Baker, MT marathon

This morning was the first marathon of a four-in-a-week series.  http://anython.com/running-for-sissy-simon. The race was in Baker, MT, population 1,875.

In preparation for the Baker, MT marathon, I set my clothes out the night before:  partially because I'm OCD, and partially because I didn't want to bother Grandmommy and PawPaw early in the morning.

The air was crisp and cool this morning, and the sunrise over the lake was beautiful.

The Mainly Marathon group has one big water/food stop set up, and the runners make laps that pass the table about every 2 miles.

The course was 14 out-and-back loops.  At each loop, the runners pick up a rubber band to signify that they finished a loop.  On the end of the last lap, you go to the timing table to get your official time.

All four of the marathons will be set up similar, although the number of laps will vary.

I met some great people along the way.  The way the race is set up, there is so much comradary, that you really get to know the other runners.  There were about 55 registered for the marathon and about the same for the half marathon.  

I was aiming for a 5-hour finish, and ended up finishing around 4:58.

After I finished, I found out that we were kicked out of our hotel room because too many people had asked for a late checkout, and they were booked solid for the night.  I changed into my ice tights and we got into the car to find some lunch.  After one attempt at a place that was closed on Mondays, we found a little deli (that also rented movies and offered tanning beds) called Getit Here.  The sandwiches were pretty much like a Subway sandwich, and did the trick.  Once we were fed, we got into the car to drive to the site of the next race, Bowman, ND.

Notice the many bullet holes in the sign.

North Dakota was a little more interesting in terrain than Montana (at least the little we saw of Montana).  There were some mountain-like dusty rocks among the plains...

...and fields of sunflowers.

After arriving in Bowman...

...we took a drive to the site of the next marathon to make sure we knew where we were going tomorrow.

Each night, there is a group dinner organized.  Tonight it was at the Hibachi House in downtown Bowman, ND.  

Before we ate, we walked around the little town and stopped by the grocery store (perhaps the best we've seen yet, which isn't saying much).

The downtown was small, the people are nice, and I'm looking forward to running a race there tomorrow.  Follow me at http://anython.com/running-for-sissy-simon.