The 18th Red Flannel Run

Today I woke up to an inch of new snow and a 5 mile run! I got dressed up in all of my warm running gear which I had all laid out from the night before, laced up my running shoes and headed out the door.

I got down to downtown Des Moines about 30 minutes before start time and jogged over to the starting area to meet my friends and try to warm up. At start time the temperature was at 17° F and the winds were blowing at 15-20 mph out of the northwest. Not too bad for the race. Since we're in the city the buildings do a pretty good job of sheltering us. It's just while you are running along the river that it is cold!

After a bit of milling about we all got ready for the start and stood out on the bridge as the Grand Marshall gave us the details about the race and being safe and thanked us for our support of youth programs at the YMCA which this race is a fundraiser for. After the announcements were done he raised the starting gun and we were off!

I ran toward the capital building with the crowd checking out all of the great red flannel outfits that people were wearing and having a great time! I didn't even notice that my pace was fast and ran a 9:03 first mile! Then we turned back toward the city for a nice downhill stretch which is great for a rest. This part of the race goes through the recently renovated East Village of Des Moines where new restaurants and lofts are going in all the time. Running along the river toward the Botanical Center was easy and not too windy and I ran my second mile in 9:22. We made our far north turn by the Botanical Center, ran back to the YMCA and said farewell to the 3 mile folks. I ran my third mile in 9:12. Then we were back in to the larger buildings running along Grand Ave out toward the Meredith Corporation building on 17th Street through some sort of slushy streets with a few puddles for excitement. We made the turn back east down wind (whoohoo!) and I finished up mile 4 in 8:48 for my fastest mile! The rest of the run was down Locust Avenue through the heart of downtown where I took some pictures and enjoyed the flat road and the view of the capital building getting closer and closer. I ran past Nollen Plaza and the Civic Center and finished my 5th mile in 9:08. All that was left after that was a short sprint to the finish line which I crossed at 47:06 (unofficial).

This is a great run for a great cause and I enjoy the craziness of it every year! Make sure to check out the picture gallery by clicking on the picture above.

See ya on the roads!
Alex