilly course and as I reached the top of the hill just before “the smile mile” a volunteer told me to be sure and SMILE when I reached the bottom. There were photographers waiting at the balloon archway!
Volunteers and spectators all along the course were FANTASTIC! Especially considering the cold (and wet) weather. Olaf and the Poop Emoji had everyone stopping for selfies. The Hot Dog was super cute and these giant Beer Cans wearing both race bibs and finisher medals were so much fun!
There were a couple of cool and scenic bridge crossings around mile 10 that gave great views of the Chippewa River.
There was another tunnel near Phoenix Park.
Team Lululemon was out motivating runners.
We ran through downtown just a block from the finish line which had me confused because it had all of the energy of a finish line but we still had about 3 miles to go.
We ended up running through another residential area for the next mile. Nearly every house had families out in their driveways with tents, canopies, lawn chairs… they were burning fire pits, some were handing out drinks/snacks and all were cheering us on!
A couple of highlights from mile 11 was this homemade banner hanging over a storefront downtown and (several) beautiful murals. Then in the hood there was a “Whining Station” and OH YES, I enjoyed a nice glass of red as I continued on course, not even knowing that the best was yet to come!
At mile 12 we began THE BLUGOLD MILE. And O.M.G! As we ran through the campus of The University Of Wisconsin… I was completely blown away by the amount of people that were out cheering us on. The energy level was INSANE! It felt like the entire university was out there! And they were LOUD AND PROUD!
I even stopped for a selfie with the Mascot! This was one of the all around BEST moments of the race for me! I had the most fun in the last mile and it made me completely forget how tired my legs were and (especially after that glass of wine) I wasn’t even bothered by the cold or wind!
At long last, I was at the finish line! It was full of excitement and packed with cheering spectators. There were volunteers handing out bananas, chips, cookies, chocolate milk, water…. Medals!!! This race took me by surprise and COMPLETELY EXCEEDED all of my expectations!
The post race festival was going strong but once again we needed to hurry back to the hotel for checkout and the finish line was a good 20 minute walk to the start line, which was where we were parked. We didn’t lose any layers during this race and we took full advantage of the Mylar blankets since we could really feel the cold temps and strong winds now that we were no longer warm from running.
But we got it done! We ran 2 half marathons, in 2 states, in 2 days!!!
After checking out of our hotel we drove back to Minnesota for some more sightseeing. The highlight of which (for me anyway) was The Mall of America! Another amazing Runcation with some of my wonderful Sole Sisters.
I think this is now one of my new favorite destination races. Definitely up in the top 5! Four stars Highly recommend!
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