run this town

After stuffing our faces at the food trucks one last time, we hit the road to Eugene. We made a beeline for the Marathon Expo, where I was treated like a VIP by everyone who realized I was from Yellowstone. I think it's safe to say that I was the only runner from Yellowstone in Track Town USA.

I was excited to hit up the original Nike store, but sadly we found out that it's now a construction site. The new Nike Running store had a little bit of a museum built into it,


but I'm sad they tore down the original.


My pre-marathon meal is always pizza, and I remember an old Runner's World that had an article about Track Town Pizza in it.


We ordered a pizza with fresh tomatoes, and the three of us cracked up when it arrived: by fresh we didn't think they meant "we'll put three whole raw tomatoes on top of your pizza after it comes out of the oven."


Race morning started at 5:00 a.m. and Steve dropped us off as close to Hayward Field as he could. I was excited but nervous at the start.


Here we are in our corral, ready to go.


After a brief computer delay, we were off.


Sarah and I were able to run together for the first 11 miles until the half marathon split off from the full.


It was a beautiful day, sunny with temperatures creeping close to the 70's. For a small race, it was fantastic--they handed out Cliff Shots and bananas twice, and we ran along the river with enthusiastic spectators cheering us on. The race finishes on historic Hayward Field,


and there was an announcer calling out finishers' names on the PA as you crossed the finish line. And oh yeah, at the finish? FREE PANCAKES! Along with the biggest and coolest finisher's medal I've ever received.



Eugene was a great #7 for me, and I'd definitely do it again if I have the chance.

While we were in Eugene, I kept seeing people wearing these AWESOME sweatshirts:


I. Had. To. Have. One.

We figured out that they were sold only by a local running store in Portland, and our chances of showering, checking out of the hotel, eating lunch, and making it there by 5:00 p.m. were slim to none. Yet...we pulled off the highway at 4:55 and the chase was on. Steve roared into the parking lot at 5:03 and we all cheered when we saw the "Open" sign still illuminated. He ran in, and I hobbled after him. Sarah snapped this hysterical picture of us exiting the store, victorious.


And with that, we said goodbye to Oregon.

Race of Discovery

I came out of running retirement this weekend to run the Lewis & Clark half-marathon with Wendie. It was hard - given the snow, rain, hills, altitude, bears, bison and elk - to train for the race, but we did the best we could.

As a pre-race reward we hit the 2nd Street Bistro on the way to Bozeman for our pre-race dinner. Wendie went with the lamb pizza

while I chose to go with the burger and the biggest bowl of fries ever (those are carbs right?).

We stayed in a hotel so we could get up at 5:30am instead 3:30am. Up and at 'em, we headed to Montana State's football stadium (home of the Bobcats)

to register and catch a bus to the start (which is right near a campsite Lewis & Clark used in 1806). We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of shirts

and to find one of our friends from the winter on our bus, but once we got off the bus we got a little worried. Not only was the temp hovering around 40 but it was also drizzling. The cold we could deal with but given that it has been raining here since May, we didn't want to run in yet another downpour.

Luckily, just as the race was beginning, it started to clear up and we had perfect running weather for the rest of the day. And, just as L&C's Corps of Discovery were seeing places for the first time, Wendie and I got to take in parts of Bozeman we had never seen before.

The course was a little hilly at times but there was also a nice mix of running on the road and using some local trails, so not only did we get see some the sights but we also got to see where the locals live. Though I know Wendie likes the old-school log cabin look

which is prevalent in this area, I dug the look of the newer homes, which are sort of eco-friendly Craftsmen-style bungalows/ranches

After reaching the top of the highest hill on the course, I could see the stadium (AKA, the finish) below us and, pointing it out to Wendie, I felt like Captain Clark when he saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time and wrote in his journal, "O! The Joy!" But then like Clark, who soon realized he had to also go back the way he came, I remembered that we still had 5 miles to go. And, given that we never made it past 8 miles in our training, the last 5 miles weren't easy.

Still, with my knees aching and Wendie's asthma acting up, we made it to the MSU track,

did our victory lap (which Wendie's Garmin GPS told her was excessive since it said we had already run 13.1 miles before the extra .4 we ran on the track), and finished side-by-side. There were no personal records but we finished, which at the time seemed good enough considering they were giving away slices of pizza and oatmeal raisin cookies.

After some quick and much-needed showers, we celebrated, as Wendie only knows how, with some food. This time sandwiches from the Bozeman Co-op

and then made the hour and half drive back to the Park because Wendie actually had to go to work for the afternoon.

With a Dr. Pepper and the support of the Rangers at the Visitor Center who made this sign

she made it through her shift in one piece.

cold days, slow days

Not too much has been happening around here the last couples days. When we woke up this morning and heard it was negative 32 (or thereabouts depending on the source), we decided to skip breakfast in favor of staying warm. The cool thing about being in the Old Faithful area when it is this cold the steam from the geysers and hot springs literally freezes in the air so all over the basin there are unmoving clouds hanging in the air

Today's laziness followed on the heels of yesterday's trip to town. We hopped the employee coach to West Yellowstone at 8:45am and made our first footfalls outside of the Park in three weeks at around 11am. Our snowcoach ride was rather painful for me given that we passed the Firehole, Gibbon and Madison rivers and all looked totally fishable.

Our first stop was at the Bear Country Bake Shop to get some drinks and goodies that you can't get in the park--like lattes and cinnamon rolls

From there we wandered the streets, which are kept snow-covered so that snowmobile (or sled) drivers can use the roads. It's a town of less than one thousand people during the winter months and the closed-for-the-season souvenir shops and empty roads make it seem like a lot less

Actually, if there is something West does have a lot of, it's fly fishing shops. There is one on every block so my fellow angler and I thought we would be able to easily find someone to sell us some fly tying material. I knew the West Yellowstone Fly Shop,

home of our favorite guide Travis, was closed for the season, but sadly it seemed shop after shop was closed. Finally we made it to Blue Ribbon and were welcomed in by their two super-friendly dogs. I drooled as the owner told us about the great fishing he had just the day before on the Madison River and had to settle for buying some elk hair that was a direct result of the recent Montana hunting season.

After hitting the fly shop, we again wandered the barren streets

in search of real food. We tucked into the Wild West Pizzeria and were happy to find a solid pie. I still think they put too much cheese on the pizza out here, but I'm starting to complain less and eat more.

After a quick trip to the grocery store so our crew could load up on food and booze we headed to meet the snowcoach that would take us back to the Park. It was hard to leave the world of fishable rivers, TV and fresh pizza behind, but it was nice to get back into the Park, where there seems to be more action, even if we have to manufacture it ourselves.