Coldest Race EVER!

This blog is really all about running with my girls and our adventures in different 5k races.  However, there is a new bridge in  St. Louis that crosses the Mississippi River that opened and I really wanted to run in the 6k run that crossed the bridge before it even opened to the public.

The Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge is beautiful and is nicknamed the “Stan Span.”  I learned that it is a 6k because the great Stan Musial was number 6 (I was curious why it wasn’t the usual 5k or 10k distances).   The new bridge connects St. Louis, MO into St. Clair County, IL and is AMAZING!  The bridge was built between April 19, 2010, and July 2013, the bridge opened on February 9, 2014.

I got the email announcing the race from Big River Race Management and immediately thought it would be a SUPER FUN race!  I somehow forgot it was in February and I would be FREEZING!  For those that know me, I LOVE the weather when it is nice – but I am a wimp in cold temps!   Anything under 30 degrees with any sort of wind and I am treadmill bound!  That said, I signed up and got my good pal Doug who I work with to sign up also!

The morning of the race was FREEZING and we got a couple inches of new snow that morning to run on!  The race and slick with ice and snow and SINGLE DIGITS!!!   You couldn’t really run with all the ice and snow – but we stopped and took photos and it was amazing!

All in all, it was a fun race and even though I couldn’t feel my toes or fingers for over half the race – it was super fun and I am glad that I ran it!   It  was my first “6k” race and was literally a “once in a lifetime” race over a new bridge and a great idea!