Des Moines Half Marathon Packet Pick-up

   It is refreshing to only have to travel a few hours to a race.  It only took about 2.5 hours to arrive in Des Moines and secure our packet for the Half-Marathon.  By arriving so early..we decided to take a little more time this time and thoroughly check  out the Expo….

“We” decided that we should go in the order Cheryl wants.  In other words…What ever caught her eye, we checked it out.  She looked over several clothing vendors and a few races that were upcoming  located here in Iowa. There were even several food samplers around, so we could check out the latest granola, racing gels, and Noodles!  

   There was a viewing of the newest running documentary…The Spirit Of The Marathon 2.   The Movie was not going to begin until 2 P.M.   Giving us a couple hours to kill before hand.   Being Lunchtime,  We decided to try out a local Favorite:  Zombie Burger!  

Now I like Zombies….and Burgers.  But being Saturday, the place was a bit crowded.  We decided to order things to go and eat it outside on the curb.   The place had kind of a cool atmosphere…but with so many people..it was difficult to enjoy it much.  As far as the food goes,  it was good. On par with Ride ( local Iowa City theme diner) I may give it a go again,  But I doubt I would make it a destination.

   We then had a few more minutes to kill before the movie started.  The Lady at the Theater told us about the Pride Of Iowa museum with interacting displays.  We checked it out and actually tried a few of the games they had lined up.   I discovered that, in addition to running, Cheryl will beat me in throwing as well.   That is correct!  I can’t throw a football!  ( probably never could!)  My arm is still sore from the experience.  ( By the way,  She beat me three times at this game!….But I beat her in the Dance Groove! )

   After the movie we headed for the Hotel.   Cheryl investigated the goodies while I am currently doing this.   The Race Shirt is pretty cool this time, and was a major reason why we chose Des Moines over Peoria, IL. ( Both races were on the same day, but Des Moines has a better shirt..and was closer!)

So now, we try our best to rest up and hopefully find Parking downtown without arriving so early that we freeze this time. There are supposed to be 6000 runners for the Half Marathon alone!  And additional 2000 for the full Marathon.   So I imagine it will be a good sized crowd.   At least we are in Iowa and are relatively close to home.   Still,  I want things to go smoothly.  I hear Hy-Vee is a Sponsor and is doing the catering….I’m looking forward to it!